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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 this piece is often sentimental, both stylistically and thematically. The combination of playful language and allusions to classical art give O. Henry’s story a softer edge, despite the gritty reality of the artists’ lives. This is clear in the description given of Behrman:
Old Behrman was […] past sixty and had a Michael Angelo’s Moses beard curling down from the head of a satyr along the body of an imp. [...] Forty years he had wielded the brush without getting near enough to touch the hem of his Mistress’s robe.
Behrman is likened to two small, mischievous creatures of European folklore, one of which (a “satyr”) has a proclivity for drunken revelry. Behrman’s personality could be read as caustic; his reaction to Johnsy’s fear of death is scornful and irritable. But O. Henry uses these allusions to shift our perception of Behrman to one of a well-meaning trouble-maker, someone benevolent despite his reactivity. He also describes Behrman’s quest for artistic success as the desire to “touch the hem of his Mistress’ robe,” in reference to the Muses, the Greek goddesses of art. In so doing, O. Henry asks us to see the vulgar, cantankerous, impoverished Behrman as moving in the tradition of the great artists of antiquity, pursuing the Muse out of love and devotion to craft.
The key theme of friendship helps strike a sentimental tone in the story as well. Bonds of friendship are one of the key forces moving characters to action in the story; the relationship between Sudie, Behrman, and Johnsy drives the narrative and helps them overcome their conditions to a degree. This is demonstrated clearly in Sudie’s unmoving spiritual and material support of her friend:
“Try to take some broth now, and let Sudie go back to her drawing, so she can sell the editor man with it, and buy port wine for her sick child, and pork chops for her greedy self.”
She casts herself in a maternal role to Johnsy here, providing for her financially, making her soup, and supporting her emotionally through the ordeal of her illness. Sudie tries to lift Johnsy’s spirit countless times throughout the narrative. The sentimental treatment of this friendship by O. Henry—through tender dialogue between them, as above—pulls the reader’s attention to the importance of this bond in the story.
Related Themes:
