Setting


 * Setting:** Setting is simply the Place and the Time that the story takes place in. Simple as that. (Note: there can be multiple settings in a work, places and time periods.)


 * Heat and Dust:** In Heat and Dust there are two settings, both physically in the same place, but the time period differs.


 * Place:** Both the Narrator's and Olivia's stories take place in Satipur, India. Both the narrator and Oliva also spend some time in Khatm and, towards the end, both spend time in a town called X. (Note: The narrator also spends time in England and Bombay (Mumbai))


 * Time:** Olivia's tale takes place in 1923. The narrator's story however has no specific year but the book was published in 1975 so the narrator's story would logically occur in that same time period.



The setting usually has an impact on the characters over the course of a novel or other work. For example, a recurring topic in Heat and Dust is how "India changes people" and the setting definitely contributes to the changes in both Olivia and the narrator. Additionally the setting can change dramatically over the course of a novel, and this can further affect characters.