time & place don't matter

By not establishing a distinct setting, Walker created a story that will last for many more years. The scope is very broad and therfore the themes are universal. All the reader knows is that the story is set somewhere in the South in a rural farm community. Adding to the rural community is the fact that there are few minor characeters that appear throughout the story. The universality of the story probably contributed to the multiple times that it has been appropriate for the AP test.