Literature

Setting in “Anthropology”

The short story, “Anthropology”, by Andrea Lee is a story of family relations, racial identity, and the dispersion of the narrator’s family over a large geographical area, which is diaspora. The diaspora portrays a sense of rootlessness for those who move away. However, this is an important theme in this story. To some people, the connotations of the word anthropology might mean history or past, and that is just what this story is about. The narrator is reminded throughout the story that she cannot escape her “black” roots. She lives in a society where whites are seen to have more power, but she realizes that she needs to respect where her family came from.

Setting plays a major role throughout the entire story. According to the notes, “Setting may include the time, the location, and the social environment in which a story takes place.” Setting is a major part of this story because of it portrays sense of place in many ways. There are three major settings throughout the story: the narrator’s cousin’s studio apartment in New York’s West Village, her aunt’s ranch house in Ball County, North Carolina, and Africa, which although not a location within the plot, is significant in its physical and emotional distance from the story’s characters. In other words, Africa is a significant place in this story even though the characters are never actually in Africa physically. In the notes it says, “Nearly the whole of her cousin’s life is devoted to the anthropological study of Africa and a search “for clues that point to a primeval tropical unity”.” The quote shows how important Africa is throughout the story.

New York and Ball County, North Carolina are the main settings in “Anthropology”. One can find several similarities and differences of New York and Ball County, North Carolina throughout the entire story. Ball County, North Carolina connects the narrator with her heritage. In a sense, North Carolina is a warm and welcoming...