Question

Which phrases in this excerpt from James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" portray the story's setting?

Answer 1

Answer:

"The wide playgrounds were swarming with boys".

"The evening air was pale  and chilly and after every charge and thud of the footballers the greasy leather orb flew like a heavy bird through the grey light".

Explanation:

The setting of any act or scene is the place where the events occur. The place or location of the scenes and the environment around it comprises the setting.

In the given passage from James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", the phrases that reveal of implies the setting is "The wide playgrounds were swarming with boys". This line gives the location of the scene, the playground. Moreover, the description of the atmosphere, "the evening air" and "the greasy leather orb [flying] through the grey light" presents another setting phrase.