<P> The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction . A literary element, the setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story . Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story . Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour . Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction . </P> <P> Setting is an important element in a narrative and in some works the setting becomes a character itself . The term setting is often used to refer to the social milieu in which the events of a novel occur and novelist Donna Levin has described how this social milieu shapes the characters' values . The elements of the story setting include the passage of time, which may be static in some stories or dynamic in others with, for example, changing seasons . </P> <P> Setting may take various forms: </P> <Ul> <Li> Alternate history </Li> <Li> Campaign setting </Li> <Li> Constructed world </Li> <Li> Dystopia </Li> <Li> Fantasy world </Li> <Li> Fictional city </Li> <Li> Fictional country </Li> <Li> Fictional crossover </Li> <Li> Fictional location </Li> <Li> Fictional universe </Li> <Li> Future history </Li> <Li> Imaginary world </Li> <Li> Mythical place </Li> <Li> Parallel universe </Li> <Li> Planets in science fiction </Li> <Li> Simulated reality </Li> <Li> Virtual reality </Li> <Li> Utopia </Li> </Ul>

What is the geographical setting at the beginning of the novel