Cathedral
by Raymond Carver

Cathedral: 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 Cathedral

Tone
Explanation and Analysis:

The tone of “Cathedral” is primarily bitter and discontented. This is due to the fact that the story is told from the first-person perspective of an unhappy man who feels threatened by the arrival of his wife’s friend Robert for a visit. Robert and the narrator’s wife have been long-distance friends for over a decade and the narrator’s wife clearly feels connected to Robert in a way that she doesn’t with her husband, who shows her little empathy or care.