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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
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis:
The overall mood of the novel is bleak, apocalyptic, and even fatalistic. With Lauren as first-person narrator, the reader witnesses how Lauren and her community face relentless crises: the death of three-year-old Amy Dunn, Keith's disobedience and eventual death, continual robberies, the sudden disappearance of Lauren's father, and so on. The novel reads as a set of Lauren's journal entires, and thus, any misfortune she faces is recounted in detail. The unpleasantness of her daily life—the sheer misfortune in the content of her stories—renders the novel's overall mood as one of unavoidable despair.
The first passage of Chapter 2, for example, exemplifies a sense of hopelessness in only a few sentences:
At least three years ago, my father's God stopped being my God. His church stopped being my church. And yet, today, because I'm a coward, I let myself be initiated into that church. I let my father baptize me in all three names of that God who isn't mine any more.
Lauren makes immediately and abundantly clear that she has lost hope in systems of community (in this case, religion) that are still maintained by the older generation. In other words, her father's religion supplies her with no comfort. Simultaneously, Lauren recognizes her helplessness as she is "a coward" and agrees to take part in rituals she does not believe in. This passage encapsulates the novel's overarching mood of despair in a bleak, seemingly hopeless world.
Related Themes:
