Class Eleven

In-class Journaling:

So, last time we started to talk about Tone, and I sent you home to write about Tone, both as it shows up in your work life and in “Gift of the Magi”

What you’re saying:

Tone and work:

• My previous place of employment was Hollywood Slots, where I was a bartender/beverage server. Because it is a casino, the tone of the place was exciting. All of the senses were attacked, and stimulated. This is in order to move patrons into a hypnotized like state where they continue to gamble until they are eventually kicked out, or broke.

• I currently work at the Bangor Y in the childcare department. The tone can definitely change day by day. The staff know each other very well because we have worked with each other for about two years. The staff makes a big difference on the tone of the work force. Since each person knows each other pretty well, we know how to work together to make a smooth work place for everyone. It is important to have an upbeat and enthusiastic staff to make the job and work place more enjoyable for the children.

• The next tone that I have noticed about the daycare is that it gives off a happy and exciting tone. The children are laughing and there is always something to do such as projects or games. Not only are the children laughing or seem excited but also the staff. Working with other adults, you grow a friendship and start conversations and I realized that we laugh and can have a good time as well as do our job.

Tone and Gift of the Magi:

• In the story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, the tone is mostly a sad and depressed one. At the beginning of the story Della is not very happy and is feeling kind of down because she only has $1.87 to buy her husband she loves so much a Christmas present. “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating” (Henry, 158). This quote shows that Della was feeling depressed about her whole money situation and she did not know how to handle it.

• The plot creates a sad tone because of Della’s motives. She wants to buy her husband a gift, but does not have enough money. Because she doesn’t have enough money she becomes sad, which causes her to want to cut her hair off. Because she wants to cut her hair off she becomes even more sad because I believe her hair is of most value to her, and cutting it off could be devastating to someone whose hair is so precious to them.

• To begin explaining the tone of “The Gift of the Magi”, we should look at the setting. When Della, who is married to Jim Young, has exhausted herself crying about not having enough money to buy a Christmas present, she looks out the window “dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard” (158). By reiterating the same word “gray” three times, the author is clearly trying to convey a sense of dreariness and a bleak setting.

Today, I want to begin class by having you consider the role of tone in “The Untold Lie.” Describe the tone of this story, and draw your supporting evidence from specific details that relate to character, setting, and plot. (10 mins)

Can the tone of a story change over time? If so, why is it important to notice these changes? (10 mins)

Journaling:

(20 mins)

Now that you have considered the different kinds of tone in these stories, I want you to describe to me whether or not you think that your own interpretation of this story may be shaped by your own cultural background: i.e. do you think people from different classes within society would have different responses to this story? Complete as a two-page writing assignment for next time. Would you be more or less likely to look for certain KINDS of evidence to back yourself up?

Mini-Lecture:

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