Setting in Italo Calvino's "Distance of The Moon"

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“The Distance of The Moon”, a short story by Italo Calvino, pulls much of its ethereal tone from the vague description it gives the setting in which it takes place. The setting of the story, especially that on Earth, only briefly described, allows the reader’s attention to be more easily drawn to the characters and their feelings, and the Moon. The element of fantasy present in the setting also contributes to the story’s unworldly tone, twisting both the physics of the world, and the flow of time in the reader’s mind.

        The only description of the where on Earth the story takes place is in the very beginning of the story when the narrator, the protagonist of the story, says that the Moon was closest to the Earth just “off the Zinc Cliffs.” With this statement, nothing more is said about where the story takes place on Earth. This lack of a description forces the reader to envision their own setting and place it somewhere on the globe. Small details are inserted at various points in that give a better idea of what sort of an environment is present, and somewhat cements an image into the mind, such as when the protagonist first describe setting out in “those little rowboats […] round and flat, made of cork”, and talks of driving off the swarms of sea animals attracted by the Moon by “waving banana leaves at them.” It is these small details, combined with no definite statement on the location of the story, that force the reader to create their own setting, that while clear enough to show the events taking place, is still hazy, and so contributes to etherealness of the story.

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        As well as there being little description of the location on Earth, there is also little to indicate during what time period the story takes place. Details, such as the characters’ boats being made of cork, give some indication of the technology present, and in that way give the reader a slight sense of when this story takes place, however similarly to the physical location the details are sparse, and force the reader to place the events taking place in a time of their own inference.

        While the Earth is not well described, the Moon, where much of the story ...

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