In the book Countdown by Deborah Wiles, the setting is a huge part of the story, especially the time. On page 21, there is the practice air raid siren which shows that this is a time where war can happen at any time and on page 351, it was mentioned that the Cuban Missile Crisis had finally ended further proving that this was a time of nuclear war. The time period was clearly stated a few times such as on page 111 claiming it was “3:13 pm on Saturday afternoon, October 20, 1962,” and on 370 “October 31, 1962.” The terms used also determined the time period as on page 48, two moving guys were referred to as “two colored men” as opposed to not stating the skin color status like we do today which shows we were still in a time of civil rights for African Americans in this book. Another term used was stationwagon instead of car on page 26 showing once again that this book took place in older times. The final thing determining time period was the fact that Mercurochrome is commonly used on page 36. Mercurochrome isn’t deemed safe anymore for medical uses as of the nineties so this book has just proved itself ultimately to be in 1962. …show more content…
On page 188, Uncle Otts mentions that they are “too close to Washington D.C,” expressing that they are in Maryland and near the White House so they have a higher risk of being hit with missiles. On page 19, it is mentioned that the school is Camp Springs Elementary School and on page 124 it is mentioned that the land around the school is completely flatland. Plus the school has a stone wall in front of it (115). Finally, on page 38 it is mentioned that Franny’s house is on a dead end and on 47 that there is woods beyond the dead