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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 “Ethan Brand” is dark and somber. The omniscient narrator moves in and out of the minds of different characters and, because each character is on edge after Brand arrives at the kiln, the tone remains in a serious and haunting register throughout. The following passage demonstrates how, even when discussing the seemingly lighthearted concept of laughter, the narrator’s tone remains somber and strained:
The solitary mountain-side was made dismal by it. Laughter, when out of place, mistimed, or bursting forth from a disordered state of feeling, may be the most terrible modulation of the human voice. The laughter of one asleep, even if it be a little child—the madman’s laugh—the wild, screaming laugh of a born idiot, are sounds that we sometimes tremble to hear, and would always willingly forget. Poets have imagined no utterance of fiends or hobgoblins so fearfully appropriate as a laugh.
Here, the narrator goes on a short diatribe about how misplaced laughter “may be the most terrible modulation of the human voice” and is a sound many people “tremble to hear.” This haunting imagery, combined with the literary reference the narrator makes (“poets have imagined no utterance of fiends or hobgoblins so fearfully appropriate as a laugh”) communicate that the narrator is incredibly serious about this topic. Though laughter could easily be framed in a much more lighthearted and even humorous tone, Hawthorne commits to keeping the tone of the story consistently somber. This is likely so that readers will feel the full weight of Brand’s sinful actions and commit to avoiding his fate as best they can.
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