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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 7: This Thing of Darkness
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of the book varies, but it maps loosely onto the three "chronicles" into which the book is divided. Fear and paranoia mount over the course of the first chronicle, coming to their peak in Chapter 7. For example, Bill Smith is rightfully afraid before he and Rita are murdered:
In early March, the dogs in the neighborhood began to die, one after the other; their bodies were found slumped on doorsteps and on the streets. Bill was certain that they’d been poisoned. He and Rita found themselves in the grip of tense silence. He confided in a friend that he didn’t “expect to live very long.”
This passage demonstrates that over the course of the first chronicle, death has become ubiquitous. Even in the way Grann narrates, the bodies start piling up: these neighborhood dogs, Bill, Rita, their servant Nettie, George Bigheart, Vaughn, and even Hale's cattle will all be dead by the time the chapter is over. Mollie will still be alive, but she will be suffering from the effects of poison. Grann wants the reader, like the people whose lives he is chronicling, to feel afraid of what is on the horizon.
The second chronicle focuses on Tom White's investigation. The mood remains suspenseful, but what is at stake shifts. No longer is the reader so afraid that everyone is going to die. Now, the reader is in the weeds with White, hoping for a break in the case. This hopeful suspense holds throughout the third chronicle as well, as Grann describes his own investigation into the loose ends White never tied up. However, added to the suspense is a kind of resigned sadness. Just as White discovered by the end of his investigation, Grann discovers that he is never going to find the answers he is hoping for. Nor is he going to be able to heal the trauma of the murders. He leaves the reader feeling ambivalent: it seems important to honor history by remembering what happened during the Reign of Terror, but it is not quite clear what the purpose of remembering is.
Related Themes:
