comment on setting

The novel begins in an assisted-living center somewhere in the United States. The author never describes the center in great detail, nor does she tell the reader the location. This shows the reader that the center is not important to the setting of the novel. However, what is important about this center is the emotions with which the narrator regards it. To Jacob, this center is a death sentence, a place where he is expected to surrender his independence and wait for death. Jacob does not want this. Jacob does not feel as though he is ready to die and is not ready to give up his independence or identity. It is Jacob's resentment toward this center that makes it an important setting in the novel.