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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:
The tone of “A Temporary Matter” is melancholy. While the story is told from the perspective of a third-person narrator, the narrator stays close to the inner experience of the character Shukumar, who feels apathetic and disconnected from everyone in his life (including his wife Shoba) in the wake of the loss of his child. The following passage—which comes after the couple learns that their power will be out for one hour each evening—establishes the depressive tone from the first page of the story:
“It’s good of them to warn us,” Shoba conceded after reading the notice aloud, more for her own benefit than Shukumar’s. She let the strap of her leather satchel, plump with files, slip from her shoulders, and left it in the hallway as she walked into the kitchen. She wore a navy blue poplin raincoat over gray sweatpants and white sneakers, looking, at thirty-three, like the type of woman she’d once claimed she would never resemble.
The details the narrator notices here—and the way that the narrator bluntly captures them—contribute to the melancholy and alienated tone of the story. The descriptions of Shoba “let[ting] the strap of her leather satchel […] slip from her shoulders” and looking “like the type of woman she’d once claimed she would never resemble” communicate that Shoba is unhappy and that the narrator, rather than feeling empathy for the woman, feels judgmental. This is because the narrator is indirectly capturing Shukumar’s feelings toward Shoba in this moment, and Shukumar feels disconnected from his wife and depressed.
Related Themes:
