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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:
Sullivan’s tone throughout Beneath a Scarlet Sky is largely poignant, combining attitudes of heartbreak and bittersweetness to produce a narrative that is sympathetic towards Pino but far from ignorant towards the presence of moral ambiguity in his and others’ character. While developing Pino’s character—and thus the novel itself—Sullivan consistently reminds readers of Pino’s youth. Although Pino is forced to mature as he undertakes incredibly difficult and dangerous tasks to support anti-fascist war efforts, he remains a developing teenager at heart: dreaming of love, prosperity, and eventual marriage.
Sullivan’s recognition of Pino’s youth is one example of how he sets a poignant tone in the novel. Pino, along with every other young person in Europe during World War II, should not have had to bear witness or become a part of war and genocide, but they did. Pino is robbed of his young adulthood, but he also learns tremendous lessons of strength, resilience, guilt, and apathy as the war surges on and he finds himself in direct contact with its architects. By establishing Pino’s youth and exploring World War II from the perspective of a young adult, Sullivan imbues the tone of Beneath a Scarlet Sky with a sense of poignancy for what Pino loses and gains throughout the war.
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