Assignment 8 Lecture

English 1302 ONL / Skrabanek

teacher

Assignment 8 Lecture

Tone / Preparing for the C Exam

Tone is the last element of literary analysis that you will consider in this course. The first element, central idea, gauges the reader's intellectual reaction to the story. Tone, on the other end of the spectrum, gauges the reader's emotional reaction to the story. Both reactions are created by the author's fashioning of the story. When you analyze tone, you must tell how the author has used the elements of fiction to create the emotional reaction in the reader.

As forecast in the Assignment 3 Lecture, you have written two kinds of analyses in this course. One is the paragraph by paragraph analysis used in Assignments 2-4 and this assignment. The other kind, an integrated discussion of the relationship of three or more elements, is used in Assignments 5-7. The C exam will use the paragraph by paragraph structure, and the B and A exams will use the integrated discussion of the related elements.

To prepare for this assignment:

Estimated time needed to complete this assignment: 3-4 hours

Have you ever watched a tearjerker movie? The tearjerker is one of the more obvious examples of the use of tone. What elements of the movie (character, conflict, setting, etc.) are used to produce the viewer's tearful reaction?

Read this lecture about tone and the C exam carefully so you will know what to expect when you go to the testing center to write your C exam.

Read "The Storm" by Kate Chopin in Fiction 100 or elsewhere. This story will be used in this lecture.

You will choose a story from the list below to write your Assignment 8 analysis.

*Remember, all students are required to write the Assignment 8 analysis.

williams Contents
What Is Tone?
Dominant Elements
Analyzing Tone

Qualifying to Write the C Exam
Writing the Assignment 8 and C Exam Analysis
Sample Assignment 8 and C Exam Analyses
ASSIGNMENT 8 REQUIREMENTS
Guidelines for Submitting Your Assignment Files

What Is Tone?

Just as tone of voice can convey an attitude or emotion, so does literary tone convey the author's attitude or emotions regarding the characters and the outcome of the conflict. If the statement of central idea reflects the reader's intellectual response to a story, then the determination of tone gauges the reader's emotional response to that story. Hence, the determination of tone is not typically a reasoned response (though stories with an ironic tone suggest a partly reasoned reaction).

Tone is a reflection of the author's emotional attitude toward the central character, the conflict, and the outcome. The reader's emotional response to the story is correspondingly called mood. This mood should be similar to the author's intended tone. Does the author seem to like or dislike the central character, or is the author indifferent to the character? If successful in creating tone, the author is able to transfer the same emotional response to the reader.

Tone might change during a story, especially as the plot moves through its rising and falling action. Some parts of a story might be light and cheerful, other parts serious and depressing. The reader's mood, in relation to the character's progress toward the goal, will follow these changes. For purposes of analysis, though, the reader should determine the tone at the end of a story, after the outcome has been revealed. How do you as reader feel for the central character at the end of the story? This final determination is called the author's dominant tone, and it is best expressed as an adjective. For example, one might conclude: The tone of Mansfield's "Miss Brill" is sympathetic and compassionate.

Sometimes an author will attempt to trick the reader. A contrary or ironic setting might be used to mislead a reader, as in "The Lottery." Then, the outcome is more shocking. For example, Shirley Jackson begins her story with a pleasant summertime setting and a gathering of village residents for a social occasion. Only later does the reader discover the horrific nature of the occasion, so that Jackson is able to deceive the reader by leading the reader's logical expectations astray at the beginning of the story. When an author purposefully intends to deceive a reader to heighten the emotional impact of the ending, this effect is called a deceptive use of tone and the corresponding tone is ironic. Be aware, though, that most stories do not have a deceptive use of tone.

Dominant Elements

Most all of the elements of fiction contribute to the achievement of tone. Some, though, will be more instrumental than others. These more important elements are known as the dominant elements. For analytical purposes, the reader should develop two or three dominant elements. The reader should show how the chosen elements work to achieve the tone of the story. That is, the analysis should demonstrate how the dominant elements cause the reader's emotional reaction that is the basis of the determination of tone. Often, this analysis will center on character and conflict. The reader is usually primarily concerned with the character and the outcome of the problem. The author allows the character to win or lose, whichever is necessary to illustrate the central idea. Hence, the reader's understanding of conflict, motivation, goal, and outcome will help to establish an understanding of tone.

The other elements are also important in establishing tone, though they are often only secondarily considered by the reader. Figurative language and imagery are quite important in the creation of the frightening, somber tone in Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." Setting plays a major role in the achievement of the cold, indifferent tone in London's "To Build a Fire." Point of view in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" helps to produce a sympathetic reaction to Miss Emily's story.

Central idea, being more intellectual in nature, is usually not as instrumental as the other elements. A reader might, though, find an author's point so unacceptable as to be shocked or disgusted. Some readers, for example, might have their morals offended by Chopin's suggestion in "The Storm" that extramarital affairs can be beneficial, though such an assessment of tone would not be faithful to the author's intent and should be avoided.

Analyzing Tone

Good fiction generally garners two basic responses to its narrative--an intellectual response (central idea) and an emotional response (tone). Tone is usually the easier response to gauge or quantify, though it is often harder to qualify. You can easily say how you reacted to a story, but in an analysis of tone you must also point out the elements of the story that prompted that reaction.

For analytical purposes, the reader should keep in mind that the assessment of tone reflects the reader's emotional response to the outcome of the problem--not a character's response. Tone is also not a statement of the character's action in the conflict. Hence, a statement such as "the tone is one of rebellion" is inappropriate. Readers are seldom rebellious after reading a story about rebels. A reader might, though, sympathize with a cause, or be happy or mad that such actions as rebellion take place. The reader should be guided by the author's intentions. One does not have to accept the tone, though it still may be experienced. Just watch men viewing a real tearjerker!

Again, your identification of tone reflects your feeling at the end of the story, not how a character feels. Then, you use the other elements of the story (character, conflict, setting, etc.) to analyze how the author has made you feel that way.

In a full essay on the analysis of tone, such as you might have to do on the B exam, the thesis statement should indicate the dominant tone for the story, as well as the dominant elements that will be analyzed. For example: Using character and conflict, Frank O'Connor creates a sympathetic tone in his story.

The analysis would then explain how the first dominant element contributes to the identified tone in the first body paragraph, explain how the second dominant element contributes to that tone in the second body paragraph, and then elaborate upon the tone and summarize how the dominant elements contribute to that tone in the third body paragraph.

However, for your Assignment 8 essay and the C exam, in the seventh paragraph you will identify the dominant tone of the story. Then you will briefly discuss how at least two of the other elements contribute to the establishment of that tone.

Qualifying to Write the C Exam

To make a passing grade in this course, you must successfully complete the C exam, as well as all other specified assignments and requirements. The following are the required conditions to write the C exam.

To write the C exam, you must first satisfactorily complete Assignments 1-4, Assignment 8, and one of Assignments 5-7. You must also gain a score of 7 or better on the Orientation Quiz and a cumulative score of at least 40 on the reading quizzes. Once you have fulfilled these requirements, I will issue you a C exam test permit.
All English 1302 students are required to write the C exam in an ACC Testing Center or an approved alternate facility. My Distance Learning English composition students (for example, you) are eligible to type their C exam in Blackboard on a computer in several ACC testing centers instead of handwriting it. This program is called online testing, but it must be done in an ACC Testing Center, not over the Internet. The advantage is that I can retrieve your C exam through Blackboard, grade it, and send you the results more quickly. Also, you may type the C exam until the semester ends at 5 pm on the last day of the semester, instead of having to handwrite the exam at the Rio Grande Testing Center during the last week.
According to my information, the online tests are definitely available at these ACC campuses: Cypress Creek, Eastview, Northridge, Riverside, Rio Grande, Pinnacle, South Austin, and Round Rock. If you want to type your C exam, I recommend you visit one of those sites. Online testing may also be available at some of the outlying testing centers, such as at San Marcos or Fredericksburg. However, you should contact any outlying testing center to verify that English 1302 online testing through Blackboard is available at that site. Classroom English 1302 students may also be eligible to type their exams, so you need to plan your trip to the testing center accordingly.
As noted, I will retrieve your C exam attempt in Blackboard. When I have graded your C exam, I will let you know if your C exam has been accepted, and I will provide a few comments about your exam in your Messages under the Communication button in Blackboard. You will also receive a 1 or 0 in the C Exam slot in your grade list. Your graded C exam will not be returned to you.
You may not use any notes or handouts in the Testing Center.
Once you enter the Testing Center, you may not leave until your C exam essay is complete. If you must leave the Testing Center for whatever reason, you may not return to continue writing the C exam essay. You will have to start over from scratch, and your incomplete attempt will be considered not accepted. So prepare accordingly.

To learn more about the C exam testing process, click here.

Writing the Assignment 8 and C Exam Analyses

The sample essay below demonstrates the paragraph-by-paragraph structure you will need to use in writing the C exam in the Testing Center or other facility. You will use this same structure to write your Assignment 8 analysis. The central idea-thesis statement is CAPITALIZED, as you will be required to do on the C exam. Your statement of central idea will serve as your thesis for this analysis. This sample essay is single spaced. Your typed Assignment 8 essay must be double-spaced, though the word processor used for the C exam online testing may not support double spacing, so your typed or handwritten C exam may be single-spaced.

The completed C exam essay should be 8 paragraphs long. The minimum length requirement is 750 words. (The sample essay below is about 1000 words.) The C exam essay must also contain some evaluative comments about the quality of the story. These evaluative comments can be positive or negative. The evaluative comments in the example below are brief and include judgments such as "effectively" and "excellent."

The introductory paragraph should contain all the basic components you have included in your assignments in this course. Your introductory paragraph should have the "title of story," author, subject matter; an identification of the central character; a brief plot summary, including the outcome; and a clear and direct statement of central idea. On the C exam essay, you will not identify two or three key elements in your thesis. Instead, you should say that the author uses all the elements to achieve the central idea. Be sure your introductory paragraph is proportional to the other paragraphs in your essay.

Sample Assignment 8 and C Exam Analysis

A Storm of Passion

        Kate Chopin's "The Storm" is a sensual short story about a woman's repressed sexuality. Calixta, the central character, is stifled by the social and sexual confines of her marriage to Bobinot. When old flame Alcee rides up to her house during a thunderstorm, Calixta's offer of shelter becomes much more, and the two lovers rekindle their old romance. After the encounter, the sun comes out, and all the characters are happy. CHOPIN USES ALL THE ELEMENTS EFFECTIVELY TO ACHIEVE HER CENTRAL IDEA THAT EXTRAMARITAL SEXUAL FULFILLMENT CAN PROVIDE HAPPINESS AND STRENGTH TO A STAGNANT MARRIAGE.

        At the beginning, Calixta is an unsatisfied woman, though she is only vaguely aware of her situation. Calixta is unfulfilled sexually, her beginning key trait. Her marriage is without passion. Just as the heat in her house is stifling, so is Calixta stifled in the sexual and social confines of her marriage to Bobinot. The first indication that Calixta will do something to ease her problem is when she loosens the collar of her jacket as she is sewing. As she does so, she becomes aware of the approaching storm. When Alcee arrives seeking shelter from the storm, Calixta "unconsciously betrayed a sensuous desire." She soon gives in to her passion, and as the storm builds to a climax, so does her lovemaking with Alcee. By the end, Calixta is sexually fulfilled and content, her ending key trait, showing her to be a dynamic character.

        Calixta is first seen sewing, suggesting her family role. She is "greatly occupied and did not notice the approaching storm," suggesting that she is a passive protagonist; she is not truly aware of her internal discontent. Soon, though, she loosens her collar to relax her sense of confinement. As the storm mounts and Alcee arrives, Calixta's central conflict becomes increasingly apparent. Her lack of sexual fulfillment is in conflict with her passion and desire for fulfillment, which she does not receive from Bobinot. As the storm intensifies, so does her sexual intensity, and she and Alcee make love. The couple climax as the storm climaxes, and these dual climaxes also mark the climax of the story. After the climax, the storm subsides and the sun comes out. All are happy, suggesting Calixta's conflict has ended well; she is fulfilled and content at the end of the story.

        The story is set in the bayou country of Louisiana in the 1890s. In this setting, there is a clear distinction between the rich planter class of Alcee and the lower class of Calixta. The class differences and the adulterous relationship both add to the tension of the story. But the main aspect of the setting is the storm itself, which mirror's Calixta's sexual intensity. The storm arrives after a two-year drought; the drought suggests Calixta's lack of fulfullment, and the storm signals the release of her pent-up sexual energies. Appropriately, the development of the thunderstorm and the development of Calixta's encounter with Alcee parallel one another throughout the story, an excellent use of setting to suggest conflict.

        The author uses the third-person omniscient point of view to tell her story. This point of view is effective because it allows Chopin to present the actions and feelings of all her characters. Though the focus of the story is clearly on Calixta and Alcee, this point of view shows the reader the actions and reactions of the minor characters, such as Bobinot and Bibi at the store, and especially Clarisse in Biloxi. The romantic encounter of the two lovers is presented as though through a soft filter, Chopin's chosen point of view, and the concerns of the other characters are also presented to make them both sympathetic and prosperous, as all the characters seem to gain something positive through the affair. The detached, omniscient point of view also gives the narrative voice a godlike quality that is able to deliver a controversial central idea, that such a romantic affair can actually benefit a marriage, and make it seem thoroughly acceptable to the reader.

        Chopin uses symbolism throughout her story. Most of the symbols deal with the setting. Calixta's lack of sexual fulfillment is symbolized by the long drought in the area and by the separate beds that Bobinot and Calixta sleep in. The approaching storm suggests her pent-up sexual energy. The first physical contact between Calixta and Alcee coincides with a lightning bolt, suggesting the electricity in their encounter. As the two lovers become more intense, so does the fury of the storm. The two lovers climax as the storm climaxes, and the gentle retreat of the storm parallels their exhaustion after lovemaking. Just as the symbolic storm has released pent-up energy, so too have Calixta and Alcee vented the repressed sexuality of their physically unsatisfying marriages. Chopin uses the golden brightness of the sunlight following the storm to suggest the happy ending. The symbols help to reveal Calixta's internal conflict, her dynamic character, and the positive tone of the story.

        Though Bobinot tries to be a good husband, he simply cannot fulfill Calixta's fiery passion. Because Calixta is a positive character, the reader regards her desire with sympathy and compassion. When she is finally able to satisfy her desire, the reader feels happy for her. The author further reinforces the dominant happy tone through the use of setting, having the bright sun come out after the dark storm passes. The author is quite direct as she notes: "So the storm passed and everyone was happy."

        Many short stories deal with characters who are not satisfied with their roles in life. Kate Chopin's Calixta is such a character. Chopin challenges the reader by placing Calixta in an extramarital affair and then suggesting that such an affair can be beneficial to all concerned. Though such a central idea might not be acceptable to many readers, Chopin has nevertheless crafted an excellent short story that clearly conveys her central idea.

Notes on the Sample Analytical Essay

The sample analysis is about 1000 words long. Your Assignment 8 analysis must be at least 700 words long. Your Assignment 8 analysis must be at least eight paragraphs long.

Notice in the introduction in this sample that the title and author are clearly indicated, as is the identity of the central character. Only key events are presented, and the central idea (capitalized) is in the form of a complete statement. The body paragraphs give information about each element and its relation to the central idea, including the components listed in the "Writing the Assignment 8 and C Exam Essays" above.

Paragraph 2 should discuss the central character and any important minor characters. Identify the central character's beginning key trait and ending key trait, and indicate whether the character is static or dynamic.

Paragraph 3 should discuss the central conflict and any important minor conflicts. Specify the central conflict of the story, which should be an internal conflict. Indicate the climax of the story and its outcome.

Paragraph 4 should discuss the setting of the story. Identify the time and place of the setting, and then indicate the importance or function of the setting. Does the setting influence the actions of the central character? Does the setting serve as a conflict for the central character? Is the setting symbolic?

Paragraph 5 should discuss the point of view of the story. Identify the specific type of point of view used in the story. If the point of view is first-person or third-person limited, identify the narrator or narrative focus. Point out the sensibilities or function of the point of view. Why did the author choose this point of view? What does this point of view add to the story? Is the point of view reliable?

Paragraph 6 should discuss the use of figurative language in the story. Does the author use symbolism, irony, or allusion to enhance the meaning of the story? Are other elements of the story used in a symbolic or ironic way? Be sure to explain the symbols, ironies, or allusions. Do not simply list them.

Paragraph 7 should discuss the dominant tone of the story. Identify the dominant tone. Identify and discuss at least two elements most instrumental in achieving that tone.

Paragraph 8 is the conclusion of the essay. The conclusion should restate the thesis in a general manner and elaborate on the central idea. The conclusion should also include some evaluative comment on the quality of the story.

Your C exam will be similar to your Assignment 8 analysis, except the C exam is a bit shorter (minimum 600 words) and you are required to deal with only three elements plus the central idea if you so choose.

ASSIGNMENT 8 REQUIREMENTS

*Remember, all students must write the Assignment 8 analysis.

First, read a story from the list below. Reading the story at least twice is recommended. These stories are in Fiction 100.

Assignment stories:

"The House on Mango Street" (Cisneros)

"A Jury of Her Peers" (Glaspell)

"Wine" (Lessing)

"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" (Shaw)

Second, write an analytical essay of at least eight paragraphs like the sample analysis above in the Assignment 8 Lecture. Use the referential-interpretive purpose to write your analysis.

Note: Your analysis must contain all the components noted in the "Writing the Assignment 8 and C Exam Analyses" section of the Assignment 8 Lecture.

Type the CENTRAL IDEA-THESIS STATEMENT in capital letters.
Enclose short story titles in quotation marks. Do not underline or italicize short story titles. Also, periods and commas go inside ending quotation marks.
Do not use first-person or second-person pronouns to write your essay.
In ALL assignments and exams, limit your use of direct quotes to no more than 10% of your total word. Quote accurately and use the correct punctuation. Review the use of quotation marks in section 6.8 of the Online Grammar Handbook.
Double space your submission.
In addition, you must fulfill any other requirements in the "Writing the Assignment 8 and C Exam Analyses" section of the Assignment 8 Lecture.

Length: 700 - 1000 words

All students must complete Assignment 8.

Submit this assignment using the Submissions button in Blackboard.

Guidelines for Submitting Your Assignment Files

If you are not sure how to submit your assignment file by now, review the guidelines at this link to Assignment 2.

� D.W. Skrabanek 2007-2014
English/Austin Community College
Last update: August 2014