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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
Prologue
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of The Secret History by Donna Tartt is dark and tense. This atmosphere is not only created by the two different murder plot lines, but also by the dramatic irony of Richard's present-day knowledge. The reader knows that Bunny will die and that Richard will get away unscathed:
But walking through it all was one thing; walking away, unfortunately, has proved to be quite another [...]. Now the searchers have departed, and life has grown quiet around me, I have come to realize that while for years I might have imagined myself to be somewhere else, in reality I have been there all the time.
Even with the knowledge that Richard will, for all intents and purposes, be able to "walk[] away," the fate of the other students seems dire, especially considering Richard's unwillingness to leave the story behind. There are many elements of the story still unknown. Why do Henry and the others kill Bunny? What happens to the students in the aftermath? Does their crime go unpunished? These questions plague the reader throughout the novel, creating an inordinate amount of tension that the story must unravel. And with such a suspenseful mood, the novel instills a layer of fear in the reader that, like Bunny's body in the ice, will remain frozen until the thaw.
Related Themes:
