How does the setting in this excerpt contribute to Lizzie's internal conflict?

Turner Buckminster has moved with his family from Boston to Phippsburg, Maine, where his father will be the new minister. Unfortunately for Turner, his first days start off poorly and go downhill from there. A star fast-pitch softball player, he's a washout here, where slow-pitch is the game. When he goes swimming, he's scared to jump into the ocean from the granite outcropping as the other kids do. And then he's accused of walking down the middle of the road half-naked, something not done in a God-fearing town such as Phippsburg.