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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
Part 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of “Odour of Chrysanthemums” is resentful (in Part 1) and resigned (in Part 2). Though this story is not technically from Elizabeth’s perspective (as the narration is third-person rather than first-person), the narrator stays very close to Elizabeth’s experience, channeling her emotional state. Take the following passage, for example, from Part 1 of the story, when Elizabeth still believes Walter hasn’t come home for dinner because he is out drinking:
As the mother watched her son's sullen little struggle with the wood, she saw herself in his silence and pertinacity; she saw the father in her child's indifference to all but himself. She seemed to be occupied by her husband. He had probably gone past his home, slunk past his own door, to drink before he came in, while his dinner spoiled and wasted in waiting.
Related Themes:
