A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
✓

or to save your progress

A Farewell to Arms: Tone 1 key example

Definition of Tone

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition

Key Examples in A Farewell to Arms

Tone
Explanation and Analysis:

The tone of A Farewell to Arms is outwardly cynical, particularly toward World War I, much like Ernest Hemingway’s own attitude toward the war. The characters, particularly Henry and Rinaldi, spend more time in the novel trying to distract themselves from the war through alcohol and women than they do considering the purpose of the war itself. Those that Hemingway portrays as "real" men tend to be more skeptical, simply surviving wartime instead of directly fighting in the conflict.