Setting can play a significant role in a short story. This is the case in Dorothy Parker's short story, "The Standard Of Living." The two main characters in the story, Annabel and Midge, are both easily influenced by their surroundings. These two young women meet at work and become best friends. They dress alike, act alike, and love doing the same things, like going to Fifth Avenue. Annabel's and Midge's behavior are a result of the setting.

Fifth Avenue is the setting that plays the predominant role in the story. It is here where the girls' game comes alive. They play their game of, if-you-had-a million-dollars, how-would-you-spend-it. As Parker explains: "Always the girls went to walk on Fifth Avenue on their free afternoons, for it was the ideal ground for their favorite game." They love to spend their free time on Fifth Avenue because it is like a...