There are two primary tones in “Spunk”: the narrator’s tone, which is neutral and emotionally removed, and the character Elijah’s tone, which is playful and mocking. Because much of the plot of “Spunk” is communicated via Elijah’s storytelling at the general store, his tone is as important at the omniscient narrator’s.
Elijah’s playful tone comes across in the unique turns of phrase he uses and the joy he clearly takes in gossiping about the people in town. For example, he mocks Joe for going after Spunk with just a razor blade, saying, “He’ll be back heah after while swallowin’ an’ workin’ his lips like he wants to say somethin’ an’ can’t.” This is his way of saying that Joe will be too nervous to actually make a move. This seemingly mocking statement is followed by, “I’m jus’ waitin’ to see whut he’s goin’ to say when he gits back”—evidence that Elijah is not actually malicious, just invested in the drama of the situation.
Unlike Elijah's, the narrator’s tone is very even-keeled. Take the final lines of the story, for example, in which the narrator describes Spunk’s funeral:
The cooling board consisted of three sixteen-inch boards on saw horses, a dingy sheet was his shroud.
The women ate heartily of the funeral baked meats and wondered who would be Lena’s next. The men whispered coarse conjectures between guzzles of whiskey.
The narrator’s tone here is almost that of a journalist, or someone completely disinterested in the scene before them. The juxtaposition of this tone with Elijah’s shows how engaging and entertaining Elijah’s storytelling is. It is also Hurston’s way of encouraging readers to come to conclusions for themselves about the ending—is Lena doomed to end up with another controlling man? Will the men continue to endlessly gossip and “conjecture” about each other? The lack of resolution points to yes.
