Wednesday, October 7, 2015
TONE
Choose either your nonfiction supplementary novel OR one of the summer novels of your choice in which to consider the author's tone and the overall mood of the piece. You may refer to the definitions of both terms in your "Things You Should Know: Brief Note on Tone" packet we read together in class. For this blog post, you must do the following:- Write a paragraph in which you discuss the overall tone and mood of the writing. Use at least TWO of the tone words from our packet (underline them in your post). In addition to identifying the tone and mood, you must explain how you identified the both AND provide one sentence that supports the particular tone and mood of the piece you identified.
- Proofread your response BEFORE publishing it to ensure there are NO grammatical errors, lowercase proper nouns, etc. Italicize the titles of books.
- This blog response is due Thursday, October 8.
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ReplyDeleteOver the summer I read The Color Purple. It was a great book all about what life was like growing up as a black girl, in the south. Everything was just like the stereotypes and Celie, the main character, had a rough childhood. The over all tone of the story was despairing. At many times Celie becomes hopeless and I as the reader became hopeless for her in parts of the novel. “But it ain't easy, trying to do without God even if you know he ain't there, trying to do without him is a strain”. This direct quote is right from the book and it just really explains how hard it is for her. Throughout the book Celie looks to God and writes letters to look for hope.
ReplyDeleteI read The Color Purple as one of my supplementary novels this summer. The Color Purple is an extraordinary book; great lessons to be learned. The book focuses on the main character, Celie. Celie grew up in the south as a poor, African American, who faced many struggles in life. The overall tone of the book would be hoplessness. The whole book is composed of letters to God. God is very important in her life. However, there were times when she felt that God wasn't there for her. It left her hopeless and despaired.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the important lessons this novel teaches about love and loss, the book may also have a didactic tone. I agree that when Celie questioned her faith, the story's overall tone was affected. For many people, God provides comfort and when God is absent in Celie's life, it shows in the novel. With this said, the reunion between Celie and Nettie may have rekindled Celie's faith and changed the tone at the end of the novel.
DeleteI also read this book over the summer and I agree with the tone being hopelessness. She went through a lot and she really did have to question her faith with God several times. Her hardest times throughout the book were when she lost her connection with God. I also think that when Celie and her sister Nettie reunited, she believed in God again and it did change the tone.
DeleteI also read this book over the summer and I agree with the tone being hopelessness. She went through a lot and she really did have to question her faith with God several times. Her hardest times throughout the book were when she lost her connection with God. I also think that when Celie and her sister Nettie reunited, she believed in God again and it did change the tone.
DeleteI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou has a didactic and hopeless tone to it. After Maya gets raped by her mother's boyfriend, Maya feels as if she's to blame for what happened yet she doesn't know what to do about it. During the trial Maya says, "And Mother, who thought I was such a good girl, would be so disappointed" (Angelou, 85). While you can tell that Maya as a girl had a feeling of hopelessness, there is something about the way the narrative is written that makes you feel as if the older, grown up, Maya is telling anyone who went through a similar thing that it's not your fault; giving the writing a didactic tone.
ReplyDeleteThe Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story with many layers. The tone, at times, was hopeless as Celie wrote letters to God in search of justification when she was in bad situations, however the story was not solely melancholic. Celie found geniality in camaraderie and love with her friend Shug Avery. The tone was dynamic and allowed for Celie's character to grow and reveal different parts of her life.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the overall tone was hopeless. Hopelessness was a very prominent tone and them throughout the novel; especially when Celie would talk about how she felt God wasn't always there for her. The friendship between Celie and Shug Avery was very interesting; it left a very dynamic tone as well. Their friendship allowed myself, as a reader, to not always feel the pain with Celie. The times they shared together brightened up the novel quite a bit.
DeleteMaya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has a rather melancholic tone. Angelou recounts her early life including the her story of sexual abuse and the trial she had to partake in. Angelou was ashamed and fearful after her trial and that translates into the tone of the novel. She says, “For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the Store, the school, and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible” (Angelou 93). Angelou had a traumatic childhood and that comes across in the piece, however, she does not let it stop her from later becoming a very successful author.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has a melancholic tone to it. Throughout the narrative Maya seems to have a dark cloud hanging above it and everything seems to be very somber and gloomy. It is, however, very inspirational how Bailey and Maya seem to find happiness and continue through life even through the sadness. I know I will always find it tragic that Maya, as well as any rape victim, blames herself for what her mom's boyfriend did to her.
