What Is The Setting Of The Story, 'Sweet Potato Pie' By Eugenia Collier?

Sweet Potato Pie is a piece of post-colonial literature that focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers in America.

The story was written by African-American author Eugenia Collier in 1972.

What’s the Setting of Sweet Potato Pie?

The actual story takes place in an apartment in Harlem, New York. The events span several hours – from late afternoon until evening.

However, it’s not the room in which the story is set that’s important – it’s the historical, social, and cultural period that it embodies.

Sweet Potato Pie is set after the American Civil War, at a time of great poverty for many sharecropper families.

What is Sharecropping?
Sharecropping was something that occurred after the large Southern plantations were split up into smaller plots. The former slaves and poor white people were allowed to farm the land, providing they gave a share of the crops to the landowners.