How does the setting affect what happens in The Egypt Game?

The setting
expresses the themes of the story, taking place in a contemporary urban neighborhood of the
1960s.  Also set in California in a large university town, the people who live there are from
diverse ethnic backgrounds. The various ethnicities allow the author to illustrate the theme of
accepting people who are different from ourselves. This is seen in the neighborhood's view of
the Professor. The differences in the children's...