DeleteI didn't read Why the Caged Birds Sing over this previous summer break, but no other classmate of mine chose any other novels that I read for over the summer. Although I am in the middle of reading it, right now. I agree that it is defiantly melancholic tone, when she recounts on the rough parts of her past. I agree with how Amy says how it is "inspirational how Bailey and Maya seem to find happiness and continue through life even through the sadness", brocade it really presents how the novel is so well written.
DeleteI chose the piece "Into Thin Air" which recounts the 1995 Everest expedition disaster, and the events leading up to it. The general tone of the piece is foreboding(<insert underline) describing the incompetence of the other expeditions. The reader also gets a condemnatory (<insert underline) feeling as he accuses a few of the other expedition leaders of complete incompetence. ""With the Argentinians, South Africans, and the incompetent American expeditions," Said Robert Hall "Something bad is bound to happen to someone""
ReplyDeleteNot only does the writer portray this condemnatory front but also a bit of a pompous front. He seems to mock the others because of their purpose for being a part of the expedition. Although the others are there for "bragging rights" according to the writer, it seems as if he is there for a news article a.k.a. bragging writes as well. I am excited to see where this book goes in terms of relationships between the climbers and the overall plot.
DeleteThe things they carried has a somber tone, there is nothing happy about this book and the stories it contains. along with being somber in some cases the things they carried has a tone of inferno. he is mad that he was sent to Vietnam, he doesn't belong there and he comes to realize that no one belongs there and he tells us this story with his somber words and inferno Like outbursts. “ Or Ted Lavender adopting an orphan puppy-feeding it from a plastic spoon and carrying it in his rucksack until the day Azar strapped it to a Claymore antipersonnel mine and squeezed the firing device” (Obrien36). The war in Vietnam took a toll n everyone in different ways and Obrien is able to really show you how they lived, breathed and died with his somber yet inferno like tone.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree to disagree with your statement that ther is nothing happy about the book. Yes, a lot of it may be sad or contain depressing content, but his memory of Martha kept him moving forward. He loved her and because of that he blamed a lot on himself but her memory kept him going.
DeleteThe Places in Between accounts the author's journey through Afghanistan, in January of 2002. Rory Stewart, the author, encounters many different cultures and ideologies; as he retraces the steps of Babur, Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor from Herat to Kabul. The tone and mood that can describe the book, would be optimistic and reflective. Rory stays optimistic throughout his journey, even when local officials in Herat, his starting point, tell him that he will perish or be killed while on his journey. "You will die, I guarantee. Do you want to die?' 'Thank you very much for your advice. I note those three points... I must do this journey" (Stewart 3-4). The novel is very reflective in both the history of Afghanistan and in the different people he meets. In all of the villages that Rory stays in, the villagers tell him their own journey and history. The optimistic and reflective tones that Stewart uses, makes the novel appealing to readers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your position that the overall tone of The Places in Between is optimistic and reflective. Your quote was a good illustration of the optimism Stewart portrays on his journey across Afghanistan. The reflective feature is also an important part of the novel, connecting the personal experience and kindness of others makes Rory reflect upon the reasoning behind his walk. These history lessons allow the reader to connect the journey of Stewart's to that of Babur's.
DeleteI agree that the overall tone of The Places in Between by Rory Stewart is optimistic. Despite the many villagers and government officials telling him he stood no chance of surviving he still took the risk to walk across Afghanistan. I also agree that there is a strong reflective tone while he recounts the places he sees and the people he meets. He also reflects on the things he learns about their culture through the villagers and locals.
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ReplyDeleteThe book I have chosen as my supplementary novel is Into Thin Air (insert underline). The tone of this book is somewhat didactic as the author seems to provide the reader with excessive information, slowing the pace. "The first Everesters were obliged to trek 400 arduous miles from Darjeeling across the Tibetan plateau simply to reach the foot of the mountain."(Krakauer 17) In addition he seems the book seems to have a prosaic tone as he also does not describe the scenes. This makes it difficult for readers to comprehend and keep up with the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel on the fact that "Into Thin Air" has both somewhat a didactic tone and prosiac tone. At first I was questioning how the book could possibly have a didactic tone, but then I shortly realized that the author could be saying a few things that they did on their journey that could have been lessons for future climbers to watch out for. Like for example, even if the weather may look fine at first, never assume that it actually will be. I also agree with Rachel in the fact that the author does provide the reader with excessive information that is not always needed. The book also does seem to have a few examples where it has a little bit of a prosaic tone. It does not always have clear imagery for the reader to fully picture and comprehend the story either.
