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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
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of The Grapes of Wrath is casual, informal, and conversational as a result of Steinbeck’s attempt to capture the voices of ordinary people in the American Southwest. At many points in the novel, Steinbeck provides snippets of conversation that represent everyday interactions. Often, the individuals speaking in these scenes are not specific, named characters, and they have no clear relationship to the Joad family’s story. Rather, these conversations reveal the competing interests and needs of different groups, such as migrant workers and those attempting to take advantage of them. In one such scene, a man attempts to buy a tire from a salesman:
In California they got high wages. I got a han’bill here tells about it.
Baloney! I seen folks comin’ back. Somebody’s kiddin’ you. You want that tire or don’t ya?
Got to take it, but, Jesus, mister, it cuts into our money! We ain’t got much left.
Well, I ain’t no charity. Take her along.
Got to, I guess. Let’s look her over. Open her up, look a’ the casing— you son-of-a-bitch, you said the casing was good. She’s broke damn near through.
The hell she is. Well—by George! How come I didn’ see that?
Related Themes:
