Tone Review Tone is defined as the author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject. 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. A tone word must be an adjective! No other part of speech will work because it must describe the quote or passage. – What is an adjective? A tone word will NOT be word from the quote or passage. 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?

Thinking About Tone When you begin to try to figure out the tone of a passage, ask yourself if you think the author intended for this passage to have a positive, negative, or neutral tone. This relates to the connotation or the feeling a word invokes. – Positive tone means you have positive associations. – Negative tone means you have negative associations. – Neutral tone means you have no emotional associations OR the tone could be either positive or negative.

Thinking About Tone Remember that you are not identifying the passage as positive or negative. This is just a way to help you think of a more specific word. TONE WORD DETERMINATION ACTIVITY: Directions: Look at the list of words on your notes. – Highlight the positive words in one color. – Highlight the negative words in another color. – Do not highlight the words you think are neutral.

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 than 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 than other students. As long as you can back up your opinion with proof from the text, your answer should be valid.

The Crucible 3.8 Tone Paragraph Prewriting Example from Act II: Quote: Elizabeth: “Why--! The girl is murder! She must be ripped out of the world!” (203) Tone Word: Enraged (adjective) to put into a rage; to make very angry; infuriate Context: Elizabeth has been charged with witchcraft because a doll with a needle had been discovered in her home. When Elizabeth realizes that Abigail witnessed Mary Warren place the needle into the doll during court and that Abigail used this to frame her, she is furious. Rationale: 1. The use of the exclamation points emphasizes that it is a powerful statement. 2. The sudden stop after ‘Why’ indicates that she is shocked as well as angered. 3. Her final statement also illustrates her fury at Abigail.

Act II Tone Identification Now that we’ve finished reading Act II, try your hand at identifying passages that contain certain tones. With a partner choose one of the tone words listed below. Find a passage from act II that you think possesses that tone word. – Frustrated – Accusatory – Skeptical – Accepting Complete one thorough tone chart (on next slide).

The Crucible Tone Practice Assignment Choose one quote/passage from Act II of The Crucible. Complete the chart below for that quote/passage. Quote: Choose the most significant quote from that passage. Make sure you cite it correctly! Tone Word: List the tone word and give the part of speech and the definition of that word. Context: Explain the context of the passage with a thorough summary. Remember context means describe the set circumstances or facts surrounding the quote. Rationale: Explain why this tone word is appropriate for this passage. (3 sentence minimum)