DeleteI agree with both Maddie and Rachel. The author provides his audience with a substantial amount of background information. Though it takes time and at some points is difficult to follow, the story line can be found. The majority of the world would not know all of the history that the stories of Mount Everest holds. In order for readers to fully understand and comprehend their situations and experiences the author feels as if he must provide a lot of information.
DeleteI agree with Rachel that in the book "Into Thin Air", Jon does give the reader more information than you would consider to be necessary. The didactic tone definitely slows the pace of the story down and can make it somewhat hard to follow. For example he would be talking about a certain place heading up the mountain then go on to a long story about someone else who had an issue in the past in the same place. With that it can get kind of confusing as to what is part of his journey and what isn't. Overall I enjoy the book other than not being able to imagine and comprehend the story as well as I'd like to.
DeleteIn the book Into Thin Air there is a very large amount of information you have to get through in-between the adventure story. It almost seems as if didactic is an understatement at some points because of how much background information is given to the reader. One minute he is scaling the dangerous mountain peak and the next he describes a childhood memory of the guide that led him to that peak. The information is nice sometimes but ultimately there is too much detail at points.
DeleteFor one of my summer reading assignments, I chose to read Charlotte’s Web. This third person omniscient novel generates a sympathetic and plain-speaking tone through dialect used in the story. E.B. White illustrates the sympathy when saying, “Why did you do all of this for me?’ he asked, ‘I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.’’You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing”(White 164). Most of the time, White utilizes details that are not particularly elated or melancholic. He reserves the sympathy for extreme conditions of sadness.
ReplyDeleteI believe that The Color Purple has many different tones throughout the story. One of the main tones that I recognized was hopeless. I identified hopeless because there were many situations in which Celie had little hope. For example, when Celie thought that her sister, Nettie, was deceased she became hopeless. Also I think that hopeless was well represented in this novel because Celie never caught a break from being treated unfairly. Her entire life she worked so hard to please others and it never seemed to pay off. I think another tone from The Color Purple was compassion. I identified compassion because, even though, Celie was mistreated by many people throughout her life she was a very compassionate person. She still cared about and put up with Mr. ______ even after he had beaten and raped her. “Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved" (Walker, 103). This quote represents how compassionate Celie was even after all of the hardships she had gone through in her life.
ReplyDeleteIn The Places In Between, the author maintains a seemingly placid, colloquial tone and mood throughout the piece. Stewart's placidity lies in his constant use of culturally-exclusive jargon, as he never stops to describe what that certain word might entail. One such example of this lies in the sentence "Television France 2 had brought their own cafetiere and a packet of Lavazza coffee and sent to the bazaar for fresh juice" (Stewart 17).
ReplyDeleteI would agree that the novel, In The Places In Between, the author writes in a placid, colloquial tone and mood through out the book. I too have not understood some of the things he has referenced in the book that are associated with the Afghani culture. The author's tone and mood does allude to a specific audience that does know the ways of the culture that he is writing about. Holly's quote is a good example of how the author uses "culturally-exclusive jagon" and how he does not explain what it is.
DeleteI chose to read "Into Thin Air" as my supplementary novel. It is about the disaster that happened on Mt. Everest in 1995. The book has a foreboding tone. They are fearful of this storm that was about to hit them. At a few times during the story there was a little bit of a despairing tone as well. It seemed like there were points where there was no hope. For example, "Beidleman and Schoening searched for a protected place to escape the wind, but there was nowhere to hide. Everyone's oxygen had long since run out, making the group more vulnerable to the windchill, which exceeded a hundred below zero" (Krakauer 216). At this moment in the book, it seemed like there was absolutely no hope left for them. Everything seemed like it was going wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddie that there was a foreboding and despairing tone throughout "Into Thin Air". I think that the despairing tone was shown a lot throughout the book. They went through many points where they were losing hope. They were losing hope for their friends survival, as well as their own survival. The foreboding tone is shown more throughout the beginning of the book because they are nervous for the storm that is heading their way. Also I believe that Maddie's quote greatly showed an example of the foreboding tone in the novel.
