0. How an Author Creates an Intended Effect Using Diction

1. From Reynold Price’s Essay: “The Great Imagination Heist”
“The statistics are famous and unnerving. Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades that I’ve begun to notice its greatest damage to us-the death of personal imagination”

2. Steps to Analyzing tone:
Context (what is happening)
Denotation of the word (dictionary definition)
Connotation of the word (implied meaning)
The emotions the author wants to be attached to the word
The effect the author wanted to give when the word is read in context

3. Analyzing tone with: Blight
“Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades”
What is the context?
A: Blight is being used to describe watching TV.

4. Analyzing tone with: Blight
“Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades”
What is the denotation of the word?
A: Blight: a destructive force, something that damages things severely

5. Analyzing tone with: Blight
“Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades”
What is the connotation of the word?
A: A blight suggests things are damaged, and can’t grow or flourish. Associated with plant disease.

6. Analyzing tone with: Blight
“Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades”
What emotions are associated with this word?
A: Negative: Repulsive or disgusting.

7. Analyzing tone with: Blight
“Most high school graduates have spent more time watching television than they’ve spent in school. The blight has been overtaking us for 5o years, but it’s only in the past two decades”
Intended effect?
A: The author wants us to feel revulsion towards TV by using the word blight. He wants to convince us that too much TV is a bad thing.

8. -Once you have analyzed one word, choose a few more to analyze.
(Example: damage+death+blight=hostile tone)
-This will provide you with your overall tone.