The setting of the airport reinforces the theme of animal rights the narrator describes the terminal as "This place of utter anonymity, impersonality. This place of randomness. (Oates 21), This imagery emphasizes how cold and mechanical the environment is. The airport is built for efficiency and human convenience leaving no place for a living creature like the sparrow. As the bird strikes the plate-glass windows" in panic (Oates 23), it becomes clear that it is trapped