Chapter 7: Tone, Point of View, and allusions

Transcript Chapter 7: Tone, Point of View, and allusions

C HAPTER 7: T ONE , P OINT OF V IEW , AND ALLUSIONS

C HAPTER 7: T ONE , P OINT OF V IEW , AND ALLUSIONS In Chapter 7 several elements you have studied thus far come together. In this second chapter dealing with the importance of language, you will enhance and deepen your understanding of what you read by studying some rather sophisticated elements.

Objectives:

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Points of view

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Tone

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Allusions

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Special effects C HAPTER 7: T ONE , P OINT OF V IEW , AND ALLUSIONS

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OINT OF VIEW  The writer’s attitude toward or position on a subject—his or her

stance

Topic Point of view purpose Tone Mode of discourse Diction (word choice)

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O TO PRACTICE EX

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Read this paragraph by Harvard biologist Edwin O. Wilson, in which he discusses the Incas’ contributions to the world’s food supply. (Wilson is the author of “The Power of Story,” which was a practice exercise in Chapter 6.) As you read it, circle the connotative words. Now fill in the missing elements inthe circle.

G O TO PRACTICE EX . 1 ON P . 240 From the mostly unwritten archives of native peoples has come a wealth of information about wild and semicultivated crops. It is a remarkable fact that with a single exception, the macadamia nut of Australia, every one of the fruits and nuts used in western countries was grown first by indigenous peoples. The Incas were arguably the all-time champions in creating a reservoir of diverse crops. Without the benefit of wheels, money, iron, or written script, these Andean people evolved a sophisticated agriculture based on almost as many plant species as used by all the farmers of Europe and Asia combined. Their abounding crops, tilled on the cool upland slopes and plateaus, proved especially suited for temperate climates. From the Incas have come lima beans, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. But many other species and strains, including a hundred varieties of potatoes, are still confined to the Andes. The Spanish conquerors learned to use a few of the potatoes, but they missed many other representatives of a vast array of cultivated tuberous vegetables, including some that are more productive and savory than the favored crops. The names are likely to

G O TO PRACTICE EX . 1 ON P . 240 be unfamiliar: achira, ahipa, arracacha, maca, mashua, mauka, oca, ulloco, and yacon. One, maca, is on the verge of extinction, limited to 10 hectares in the highest plateau region of Peru and Bolivia. Its swollen roots, resembling brown radishes and rich in sugar and starch, have a sweet, tangy flavor and are considered a delicacy by the handful of people still privileged to consume them.

Edwin O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life

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N OVERVIEW OF TONE the feeling, mood, or emotional quality of a piece of writing—hard to detect on paper or easily understood if not clearly “seen.” the reader must infer the tone from the writer’s words and their connotative values, from the details included, from the rhythms and cadences of the sentence structure, and from the writer’s attitude toward the subject.

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Common varieties of tone

informative, impartial, instructive approving, admiring, laudatory sincere, honest, candid serious, somber, grave philosophical, reflective, pensive eager, fervent, passionate, zealous questioning, skeptical, cynical amusing, funny, humorous sorrowful, mournful, lamenting nostalgic, wistful, melancholy harsh

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Tone in textbooks

written in objective and impartial tone to convey factual information

Tone in Fiction

dependent on the characters and their relation to the environment they live in and to the other characters

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Go to p. 243 Read the following questions.

Then, read the passage.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 1. What is the connotation of the word “scalping” and what is its origin?

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 1. The word is negative; it probably stems from a barbaric form of torture.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 2. What is McConnell and Brue’s point of view toward scalping?

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 2. They have no objections to the practice.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 3. In the second paragraph, why do the authors put quotation marks around “ripping off” and “exorbitant”?

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 3. These words describe scalping in a negative way, but the quotation marks tell us that the writers don’t share this opinion.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 4. Locate and identify the two primary reasons that the writers think that scalping has been given a bum rap.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 4. The transaction is voluntary; both parties benefit.

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 5. How would you describe the tone of the passage?

A N OVERVIEW OF TONE Now answer these questions: 5. informative, but also positive and favorable; economically, the system makes sense.

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ONE IN NONFICTION PROSE In the next few pages, 244-248, you will read nonfiction passages, moving from straightforward prose to more complex examples.

Create the graphic organizer for each passage.

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ONE IN NONFICTION PROSE In the next few pages, 244-248, you will read nonfiction passages, moving from straightforward prose to more complex examples.

Create the graphic organizer for each passage.

2 A Romantic Entanglement

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ONE IN NONFICTION PROSE In the next few pages, 244-248, you will read nonfiction passages, moving from straightforward prose to more complex examples.

Create the graphic organizer for each passage.

3 Skateboarders

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ONE IN NONFICTION PROSE In the next few pages, 244-248, you will read nonfiction passages, moving from straightforward prose to more complex examples.

Create the graphic organizer for each passage.

4 Lincoln

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ONE IN NONFICTION PROSE In the next few pages, 244-248, you will read nonfiction passages, moving from straightforward prose to more complex examples.

Create the graphic organizer for each passage.

5 Addis Ababa

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Sentimentality

an umbrella word describing a tone that appeals to one’s tender emotions

genuine or fake depending on the writer’s motive and care in writing

effective and/or affective

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Sentimentality

It can appeal to our tender and compassionate instincts and win us over. What’s wrong with sentimentality?

A sentimental feeling may become counterfeit and full of clichés which then becomes offensive or ludicrous.

Writing about daily life can be very difficult.

Read the passage found on p. 249.

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Sentimentality

Practice Exercise 2, pp. 249-253

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ONE AND MOOD IN FICTION In literature, tone is conveyed not only by the writer’s manner of expression but also by the thoughts and actions of the characters, by their relation to the other characters and to their environment, by figurative language, and by descriptions of the world the characters inhabit, whether natural or artificial.

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ONE AND MOOD IN FICTION Unlike nonfiction, literature conveys mood—the atmosphere or emotional state that all these things evoke.

Read the paragraph at the bottom of p. 253-254. Then, the explanation on p. 254.

Probably all of us can identify with Callie’s feelings about the Charm Bracelets. All high schools have such groups, the “rulers” of the school. How would you characterize Callie’s tone in this passage? She is clearly scornful and resentful of their social standing, their shallowness, their arrogance, their refusal to study, the fact that they know that they don’t need to study. Even at a young age, she is aware of her own role in life—her need to write, to accomplish something. So we might say that her tone toward the end of the passage is one of resignation to her fate. The tone is complicated and not easily reduced to a single feeling.