The Lesson
by Toni Cade Bambara

The Lesson: 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 Lesson” is primarily angry and dissatisfied. Sylvia—the first-person narrator—is perpetually frustrated with her teacher Miss Moore, who, she complains early on in the story, is “always planning these boring-ass things for us to do.” Sylvia continues to direct her ire toward Miss Moore as the teacher takes Sylvia and her peers on a group field trip to FAO Schwarz.