Moral Tone Moral tone—overall philosophy of a work A story is literary if the conflict and characters are artfully developed, the plot is well-structured, and the theme is significant. A positive moral tone is key. “A book is not harmless merely because no one is consciously offended by it.” (T. S. Eliot)

Moral Tone Three Moral Tone Philosophies: 1. Pessimist View—allow some objectionable elements for two reasons: Compensating aesthetic qualities (It is attractive!) Honest view of life (I Tim. 6:11, II Tim 2:22) *This view elevates man’s standards above God’s.

Moral Tone 2. Exclusivist View—Any exposure to evil is wrong! Study nothing with objectionable elements. Extreme view—Read nothing but the Bible. This view fails to reconcile the use of censorable elements in Scripture.

Moral Tone 3. Biblical View—teaches by means of precept and example Jesus made use of negative examples (degeneracy of Sodom, Cain and Abel, evils of the Corinthian church, immorality) We must consider the work’s attitude toward sin.

Moral Tone “It is our business, as readers of literature, to know what we like. It is our business, as Christians, as well as readers of literature, to know what we ought to like.” T. S. Eliot

Cyrano de Bergerac