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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
Part I: Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis:
Tone in A Thousand Splendid Suns is psychoanalytical: the narrator often speaks to criticize, understand, or break down a given character's psyche. Note the following excerpt from Chapter 6, in which the narrator questions Jalil's sincerity by referring to his care for Mariam as a "great show":
Afterward, Jalil walked Mariam to the kolba, where, in front of the villagers who accompanied them, he made a great show of tending to Mariam. He collected a few of her things, put them in a suitcase. He sat beside her cot, where she lay down, and fanned her face. He stroked her forehead, and, with a woebegone expression on his face, asked if she needed anything? anything?—he said it like that, twice.
The phrase "great show" implies insincerity on Jalil's part. The narrator appears to question the man's love for his daughter, insinuating that the care he shows Mariam at Nana's funeral is only for the benefit of observers. The narrator doubles down on this point, portraying Jalil's expressions of concern as performative: his "woebegone expression," his repetition of "anything? anything?" when he asks Mariam what she needs. This portrayal may be an accurate analysis of Jalil's insincere affection; simultaneously, the narrator's analytical tone reflects Mariam's changed perspective on her father. Mariam once idolized Jalil, but after Nana's death, she is inclined to view any action of his as disingenuous.
