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Style
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:
Narrative tone in The Namesake is removed, neutral—dipping in and out of the minds of several characters, at times acknowledging the perspectives of more than one character at once. The narrator rarely interjects in a distinctive or impassioned tone, fading into the background as a facilitator of the stories being told, rather than a voice or character in their own right.
While such a narrative tone does not provide the author with much leeway to include satire or direct commentary, a removed, neutral tone does allow Lahiri to move in and out of different characters' perspectives, partial to none in particular. In this manner, Lahiri presents individuals as they are to readers, permitting those who interact with her narrative to draw their own conclusions—or to arrive at Lahiri's own conclusions gradually and indirectly. This tonal style encourages the reader to empathize with the greatest number of perspectives possible, including those of both parental figures and children. It is common, in narratives that center parent-child relationships, for the child's perspective to dominate. In immigration narratives, however, the experiences of parents are often vastly different from those of children, especially if said children were not born or raised in the parents' home country. Lahiri's use of neutral narrative tone, accompanied by shifts in perspective, results in an immigration narrative that encompasses the experiences of both parent and child.
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