Definitions and Exemplars for Identifying MOOD and TONE:
Mood – the atmosphere depicted in a text; the way the reader feels when reading the text. Mood is
established mostly through the description of the setting, but other elements can sometimes
contribute (imagery, figurative language, etc.).
The enormous table was covered with every kind of Italian dish you could imagine: heaping
piles of homemade spaghetti and meatballs; lacy ribbons of lasagna dripping with mozzarella cheese,
tubes of manicotti stuffed with creamy ricotta, soaking in marinara; and in the center, a bowl full of
fresh-baked garlic bread glistening with butter and olive oil. The violin music blared and screeched
from the old radio, but we could hardly distinguish it from the shrieks of laughter bursting forth from
the old folks at the big table. These bouts of laughter were interrupted only by the youngest members
of the family, darting in and out from under the table and hiding behind chairs during rounds of hide
and seek.
Q: Describe the mood established in this passage.
A: The mood in this passage is cheerful and nostalgic. The description of the food contributes to
both because we associate large quantities of good food with cheerful celebrations. The fact that
these are traditional Italian dishes contributes to the nostalgia. The laughter, music, and sound of
children playing all further the cheery mood. The theme is one that reflects the speaker’s
appreciation for family unity in general
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Tone – the “voice” a writer or speaker (narrator) expresses in the text; the way the writer feels
about his or her subject. Tone is established mostly by diction, which is the way a writer chooses to
word his or her ideas. In argumentative or persuasive writing, the writer is usually expressing his
or her personal feelings about a subject. In fiction writing, tone usually applies to whoever is
speaking or telling the story.
I stared at the lonely, obligatory salad, sitting precariously and beginning to wilt, near the
corner of the table. I was thirteen years old- too young to be invited to sit with the adults, but
completely uninterested in the games of the younger children sitting at the fold-away table with me. I
decided to pass the time by glancing occasionally at my older brother Paulie’s new girlfriend. She, just
three years older than I, had settled in at the big table as if she was destined to be there… as though
she had grown up with the old folks but had somehow retained her magical youth. She laughed
endlessly at their repetitive stories, and they fell for it- nodding approvingly at each other and winking
at my brother.
Q: Describe the speaker’s tone in this passage.
A: The narrator’s tone is mildly bitter and disgruntled. The wilting leaves of the salad that no one
eats are symbolic of her feelings of being ignored and left out. The speaker shows this further when
she says she was “too young to be invited” to sit with the adults, but “completely uninterested” in
the children. The narrator also displays a jealous tone when she tells us how her relatives show
their fondness for the brother’s girlfriend and how well she fits in, even though the girlfriend is not
much older than the speaker. The bitter tone indicates a theme of isolation because the speaker
seems to feel as though she does not fit in with the rest of the family.