“The Circuit”: Setting and Tone

Francisco Jimenez

To determine how setting shapes conflicts in “The Circuit” consider the details that help you envision the setting. These details may contain clues to the writer’s attitude about the setting.

Details of Setting (specific images) / Language and Author’s Tone
“When the sun had tired and sunk behind the mountains…” (p. 183) / Language: Personifying the sun as being tired tells the reader that the day is long and hard for even the sun is exhausted and affected by the long day of labor.
Author’s Tone: This figurative language of the sun being tired and sinking conveys the author’s tone towards the setting as being tragic and sad: for even the day is seen as a victim of the labor.
“The garage was worn out by the years. It had no windows. The walls, eaten by termites, strained to support the roof, full of holes. The dirt floor, populated by earthworms, looked like a gray road map.” (p. 185) / Language:
Author’s tone:
“Around nine o’clock the temperature had risen to almost one hundred degrees. I was completely soaked and my mouth felt as if I had been chewing on a handkerchief.” (p. 185) / Language:
Author’s tone:
“The sun kept beating down. The bussing insects, the wet sweat, and the hot, dry dust made the afternoon seem to last forever.” (p. 186) / Language:
Author’s Tone:
“When we arrived home, we took a cold shower underneath a water hose. We then sat down to eat dinner around some wooden crates that served as a table.” (p. 186) / Language:
Author’s Tone:

Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. How would you describe the tone when Panchito joins his father and Roberto at the breakfast table before leaving for school?

2. How does the Author’s “Tone” throughout the story effect the overall “Mood” of this piece? Describe the mood.

3. Describe the internal conflicts that take place in this story. Describe the external conflicts that take place in this story.

4. What does the description of the shack tell the readers about migrant living situations?

5. Setting is not only a time and a place. What does the setting in this story tell you about the customs, foods, activities, clothing, and lifestyle of the migrant workers?