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Satire
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:
The majority of Tar Baby takes place on the fictional island of Isle de Chevaliers, a locale in the Caribbean, during the 1970s. Inspired by the real island Dominica, Morrison illustrates the Isle de Chevaliers as a beautiful location with a lush landscape and diversity of people. However—much like Dominica—the Isle has a dark and complex history of colonialism, enslavement, and exploitative labor practices.
In the novel, readers learn that Valerian, the White owner of the Isle de Chevaliers, accrues wealth primarily from the exploited labor of Black sugarcane harvesters. Three hundred years before the novel's present day, the island served mostly as a place for formerly enslaved people to settle and build lives—until the roots of colonialism took hold and White settlers took control of the island's politics, economics, and society. In Tar Baby, the Isle de Chevaliers acts as the foundational background for the novel's commentary on race, society, and history. Not only do readers learn how the Isle continues to exploit the labor and lives of its Black residents, but readers can imagine—from Morrison's rich physical descriptions of the land itself—how such systems came to be.
Additionally, Tar Baby features multiple minor locations, such as Paris, New York, and parts of Florida. When Jadine and Son interact with these locations (New York and Florida, specifically) they encounter a wide variety of living conditions and societal expectations. Many of these environments force Son and Jadine to question their relationships with community, history, physical space, and each other. In these instances, and throughout the novel, setting represents Morrison's larger commentary on race and class within the United States as a whole.
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