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Irony
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
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of “An Episode of War” mirrors the mood of the lieutenant at the center of the story, shifting from happy and peaceful (when he is dividing up coffee for his subordinates) to contemplative (when reckoning with the experience of being shot) to heavy and burdened (when facing ridicule from higher-ups for being wounded). The following passage captures the first mood shift in the story, taking place right after the lieutenant is shot:
He had winced like a man stung, swayed dangerously, and then straightened. The sound of his hoarse breathing was plainly audible. He looked sadly, mystically, over the breastwork at the green face of a wood, where now were many little puffs of white smoke. During this moment the men about him gazed statue-like and silent, astonished and awed by this catastrophe which happened when catastrophes were not expected—when they had leisure to observe it.
As the narrator explains, the “catastrophe” of the lieutenant being shot happened “when catastrophes were not expected,” and the ambiguous mood of this passage captures the confusion that the lieutenant and his subordinates are feeling as they try to figure out what has occurred.
Crane chooses not to shift the mood from joy to terror immediately. But this passage leaves the reader with the confusion that the soldiers themselves are feeling as they witness the lieutenant wince, sway, and straighten up and then look “sadly, mystically” to the forest from where the shot came. Throughout the story, Crane takes his time when shifting the mood, a nod to the fact that the lieutenant himself is having trouble processing his wound and his newfound reality.
Related Themes:
