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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Part 3, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of Go Set a Watchman is both contemplative and slightly claustrophobic, as Jean Louise feels trapped in a hometown she no longer recognizes. Jean Louise's failure to connect with her family and friends creates a kind of desperation, like in Part 4, Chapter 12, when she goes to visit Calpurnia:
"I cannot talk to the one human who raised me from the time I was two years old...it is happening as I sit here and I cannot believe it. Talk to me, Cal. For God's sake talk to me right. Don't sit there like that!"
She looked into the old woman's face and she knew it was hopeless. Calpurnia was watching her, and in Calpurnia's eyes was no hint of compassion.
The reader feels for Jean Louise in this moment as she reaches out to the people she thought she knew and receives almost nothing in return. This mood change stems from the scene in which Jean Louise catches her father and Henry at the citizens' council meeting:
She felt herself turning green with nausea, and she put her head down; try as she might she could not think, she only knew, and what she knew was this:
The one human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her; the only man she had ever known to whom she could point and say with expert knowledge, "He is a gentleman, in his heart he is a gentleman," had betrayed her, publicly, grossly, and shamelessly."
The mood is bleak here, as the reader knows there is nothing they can do to help Jean Louise convince these people to change their minds about anything. This is not to say that there aren't moments of levity in the novel, such as when Hank and Jean Louise go swimming or in flashback scenes with the kids, but there is a general somberness as the novel tackles serious political and social questions.
Related Themes:
Part 4, Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of Go Set a Watchman is both contemplative and slightly claustrophobic, as Jean Louise feels trapped in a hometown she no longer recognizes. Jean Louise's failure to connect with her family and friends creates a kind of desperation, like in Part 4, Chapter 12, when she goes to visit Calpurnia:
"I cannot talk to the one human who raised me from the time I was two years old...it is happening as I sit here and I cannot believe it. Talk to me, Cal. For God's sake talk to me right. Don't sit there like that!"
She looked into the old woman's face and she knew it was hopeless. Calpurnia was watching her, and in Calpurnia's eyes was no hint of compassion.
The reader feels for Jean Louise in this moment as she reaches out to the people she thought she knew and receives almost nothing in return. This mood change stems from the scene in which Jean Louise catches her father and Henry at the citizens' council meeting:
She felt herself turning green with nausea, and she put her head down; try as she might she could not think, she only knew, and what she knew was this:
The one human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her; the only man she had ever known to whom she could point and say with expert knowledge, "He is a gentleman, in his heart he is a gentleman," had betrayed her, publicly, grossly, and shamelessly."
The mood is bleak here, as the reader knows there is nothing they can do to help Jean Louise convince these people to change their minds about anything. This is not to say that there aren't moments of levity in the novel, such as when Hank and Jean Louise go swimming or in flashback scenes with the kids, but there is a general somberness as the novel tackles serious political and social questions.
Related Themes:
