Tone
• Tone is defined as the author’s or speaker’s
attitude toward the subject. The tone is always
described with an adjective.
• Tone is an integral part of a piece of literature’s
meaning because it controls the reader’s
response which is essential to fully
understanding and experiencing literature.
• When you identify the tone of a quote from a
text, you should be able to explain the rationale
behind that tone.
For Example…
• What is the tone of the following statement?
“I love carrying my heavy literature book to
class,” said Johnnie as he stuffed it into his
backpack.
Sarcastic
• Rationale: Why do you know that is the tone?
What words in the sentence support the
tone?
Tone Words
• When selecting tone words, try to go one step
beyond “happy” or “sad.” These are
adjectives that can describe tone, but in most
cases, there is a better alternative out there.
• Study the list of tone words I’ve provided. Do
you know the meaning of all these words? If
not, circle those that you are uncertain of and
define them.
Positive, Negative or Neutral?
• Words help us relay a variety of emotions, and
these emotions often follow a spectrum that
ranges from positive to negative.
– Example: exuberant has a positive
meaning/association, while distraught has a negative
meaning/association
• Look through your list and determine whether
EACH word would be positive, negative or
neutral. Highlight all positive words one color,
negative words a second and neutral words a
third.
Rank the Words
• Now look at all the words within a category.
(For example, all the words you’ve designated
as positive.) Rank the words from MOST
positive to least positive.
• Repeat this step for the negative and neutral
categories.
Identify Situations for the Tone
• For the top two words in each category,
describe a situation that you feel would have
the tone mentioned.
– For example, Christmas Day would be exuberant
for a small child because they are excited over the
concept of Santa and new toys.
Visualizing the Tone Spectrum
• Now think of a image that also shows a
spectrum. For example, the speedometer on
a car shows a range of speeds from 0 to 120.
• Draw this image on your piece of paper. Then
place the tone words from your list onto the
spectrum. It’s up to you to decide what end
of the range will be positive or negative.
Applying Tone to The Crucible
• Read the following quote:
• Parris: “Now tell me true, Abigail. I pray you feel the
weight of truth upon you, for now my ministry’s at
stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life”
(170).
• What do you think the tone is for this quote? (Think
about the context of the entire passage)
• Rationale: Explain why you know that is the tone.
What words in the sentence support the tone?
****Remember this is inference and interpretation. You may have
different ideas that other students. As long as you can back up your
opinion with proof from the text, your answer should be valid.
Applying Tone to The Crucible
• Read the following quote:
• Parris: “Your name in the town—it is entirely white,
is it not?” (171)
Abigail “My name is good in the village! I will not
have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a
gossiping liar!” (172)
• What do you think the tone is for Abigail’s quote?
(Think about the context of the entire passage)
• Rationale: Explain why you know that is the tone.
What words in the sentence support the tone?
****Remember this is inference and interpretation. You may have
different ideas that other students. As long as you can back up your
opinion with proof from the text, your answer should be valid.
The Crucible Tone Posters Assignment
• Choose one quote/passage from Act I of The
Crucible. Complete the chart below for that
quote/passage.
Quote:
Tone Word:
Choose the most significant List the tone word and give
quote from that passage.
the part of speech and the
Make sure you cite it
definition of that word.
correctly!
Context:
Explain the context of the
passage with a thorough
summary
Rationale:
Explain why this tone word
is appropriate for this
passage.
Act II Tone Identification
• Now that we’ve finished reading Act II, try your
hand at identifying passages that contain certain
tones. For each of the adjectives listed below,
find a passage that has a tone that matches.
Complete a tone chart for each.
– Frustrated
– Accusatory
– Skeptical
– Accepting