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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 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” shifts over the course of the story. In the beginning, it is carefree though slightly moody (in a classic teenager-like way), as the narrator stays close to Connie’s perspective while she rebels against her mother, goes to the mall, and has low-stakes sexual experiences with boys her age. The following passage captures this particular tone:
There was one good thing: June went places with girl friends of hers, girls who were just as plain and steady as she, and so when Connie wanted to do that her mother had no objections. The father of Connie's best girl friend drove the girls the three miles to town and left them at a shopping plaza so they could walk through the stores or go to a movie, and when he came to pick them up again at eleven he never bothered to ask what they had done.
The teenager-like tone comes across in the way the narrator states that “there was one good thing” about Connie’s family dynamic, referring to the fact that her well-behaved sister June went places with her friends “so when Connie wanted to do that her mother had no objections.” Likewise, the narrator seems to celebrate alongside Connie the fact that her friend’s father “never bothered to ask what they had done,” meaning that she and her friends were free to do whatever they wanted.
The tone of the story changes significantly after Connie’s family heads to a barbecue on a Sunday and, while home alone, Connie is visited by the manipulative and threatening Arnold. After Arnold’s arrival in the story—and through the end, when Connie leaves with him in his car—the tone becomes very fearful and overwhelmed, as Connie loses her innocent, carefree spirit.
Related Themes:
