Author's Craft: Mood, Tone, and Voice

Author's Mood, Tone and Purpose

The short story that you just read shows the Japanese culture of respect and value to

the elderly. Messages conveyed in texts could be positive and inspiring or negative and

disappointing.

Literary Focus: Tone, Mood, and Author’s Purpose

This part of the lesson will help you identify the message conveyed by written texts through tone, mood, and the author’s purpose. The following shows information about these three elements of a written text.

TONE

Tone expresses the author’s attitude toward the topic. Tone is implied by the characters, setting, choice of words, and other details. Adjectives are usually used to describe tone. (e.g. amused, humorous, pessimistic, and etc.)

Examples:

The rules are too strict but we have access to our daily needs here. This isn’t the best place to live in the world, but it’s not really that bad.

Tone: Tolerant

Explanation: The words “not really that bad” show that the writer accepts the situation while recognizing that it could be better.

Message: Be tolerant and accept the place

where one lives.

MOOD

Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. Adjectives are usually used to describe mood. (e.g. fanciful, melancholy, frightening, mysterious, frustrating, romantic, gloomy, sentimental, happy, sorrowful, joyful, suspenseful)

Examples:

They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food so they are never hungry. Their neighbors greet each other with smiles on their faces..

Tone: Calm

Explanation: The underlined words provide a feeling of calmness and peace to the reader because there is no pressure and problem implied in the scene.

Message: It is calming to own a bit of land in a peaceful place.

Author’s Purpose

Author’s Purpose is the cause an author writes about a topic. One of the three following purposes will drive a main idea: to inform (appeals to knowledge), to entertain (appeals to emotion), and to persuade (appeals to reason)

Examples:

Obatsuyama is also known as the mountain of the “abandoning of the aged.” This is based on the governor’s mandate that the elderly will be abandoned there in until their death.

Purpose: To inform

Explanation: This is a mere presentation of information.

Message: The name of the mountain is based on the governor’s mandate.

Multiple Choice

1. The same with the Japanese, Filipinos have the culture of respect towards the elderly. It is shown in different traditions like “pagmamano” and saying “po” and “opo” to older people.

The purpose is to ____________________________

• inform

• persuade

• entertain

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

2. The entire province trembled. The order must be obeyed yet they know no one who could make a rope of ashes. If no one could do the governor’s command, the people will face undesirable consequences.

The mood is ____________________________

• happy

• hopeful

• hopeless

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

3. The governor is not a good leader. He pursues his personal interest without considering the people where as a good leader values the contribution of each citizen regardless of age and social class.

The purpose is to ____________________________

• inform

• persuade

• entertain

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

4. With the strength of the youth and the wisdom of the elderly, the province of terror will bloom into a harmonious and progressive place.

The tone is ____________________________

• romantic

• optimistic

• pessimistic

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

5. The son cried aloud, “Oh, Honorable mother, your kindness breaks my heart! I will not leave you. Together we will follow the path of twigs, and together we will die!”

The purpose is to ____________________________

• inform

• persuade

• entertain

• none of the above