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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
Part 1, Chapter 1: Arrival
Explanation and Analysis:
Despite the novel’s treatment of serious philosophical questions and concerns, its tone is often marked by a sense of macabre humor. Though the administrators of the Berghof attempt to conceal the presence of death from their patients, removing bodies discreetly during the lunch hour, most of those living in the sanatorium discuss death in a frank and even humorous manner that shocks newcomers. A conversation in which Joachim notes to Hans that one sanatorium transports corpses by bobsleds exemplifies this grimly comedic tone:
“The highest of the sanatoriums is Schatzalp, across the way, you can’t see it now. They have to transport the bodies down by bobsled in the winter, because the roads are impassable.”
“The bodies? Oh, I see. You don’t say!” Hans Castorp cried. And suddenly he burst into laughter, a violent, overpowering laugh that shook his chest and twisted his face, stiffened by the cool wind, into a slightly painful grimace. “On bobsleds! And you can sit there and tell me that so calm and cool?"
Hans is surprised by his cousin’s deadpan description of bodies being transported “by bobsled in winter,” an image that strikes him as both grim and humorous. Unsure how to respond, he unexpectedly begins to laugh, a “violent overpowering laugh” that leaves a “slightly painful grimace” on his face. He asks his cousin how he can discuss death with such a “calm and cool” tone, but Joachim, like the other long-term patients, has become accustomed to thinking and talking about death in a frank manner.
