Littleton

Littleton is a small place in Surrey, identified as the location of an orphanage. The journey there from Oxford is marked by awkward roads and a tense, talkative drive, making this otherwise briefly described destination the setting for Sarah Trafford and Joe’s search.

Setting and Identification

Littleton is introduced as a small place in Surrey. When Sarah Trafford asks whether the destination is a hospital, she is told that it is an orphanage instead. The exchange establishes the institution as the reason for the journey, while the evidence supplies no further description of the place or its surroundings.

The Journey from Oxford

The drive from Oxford to Littleton is no easy country outing: plastic bollards, metal barricades, cryptic road signs, and small sandbags make the route feel obstructed and confusing. Joe drives carefully and nervously, choosing a lane and sticking to it while treating other road users as dangerous incompetents. He admits that he needs his head examined; Sarah calls him a good man, and he answers by describing himself as a schmuck. After the drive, they get out of the car, bringing them to the orphanage they have come to find.