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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
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of the novel is informal, conversational, and frequently vulgar, reflecting the personality and temperament of its protagonist, Demon. Like many other characters in the novel, Demon speaks with an Appalachian dialect, which is often treated with derision by characters from outside the region. The informal tone of his narration is exemplified in a passage in which Demon describes the difficult process of harvesting tobacco:
Cutting is the bastard of all bastards. If you’ve not done it, here’s how it goes. First, the lamest worker on your crew (Tommy) walks ahead, throwing down the tobacco laths between the rows. Laths are wooden sticks, three feet long, like a kid would use for a sword fight. Which every kid up home has done, because a million of them are piled in barns waiting to get used in the fall. You come along after him and pick up the first stick, stab it in the ground so it’s standing up [...]. If you fall, that thing will run you through, so don’t.
On Creaky Farm, Demon and the other foster-children are pulled from school for the entire month of October in order to harvest tobacco, which proves to be grueling work. Demon describes the process with characteristic frankness, using exaggeratedly vulgar language such as “bastard of all bastards” despite his young age. He bluntly characterizes the kind but slow-moving Tommy as “the lamest worker” on their crew and warns the reader that they will be “run through” or impaled upon a sharp wooden lathe if they fall. Demon eschews formality and speaks, instead, with a frank tone that reflects his personality and background.
