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Style
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 Everyday Use
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of “Everyday Use” is both loving and resentful. This is related to the fact that the story is told from the first-person perspective of Mama, an uneducated middle-aged Black woman in the American South, who is both excited for her adult daughter Dee’s visit home and also wary of it. She shares some backstory with the reader, helping them to understand that, while she has always loved her daughter, she has also felt consistently judged and belittled by her, given Dee’s disdain for her family’s poverty and desperation to leave home.
Related Themes:
