The Gift of the Magi

by O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi: 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
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:

The tone of "The Gift of the Magi" is chatty, informal, and lighthearted. The chattiness pulls the reader into the Youngs' simple, ordinary life and sets up the surprise of the concluding moral, which presents the unremarkable Youngs as heroically wise. Starting with the story's opening sentences, the author uses a conversational tone:

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned[.] [...] And the next day would be Christmas.