Mood

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Mood Tone

• Mood is the feeling that the author intends to
  create in the reader.
• Tone is the authors attitude toward the subject
  or audience of the story.

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Moods Can Be Positive or Negative
Gloomy Violent Tense Heartbroken Painful

• Hopeful
• Cheerful
• Joyous
• Playful
• Peaceful

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We Also See Mood in Images

• What mood does this image create?

violent
peaceful
playful
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• What mood does this image create?

gloomy
painful
cheerful
5

• What mood does this image create?

tense
peaceful
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We Can See Mood in Movie Scenes

• What mood is created in this scene?

painful
cheerful
gloomy
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How Does a Writer Create Mood?

• The setting, use of descriptive words
  figurative language, the punctuation used, and
  the sound or connotation of words all work to
  create the mood of a story.

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Tone

• While mood is the feeling that a story creates in
  a reader, tone is the writers attitude toward
  the subject or audience of the story.
• Look for clues in the language the writer uses to
  identify how the writer feels about the subject.

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The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan
Poe

• During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless
  day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds
  hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been
  passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly
  dreary tract of country and at length found
  myself, as the shades of the evening drew on,
  within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I
  know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse
  of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom
  pervaded my spirit. I looked upon the scene
  before me --upon the mere house, and the simple
  landscape features of the domain --upon the bleak
  walls --upon the vacant eye-like windows --upon a
  few rank sedges --and upon a few white trunks of
  decayed trees --with an utter depression of soul
  which I can compare to no earthly sensation.
  What was it --I paused to think --what was it
  that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the
  House of Usher?
• Subject
• Author
• Narrator
• Are they the same?

10
Animal Farm by George Orwell

• A little way down the pasture there was a knoll
  that commanded a view of most of the farm. The
  animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round
  them in the clear morning light. Yes, it was
  theirseverything that they could see was theirs!
  In the ecstasy of that thought they gamboled
  round and round, they hurled themselves into the
  air in great leaps of excitement. They rolled in
  the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet
  summer grass, they kicked up clods of the black
  earth and snuffed its rich scent. It was as
  though they had never seen these things before,
  and even now they could hardly believe that it
  was all their own.
• Subject
• Author
• Speaker
• Are they the same?

11
Buffalo Dusk by Carl Sandburg

• The buffaloes are gone.
• And those who saw the buffaloes are gone.
• Those who saw the buffaloes by thousands and how
  they pawed the prairie sod into dust with their
  hoofs, their great heads down pawing on in a
  great pageant of dusk,
• Those who saw the buffaloes are gone.
• And the buffaloes are gone.
• Subject
• Author
• Speaker
• Are they the same?

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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

• The Buddha went quietly on his way, lost in
  thought. His peaceful countenance was neither
  happy nor sad. He seemed to be smiling gently
  inwardly. With a secret smile, not unlike that
  of a healthy child, he walked along, peacefully,
  quietly. He wore his gown and walked along
  exactly like the other monks, but his face and
  his step, his peaceful downward glance, his
  peaceful downward-hanging hand, and every finger
  of his hand spoke of peace, spoke of
  completeness, sought nothing, imitated nothing,
  reflected a continuous quiet, and unfading light,
  an invulnerable peace.
• Subject
• Author
• Speaker
• Are they the same?

13
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins
Gilman

• I never saw a worse paper in my life. One of
  those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing
  every artistic sin. It is dull enough to confuse
  the eye in following, pronounced enough to
  constantly irritate and provoke study, and when
  you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little
  distance they suddenly commit suicide--plunge off
  at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in
  unheard of contradictions. The color is
  repellent, almost revolting a smouldering
  unclean yellow, strangely faded by the
  slow-turning sunlight. It is a dull yet lurid
  orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in
  others.
• Subject
• Author
• Speaker
• Are they the same?

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Why are Mood and Tone Important?

• Mood and tone are important because they help
  the reader to determine the authors purpose and
  the overall theme or main idea of the story.

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Tone Often an author's tone is described by
adjectives, such as cynical, depressed,
sympathetic, cheerful, outraged, positive, angry,
sarcastic, prayerful, ironic, solemn, vindictive,
intense, excited.
What is an authors tone?
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• Tone is not an action. It is an attitude.

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Real-life Example

• You can say the same phrase in different ways,
  each showing a different attitude or tone.
• Try saying, Come here, Sam using the following
  tones
• Commanding or bossy
• Secretive
• Loving
• Angry
• Excited
• Playful

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• Tone is not explained or expressed directly.
  Therefore, a reader mustread between the
  linesto feel the authors attitude and
  identify the tone.

19

• Tone is the authors own attitude toward the
  subject.

Mood is the emotion the author wants the readers
to feel while reading about the subject.
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• Authors Tone

leads to
Storys Atmosphere Mood
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Example

• An author writes a horror story using a serious
  and sinister tone.

That tone helps create a scary atmosphere and a
nervous, frightened mood for the readers.
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Another Example

• An author writes a satire, making fun of a
  horror story using a playful or sarcastic tone.

That playful tone helps create a humorous mood
for the readers.
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• Literary Examplesof Authors Tones

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Serious / Solemn

• The girl remembered little from the raid at
  Okeadan in which she had been captured. She
  knew her parents had been killed. She had no idea
  what had happened to her brothers and sisters.
  Much of what she had experienced had been so
  horrible that she had simply shut it out of her
  mind. . . .
• At Her Majestys Request p. 17

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Serious / Solemn
This authors serious tone inspires an atmosphere
of tragedy. This leads to a mood of sadness,
sympathy, and caring in the reader when reading
this passage.