DeleteThe Things they Carried by Tim O'Brien is a war story with a somber and apprehensive tone. A somber tone is expressed throughout the story with the blue skies and rice paddies being dull and uninviting. An apprehensive tone is clearly portrayed through the soldiers general fear and yearning to be in a safer place. "I'm sorry but I'm gone!--and so at night, not quite dreaming, they gave themselves over to lightness, they were carried, they were purely borne."(O'Brien 23) This sentence expresses the soldiers longing to be away from the war and danger, and their desire to be in a safer place.
ReplyDeleteYou have definitely gotten the tone correct. I strongly agree with the tone being that of a somber and apprehensive style. Obrien creates these moments that leave the reader with a disconcerted feeling, described only as apprehension. As well as the writing style and reccoletion of his stories, they are definitely in a somber tone.
Delete-Reid Williams
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou has an ominous and chagrined. We see the ominous tone throughout this book, especially during the events leading up to her rape. There were details describing her mother's boyfriend touching her inappropriately which lead us to believe the situation would progressively get more negative. "Mr. Feeman had surely done something very wrong, but I was convinced that I had helped him do it." ( Angelou 84)
ReplyDeleteThis quote represents the chagrined tone because Margaret expressed how she is humiliated and disappointed about the rape and is putting blame on herself.
I agree that the tone could be considered ominous, especially leading to the sexual abuse Angelou faced as a child. Mr. Freeman had added to the ashamed tone of the novel when Maya convinced herself that not only the sexual assault was her fault, but also Mr. Freeman's death after his trial. The tone is disturbing as well as humorless.
DeleteI agree that the tone could be considered ominous, especially leading to the sexual abuse Angelou faced as a child. Mr. Freeman had added to the ashamed tone of the novel when Maya convinced herself that not only the sexual assault was her fault, but also Mr. Freeman's death after his trial. The tone is disturbing as well as humorless.
DeleteOne of the tones for The Tbings They Carried is depressing, Tim O'Brien blames himself for his comrades deaths. Also it is kind of fiery, literally. He burns the picture of Maria and her letters, because he beleives they are what caused him to lose one of is men. These tones make the piece more intersting and more relatable, because everyone feels these feelings one point in their life.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that the things they carried is depressing and fiery. Most of the authors stories have some sort of depressing remark. It is easy for this tone to be expressed with the conditions and missions the soldiers faced in vietnam. Almost every story is firey in a way because they are in a war and danger is always presenting itself around them.
DeleteIn the book Into the Air by Jon Krakauer has a tone that is all over the place, an emotional rollercoaster. The wistful and optimistic journey climbing up the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. The severe yearning to climb the mountain and reach the summit from the beginning of the school is very evident. Also the optimistic aspect of continuing to push on even when things get tough and look at the bright side of things.
ReplyDeleteI got that impression as well, it seemed like there was this huge buildup to the climbing and you really get a sense of his extreme desire to climb Everest before he loses he chance forever. I also got a sense of foreboding when he describes the inexperience of his fellow climbers, not sure if you're that far though yet.
DeleteBekah Halley
ReplyDeleteMaya Angelou's fourth autobiography, The Heart of a Woman has a powerful? and nostalgic tone. She encaptures the readers, taking them on a journey through her life. In The Heart of a Woman Angelou shares her deepest thoughts and issues as an adult. She reflects on past actions and memories. She has an inspiring story in that she takes harsh memories and turns them into difficult and powerful lessons. "If I survived at all, it would be a triumph. If I swam, it would be a miracle. As I unlocked my door, I thought of my mother putting her age back fifteen years and going into the merchant marines. I had to try. If I ended in defeat, at least I would be trying. Trying to overcome was black people's honorable tradition." (Angelou, 175). She shows grace and strength through her actions. Her nostalgic tone helps the reader to understand her passion and relate to her experiences.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X was a book about hardships throughout an entire life from childhood until death. The tone is very inflammatory, Malcolm X doesn't ask you but tells you stand up and fight. But even with a hard life there is nostalgia for his childhood, with what little innocence he saw that could not return.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Rauhoff
ReplyDeleteThe novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou is a very sad book. The gloomy tone is portrayed by use of the extreme racial and gender discrimination from the point of view of a young child. In the novel, Angelou comments on how as a child of around 6, she knows that segregation and discrimination happen, but she doesn't understand why. The book is mostly humorless as the topic leaves little to make jokes about. It gets especially hard to comprehend when the reader reaches the point of the sexual abuse Angelou faces as an eight-year-old. All of this adds to the depressed and almost hopeless tone of the novel.