Setting

In Jasmine, the time, place, and culture of the action constantly shifts. The narrator tells of events that happened in the past (thus the use of the past tense), but not in chronological order. Some events happened in a distant past, some in a more recent past. The reader understands the order of events partly in relation to place. Events in Hasnpur, Punjab, happened during Jasmine's childhood, and references to Lahore indicate events that happened before her birth. When the setting shifts to Florida, the reader knows the action is set during Jasmine's first weeks in America. Scenes in Flushing, New York, precede scenes in Manhattan, just as scenes in Manhattan come before scenes in Iowa.

To what purpose does the narrative timeline shift back and forth? There is a sense of urgency in the Iowa scenes because Jasmine's life is moving forward, possibly in the direction of...