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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:
As a work of satire, the tone of “Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger” is humorous and gently mocking. Take the following passage, for example, in which the narrator establishes Mrs. Packletide’s true motivations in life:
She had also already designed in her mind the tiger-claw brooch that she was going to give Loona Bimberton on her next birthday. In a world that is supposed to be chiefly swayed by hunger and by love Mrs Packletide was an exception; her movements and motives were largely governed by dislike of Loona Bimberton.
While the tone of the first sentence here is neutral (the narrator simply describes how Mrs. Packletide wants to give a friend of hers a present), the tone shifts in the second sentence as the narrator moves inside Mrs. Packletide’s mind. While the narrator initially uses a somewhat philosophical tone by describing how the world is “chiefly swayed by hunger and by love,” the tone quickly becomes more mocking as the narrator states that, Mrs. Packletide’s “movements and motives were largely governed by dislike of Loona Bimberton.” This juxtaposition of the philosophical and the mundane is meant to make readers laugh as they realize how shallow and narrow-minded Mrs. Packletide is.
The names that Saki gives both characters also contribute to the sardonic tone—the name “Loona Bimberton” encourages readers to think of the words “loony” and “bimbo,” while the name “Mrs. Packletide” contains sounds similar to “cackle” and “jackal.” The made-up, funny-sounding three-syllable names also subtly mock the three-syllable names of upper-class English people as a whole.
Related Themes:
