Elements of craft - "Setting"

In the short story “Black Hair,” by Gary Soto there are many detailed descriptions in the plot that describe what the setting is like. The setting in the beginning of the story is an old dirty tire factory in Glendale California. The main character had run away from home and was in search of any type of job possible. He spent his first day of work being told of the places he can’t go: the ovens where the ovens were recapped and the greasy customer service room. He then spent that night wandering the streets homeless. He spent a few hours sleeping under a tree at an abandoned house where he stayed the night before. As it got darker he wandered the residential streets and eventually decided to stay in the backseat of an unlocked car. When he was awoken by the screaming car owner at 4 a.m. he slept the rest of morning under a piece of cardboard on a cold church balcony.

                The rest of the story’s plot is consistently at the old tire factory. The Buffer where he buffed old tires, at the truck where he unloaded hundreds of heavy tires, and anywhere else they needed him at the old and insanely dirty factory. Eventually he saved up enough money to get off the streets and rent his own room. Mr. and Mrs. Van Deusen allowed him to rent their daughters old room. It had lace curtains, scenic wallpaper, canopied bed, and stuffed animals in the corner.

                The author also looks at the setting of some of the main characters coworker’s homes. Rafael, a Mexican national who had worked at Valley for five years, returned to a beaten house of kids who were dressed in mismatched clothes and playing kickthe-can. Sugar Daddy returned home to a stuffy room where he would read and reread old magazines. He ate potato chips, drank beer, and watched TV. The depressing setting of the old dirty disgusting tire factory full of despaired and tired workers adds to the depressing tone of the story.