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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 “An Episode of War” is simultaneously ironic and philosophical. One of the key points that Crane—a former war correspondent—is trying to make in this story is that war is nowhere near as romantic or enthralling as people who haven't directly experienced war might believe that it is. He communicates this idea through several ironic moments in the story. For example, the lieutenant is shot while dividing up coffee for his subordinates (not while fighting valiantly in battle), and the reason that he loses his arm is not because he is severely wounded in action, but because he is too scared to get the surgery he needs to save his arm.
Crane takes on a more earnest and philosophical tone at other points in the story in order to capture the important emotional journey the lieutenant goes through after getting shot. Not only does the tone shift as the lieutenant reckons with the loss of status that comes with being wounded, but it does so, too, as he looks back at the battle scene from afar, earnestly reveling in the beauty of it:
The lieutenant, still holding his arm as if it were of glass, stood watching this battery until all detail of it was lost, save the figures of the riders, which rose and fell and waved lashes over the black mass.
Here, the narrator’s tone becomes contemplative, capturing the almost artistic movements of the soldiers on horses “which rose and fell and waved lashes over the black mass” of the battery. It is only when the lieutenant is away from the frontlines and is able to see war from afar that he can see its beauty, and the tone reflects this.
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