• The girl remembered little from the raid at
  Okeadan in which she had been captured. She knew
  her parents had been killed. She had no idea what
  had happened to her brothers and sisters. Much
  of what she had experienced had been so horrible
  that she had simply shut it out of her mind. . .
  .
• At Her Majestys Request p. 17

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Sarcastic

• Just look at the Titanic. The captain said,
  Even God cant sink this ship. Then, on the
  first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, boom, it
  hit an iceberg and sank. And as soon as a
  daredevil utters the words piece of cake before
  attempting a stunt, he is doomed. Piece of
  cake becomes his famous last words.
• My Brothers Arm p. 111-2

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Sarcastic

• Just look at the Titanic. The captain said,
  Even God cant sink this ship. Then, on the
  first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, boom, it
  hit an iceberg and sank. And as soon as a
  daredevil utters the words piece of cake before
  attempting a stunt, he is doomed. Piece of
  cake becomes his famous last words.
• My Brothers Arm p. 111-2

This authors sarcastic tone inspires a
slightly humorous atmosphere in spite of
tragedy. This puts the reader in a cynical mood.
28
Enthusiastic

• . . . the next minute, Winn-Dixie looked
  like a furry bullet, shooting across the
  building, chasing that mouse. He was barking and
  his feet were skidding all over the polished
  Pick-It-Quick floor, and people were clapping and
  hollering and pointing. They really went wild
  when Winn-Dixie actually caught the mouse.
• Because of Winn-Dixie p. 36

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Enthusiastic

• . . . the next minute, Winn-Dixie looked
  like a furry bullet, shooting across the
  building, chasing that mouse. He was barking and
  his feet were skidding all over the polished
  Pick-It-Quick floor, and people were clapping and
  hollering and pointing. They really went wild
  when Winn-Dixie actually caught the mouse.
• Because of Winn-Dixie p. 36

This authors enthusiastic tone inspires an
active, lively atmosphere. The author hopes to
influence the readers to be in an excited mood,
anticipating more action.
30
Hostile / Angry

• Dana grinned malevolently. His teeth were nubby
  and yellow, like an old barn dogs. Kneeling on
  Roys chest, he hauled back to hit him again.
• Hoot p. 184

31
Hostile / Angry
This authors angry tone inspires a
violent atmosphere. The author may be hoping
to inspire a tense and uneasy mood in the reader,
emphasizing the conflicts in the story.

• Dana grinned malevolently. His teeth were nubby
  and yellow, like an old barn dogs. Kneeling on
  Roys chest, he hauled back to hit him again.
• Hoot p. 184

32
Disapproving

• Wed gone a quarter mile down the trail when we
  ran into a man walking the wrong way. He had a
  pack on his back a full, towering, overstuffed
  pack and he was sweating hard. His breath
  sounded like a bellows. I stepped aside to let
  him pass. I stared. I knew that he was one of
  the ones who hadnt made it, whod quit right
  there at the start.
• Halfway to the Sky p. 32

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Disapproving

• Wed gone a quarter mile down the trail when we
  ran into a man walking the wrong way. He had a
  pack on his back a full, towering, overstuffed
  pack and he was sweating hard. His breath
  sounded like a bellows. I stepped aside to let
  him pass. I stared. I knew that he was one of
  the ones who hadnt made it, whod quit right
  there at the start.
• Halfway to the Sky p. 32

This authors disapproving tone sets up
a competitive atmosphere, leading to a judgmental
mood in the reader. It also helps the reader
appreciate the accomplishments of the characters.
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PERSONAL
Personal

• I feel alive for the first time in years,
  said Faber. I feel Im doing what I shouldve
  done a lifetime ago. For a little while Im not
  afraid. Maybe its because Im doing the right
  thing at last.. . . .
• Fahrenheit 451 p. 131

I feel alive for the first time in years, said
Faber. I feel Im doing what I shouldve done
a lifetime ago. For a little while Im not
afraid. Maybe its because Im doing the right
thing at last . . . Fahrenheit
451 p. 131
35
PERSONAL
Personal

• I feel alive for the first time in years,
  said Faber. I feel Im doing what I shouldve
  done a lifetime ago. For a little while Im not
  afraid. Maybe its because Im doing the right
  thing at last.. . . .
• Fahrenheit 451 p. 131

This authors personal tone leads to an
atmosphere of emotional expression and
revelation. The author hopes to set a mood of
confidentiality and sharing in the readers,
helping them to understand and care about the
characters.
I feel alive for the first time in years, said
Faber. I feel Im doing what I shouldve done
a lifetime ago. For a little while Im not
afraid. Maybe its because Im doing the right
thing at last . . . Fahrenheit
451 p. 131
36

• Corny
• It sounds clichédBut at times like this,I miss
  my dad.I mean,I dont remember him he died of
  cancer when I was three.Picturesare all thats
  left.My favorite one is us sitting on a bench,
  eating ice cream.Our knees are knobby the same
  way,were both grinning like hyenas,hes
  pointing at the camera.
• I havent had a dad in twelve years.Most of the
  time,thats okay.But today,right now, Id
  like a hug.From him.
  Shark Girl, Kelly Bingham

Grieving
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• Corny
• It sounds clichédBut at times like this,I miss
  my dad.I mean,
• I dont remember him he died of cancer when I
  was three.Picturesare all thats left.My
  favorite one is us sitting on a bench, eating
  ice cream.Our knees are knobby the same
  way,were both grinning like hyenas,hes
  pointing at the camera.
• I havent had a dad in twelve years.Most of the
  time,thats okay.But today,right now,Id like
  a hug.From him.
  Shark Girl, Kelly Bingham

Grieving
Poets often bare their souls in their
poems. This poets grieving tone reveals her
deepest feelings about her father, creating an
atmosphere of sadness and longing. This inspires
a mood of sympathy and caring in the readers.