America

The United States of America is the broad-strokes setting for the novel as a whole, with its political system, economic philosophies, and definitions of success (i.e. the American Dream) all playing defining roles in the lives of the characters and their story. These roles play out both directly (i.e. in terms of the several references to national politics) and indirectly, or through implication (i.e. the idea that success, in Rich's terms, equates to money and fame).

The Small New England Town

The present-day action of the novel (several sections take place in the past, and in other locations) is set in a small New England town in America's north east. On one level, this is significant because the town is a so-called tourist town, one in which people make temporary homes there in much the same way as Rich and others do during the conference...