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Motifs
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
Vuong often uses setting in On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous as a bridge between Little Dog's abstract thoughts and emotions. Such settings include America and Vietnam, which Little Dog sets juxtaposes against one another. Throughout On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Little Dog explores the fraught history and imperial power dynamic between the two countries. This exploration helps him make sense of his family, their PTSD, and his own place in the world as a victim of diaspora. The suburbs where Little Dog, Rose, Mai, and Lan make their home in America could not be more different from the jungles of Vietnam in wartime; yet the two countries are connected by generations of American-inflicted pain and suffering.
Similarly, Vuong coalesces Little Dog's thoughts on addiction and sexuality through the tobacco farm—a locale that foregrounds his relationship with Trevor. Queerness and addictive behavior both lead to a measure of social exclusion. Spurned by society, Trevor and Little Dog find some measure of solace in one another, drawn in by the intimacy and camaraderie their mutual exclusion provides. Despite the community Trevor and Little Dog find amongst themselves, Little Dog cannot protect Trevor from addiction. Their work on the tobacco farm foretells this: both are, in their own way, economically dependent on drugs. Trevor expands this economic dependence into a physiological one.
Related Themes:
