Tone and Mood Ms. Wile

BellRinger Rewrite the following passage. Change the diction to make the narrator seem angry or frustrated about the situation: Today I walked to the park and saw a delightful puppy. It wanted to play fetch with me and continued to playfully nibble on my shoelaces until I joined the fun. Afterwards, the puppy went number 2 on my shoes and I chuckled with the owner about how puppies will be puppies. I never thought I was a dog person, but, who knows? Maybe I might just be soon. I could just eat it right up. I do think I would adore a dog.

Tone and Mood We are comfortable identifying a person’s mood through his/her facial expressions, body language, etc. Look at the following pictures; what “moods” do you think the subjects are feeling?

Now look at these next pictures… What do you think is each speaker’s tone?

Did you find yourself using some of the same words to describe the “mood” pictures and the “tone” pictures? That’s okay. It works that way in literature as well. Sometimes you will read a text with a similar mood and tone, and sometimes the tone will be quite different from the mood and vice versa….

Let’s explore the differences in tone and mood…

Both tone and mood can be identified by one-word descriptors… Here are some common tone words: Here are some common mood words: Admiring Silly Hilarious Sympathetic Angry Selfish Joyful Frustrated Calm Unfriendly Blunt Violent Nervous Amused Hyper Jealous Warm Lonely Selfish Annoyed Frustrated Calm Unfriendly Grateful Violent Sick

Both tone and mood can be identified by one-word descriptors… Here are some common tone words: Here are some common mood words: Admiring Silly Hilarious Sympathetic Angry Selfish Joyful Frustrated Calm Unfriendly Blunt Violent Nervous Amused Hyper Jealous Warm Lonely Selfish Annoyed Frustrated Calm Unfriendly Grateful Violent Sick

Think about the following sentence: Don’t use that tone with me! Which definition do you think best fits tone? The feeling the reader gets him/herself from reading the author’s writing. The author’s attitude toward their writing (i.e., the characters or the situation) and/or the audience

Tone can be: Sujective: Objective: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions Objective:  not influenced by personal feelings or opinions/factual

Tone can be Formal: Informal: Vocabulary: high-level; business-like Organization of text: very structured; perhaps with subtopics Audience – usually 3rd-omnisicient (except for business letters) Sentences: syntax varies (s/cd/cx) Informal: Vocabulary – low-level; perhaps slang; dialogue Organization of text – more so narrative or note-like Audience – usually personal (more first or third-limited) Sentences – don’t vary as much in structure; mostly simple or compound sentences

Think about the following sentence: I am not in a good mood! Which definition do you think best fits mood? the author’s attitude toward their writing (i.e., the characters or the situation) and/or the audience The feeling the reader gets him/herself from reading the author’s writing.

More on tone and mood…. Mood is the general, overall feeling that is conveyed to the reader. Some synonyms for “mood” could be “atmosphere” or “ambiance” To help identify the mood, imagine that you are all of a sudden in the story, or painting, or whatever piece of artwork. How would it feel to be part of the scene? Tone is usually more specific to a certain event, character, or idea. To help identify the tone, try to figure out how the author feels about what he/she is writing about.

Now that you’ve got the theory down… We’re going to practice with real world examples!!!!

Real World Examples: Poetry   And when she wakes me up, “Wren” the first time, the third time, or the fifteenth, I dream of throwing her down the stairs, Oh, that cat! out the windows So sweet in the day or shipping her off to nearly anywhere and when the sun goes away that isn’t my bedroom. my cat, she plays! Oh Wren, I do not love thee so late at night All through the night, walking across my back Can’t you understand I want to sleep tight? as I try to sleep, and that cat attacks! I am going to go to bed now and if you don’t wake me up, I promise not to feed you to my dog. Ask the students the following questions: Overall, how do you felt when you read this poem? So what we are talking about is MOOD. Can someone sum this up into one word that describes the mood? Do you think the author felt the same way you did about what he/she said in this poem? There is a difference because the mood and tone are not actually the same. Who can identify the TONE the speaker takes toward his/her subject? 29

Real World Examples: Art Let’s start with you telling me how this drawing makes you feel. If I ask you about how you feel, then am I asking about tone or mood (MOOD)? So, therefore, in general, when you look at this drawing how do you feel? Do you think the author shares the same feeling about everyone in this drawing? If I’m asking you about how the author feels, then am I asking you about mood or tone (TONE)? Tell me more about the author’s tone, how does his/her tone differ toward the characters depicted and how can you tell? 30

Real World Examples: Passage “NO TALKING!!!! There is too much noise in this class room. No one is allowed to speak for the rest of the class period. If you do speak, I’ll write you up!!!!” Ms. Hensen had reached the breaking point. She had tried to be a reasonable and sympathetic teacher, but the students only tried to manipulate her. She had tried to be a motivating and positive teacher, but the students only listened to her when she screamed. And now she was tired. Tired of the disrespectful, talkative class, she had decided she would not allow any more opportunities for the students to misbehave. She had no choices left; she would have to be mean. “Chop!” Ms. Hensen’s head whipped around; “who was that, and what did they just say” she thought. “Chop!!!” Again, but this time from the other end of the classroom. “Chop! Chop! Chop!” The sound was coming from everywhere, from everyone – but never from the student who Ms. Hensen was looking at. “Chop chop chop chop chop!!!!” Ms. Hensen’s face was turning red. She didn’t know what to do. The students were revolting but she couldn’t even catch who was doing it. “CHOP!” “TIMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!” And with that, all the students fell out of their desks and onto the floor. As the students laughed and congratulated themselves on their jobs well-done, Ms. Hensen realized “they don’t respect anything I say.” Describe the author’s tone toward the students? Can you point to a specific line that illustrates it? Describe the mood this piece evokes within you? Can you point to a specific line that makes you feel this way? 31

Real World Examples: Poetry “We Real Cool” Gwendolyn Brooks We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.

Real World Examples: Art

Real World Examples: Passage Excerpt From Black Boy, by Richard Wright That night in my rented room, while letting the hot water run over my can of pork and beans in the sink, I opened A Book of Prefaces and began to read. I was jarred and shocked by the style, the clear, clean, sweeping sentences. Why did he write like that? And how did one write like that? I pictured the man as a raging demon, slashing with his pen, consumed with hate, denouncing everything American, extolling everything European or German, laughing at the weaknesses of people, mocking God, authority. What was this? I stood up, trying to realize what reality lay behind the meaning of the words . . . Yes, this man was fighting, fighting with words. He was using words as a weapon, using them as one would use a club. Could words be weapons? Well, yes, for here they were. Then, maybe, perhaps, I could use them as a weapon? No. It frightened me. I read on and what amazed me was not what he said, but how on earth anybody had the courage to say it. . . .