Definition of Tone
Overall, The Hound of the Baskervilles’s tone is both observational and emotional. The story itself is narrated by Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s friend and assistant. As a narrator, Watson pays great attention to detail, yet at the same time, his point of view tends to be more emotional than rational. This tone is exemplified in Chapter 7 when Watson reflects on his time at Baskerville Hall:
The melancholy of the moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles – all these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and deep reason lay behind it.
Overall, The Hound of the Baskervilles’s tone is both observational and emotional. The story itself is narrated by Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s friend and assistant. As a narrator, Watson pays great attention to detail, yet at the same time, his point of view tends to be more emotional than rational. This tone is exemplified in Chapter 7 when Watson reflects on his time at Baskerville Hall:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The melancholy of the moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles – all these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and deep reason lay behind it.