Mood and Tone

Tone 0 Tone is the author’s attitude toward the writing (his characters, the situation) and the readers. A work of writing can have more than one tone. An example of tone could be both serious and humorous. Tone is set by the setting, choice of vocabulary and other details.

What is the tone here? 0 The harder Tom tried to fasten his mind to his book, the more his ideas wandered. So at last, with a sigh and a yawn, he gave it up. It seemed to him that the noon recess would never come. The air was utterly dead. There was not a breath stirring. It was the sleepiest of days….. Tom’s heart ached to be free, or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time. 0 The adventures of Tom Sawyer 50-51

Write the words that showed you the tone 0 The harder Tom tried to fasten his mind to his book, the more his ideas wandered. So at last, with a sigh and a yawn, he gave it up. It seemed to him that the noon recess would never come. The air was utterly dead. There was not a breath stirring. It was the sleepiest of days….. Tom’s heart ached to be free, or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time. 0 The adventures of Tom Sawyer 50-51

What is the tone? 0 His clothes were wet and clammy and there was a faint chill. He pulled the torn remnants of his windbreaker, pieces really, around his shoulders and tried to hold what heat his body could find. He could not think, could not make thought patterns work right. Things seemed to go back and forth between reality and imagination—except that it was all reality. One second he seemed only to have imagined that there was a plane crash, and he had fought out of the sinking plane and swum to shore; that it had all happened to some other person or in a movie in his mind. 0 (Hatchet,36)

Which words or phrases helped you find the tone? 0 His clothes were wet and clammy and there was a faint chill. He pulled the torn remnants of his windbreaker, pieces really, around his shoulders and tried to hold what heat his body could find. He could not think, could not make thought patterns work right. Things seemed to go back and forth between reality and imagination—except that it was all reality. One second he seemed only to have imagined that there was a plane crash, and he had fought out of the sinking plane and swum to shore; that it had all happened to some other person or in a movie in his mind. 0 (Hatchet,36)

What is the tone? 0 He was in a room filled with people. And it was warm with firelight glowing in a hearth. He could see through a window that outside it was night, and snowing. There were colored lights; read and green and yellow, twinkling from a tree which was, oddly, inside a room. On a table, lighted candles stood in a polished golden holder and cast a soft, flickering glow. He could smell things cooking and he heard a soft laughter. A golden haired dog lay sleeping by the floor. 0 The Giver (122)

How did you know? 0 was in a room filled with people. And it was warm with firelight glowing in a hearth. He could see through a window that outside it was night, and snowing. There were colored lights; read and green and yellow, twinkling from a tree which was, oddly, inside a room. On a table, lighted candles stood in a polished golden holder and cast a soft, flickering glow. He could smell things cooking and he heard a soft laughter. A golden haired dog lay sleeping by the floor. 0 The Giver (122)

What is the tone? 0 I just stared at the hole in the toe of my tennis shoe. Me and Darry just didn’t dig each other. I never could please him He would love hollard at me for carrying a blade if I had carried one. I I brought home B’s he wanted A’s and if I got A’s, he wanted to make sure they stayed A’s. If I was playing football I should be studying, and if I was reading, I should be out playing football. 0 The Outsiders,13

How do you know? 0 I just stared at the hole in the toe of my tennis shoe. Me and Darry just didn’t dig each other. I never could please him He would love hollard at me for carrying a blade if I had carried one. I I brought home B’s he wanted A’s and if I got A’s, he wanted to make sure they stayed A’s. If I was playing football I should be studying, and if I was reading, I should be out playing football. 0 The Outsiders,13

Now you try 0 Find a short passage from your book (just a few lines) and write the passage on the front of your index card and the tone on the back.

Mood 0 Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words. It may be the same, or it may change from situation to situation.

What is the mood of each trailer?