Setting – The story takes place on a farm, where the main character's house is

located, which speaks volumes about the social conditions that existed in 1933
when the short story was written. Farmers suffered at the time for two
reasons. One was the rapid increase in the national population (from 7.6
million in 1905 to 16 million in 1939), which put additional pressure on the
land, lowered the standard of living, and created a labor surplus. Jose Garcia
Villa depicted two major issues at the time in this story: the rapid growth of
population and the hardships it brought to the cultivators. This also refers to
the time period in which the story took place, which was a period of great
economic turmoil in the country.
The narration began just as dusk was falling, which is an unusual way to start a
story. Sunrise is commonly associated with birth, or the beginning of life.
However, in this story, the sun setting in the west could mean the exact
opposite: not death, but the end of the protagonist's youth. This gave the story
a solemn tone, implying that what Dodong, the protagonist, was about to do
would'mark a climacteric in his life.'
The weather remained sunny throughout the story. There was no amount of
rain that fell across the land, no cold wind of cold, comforting wind that
brushed the leaves of the plants, and no temporary shade provided by clouds
to alleviate the heat of the sun. Furthermore, the story takes place during the
planting season, which continues to run from June to August, and it's odd that
the author never mentions rain during these months (monsoon). And this
could be another symbolism used by the author to represent the characters'
tiring efforts, particularly the main character in the story.