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Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The overall mood of Tar Baby is one of emotional intensity. Regardless of the emotion being developed—such as anger, fear, sadness, or desire—characters in Tar Baby regularly experience elevated emotion, which Morrison largely portrays through her poetic prose and extended scenes of two-way dialogue. Morrison's consistent use of long dialogue scenes—often between couples, such as Valerian/Margaret, and Son/Jadine—heightens the mood of intense emotion. Morrison does not depict her characters as passive background figures: they are all actively involved in each others' lives, for better or for worse.
From Tar Baby, readers may feel a sense of emotional intensity themselves. Morrison’s prose speaks to human experiences of turmoil, strength, and how our external environments can influence such things. Many of the topics appearing throughout Tar Baby are deeply emotional, such as systemic racism, parental abuse, cyclical colonialism, and violent sexual assault. These topics require a heavy level of analysis, which Morrison approaches from a poetic and emotional standpoint rather than a purely clinical standpoint. In addition to encouraging readers' awareness of character emotion, the mood of Tar Baby also encourages readers to deeply analyze the political landscape of the novel. Morrison does not break the fourth wall and questions of the reader directly, but the mood of her writing encourages curiosity towards the complex subjects at hand.
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