A setting can shape a story through more than description. A crowded house changes who can speak privately, a long journey limits a character’s options and a changing season can alter the pace of everyday life.
Choose one scene and notice what the surroundings make possible or difficult. Look at distance, weather, sound and access. Ask which parts of the scene would change if it happened somewhere else.
Pay attention to whose perspective describes the place. A familiar street may feel safe to one character and uncertain to another. The details selected by a narrator can reveal expectations as well as physical surroundings.
Keep your claims close to the text. A landscape may suggest a mood without representing a fixed symbol throughout the whole book. Reading a setting carefully means noticing its changing role in the action, not assigning a hidden meaning to every object.