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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 result of the limited first-person perspective that dominates The House on Mango Street, the novel's tone is often a product of Esperanza's point of view. The story's tone is then understandably varied, as the different experiences documented in the novel produce very different responses by Esperanza as a character. Overall, Esperanza is innocent and childlike, at points joyful and optimistic, but at other points (or sometimes simultaneously) insecure and fearful.
As a coming-of-age story, Esperanza is frequently forced to confront her fears, but the fact that she feels othered as a Mexican American—even with Mexican American neighbors and role models—adds yet another dimension to these negative emotions. Throughout The House on Mango Street, Esperanza confronts terrible experiences—being raped, a neighbor's suicide, her friend's abusive marriage—and yet somehow even these tragic and terrifying situations are faced with a somewhat positive tone, perhaps a consequence of her youthful naivety. For example, when admonishing Sally for leaving her alone, after which she is then sexually assaulted, Esperanza still says, "I like to be with you Sally. You're my friend," and while describing Sally's abusive marriage, Esperanza notes all the items in the house Sally likes looking at. Through Esperanza, real and terrible situations still have positive elements worth highlighting.
Esperanza then maintains a positive and optimistic tone even when faced with some of life's most brutal hardships as an adolescent. The novel's ending reinforces this optimistic tone: Esperanza resolves to one day leave her neighborhood but, some day after, come back, in order to tell the stories of those who can not succeed in the way she knows she will. This transforms the novel itself into, in some sense, a series of stories told by Esperanza, justifying the text's optimism by suggesting Esperanza succeeded in achieving her dream while ending the story on a positive note.
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