TACHS: Tone: compare the size of the language with the size of the problem
Learn to name a writer's tone by comparing how big the language is with how big the problem is, and to tell when the joke is on the narrator.
How do you tell whether a narrator is serious or joking, and who the joke is on?
Short answer
Compare the size of the subject with the size of the language. When everyday trouble gets grand, dramatic words, the writer is joking, and if the narrator blames something else for their own mistake, the tone is self-mocking.
Know first: What exaggeration is, Telling a narrator's words from what the reader can see
Step 1 of 5
Humor often comes from big words for a small problem
Tone is the writer's attitude, the way the passage sounds. You find it in word choice, in exaggeration, and in what the writer says about themselves.
Humor in personal essays often comes from a mismatch: serious, formal language for a tiny problem. When the narrator is the target of the joke, the tone is self-mocking. The writer lets you see the narrator's mistakes, sometimes while the narrator pretends not to.
| Check | Ask | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Size of the subject | Is it a big problem or an everyday one? | Burnt toast, a missed bus |
| Size of the language | Is it formal, dramatic or exaggerated? | tragedy, champion, complicated history |
| The mismatch | Is the language much bigger than the subject? | If so, the writer is joking |
| Target of the joke | Is it someone else, or the narrator? | The narrator blames an object for their own habit |
The same checks explain irony: the narrator's complaint points back at the narrator.
Step 2 of 5
Measure the language against the problem
The alarm clock
My alarm clock and I have a complicated history1. Each morning it announces the dawn with the confidence of a rooster2, and each morning I silence it with the speed of a champion goalie3. Then I miss the bus. The clock, I maintain, should have tried harder.4
- Grand language for an alarm clock.
- Exaggerated comparison.
- The narrator causes the problem.
- Blaming the object: the joke is on the narrator.
Worked example: What is the tone?
Which description best fits the tone of the alarm clock excerpt?
- AAngry at the alarm clock
- BAnxious about being late
- CLighthearted, with the joke on the narrator
- DFormal and instructional
- 1
Size of the subject
Small and everyday: oversleeping.
- 2
Size of the language
Big: complicated history, announces the dawn, champion goalie.
- 3
Target of the joke
The narrator switches off the alarm and then blames the clock.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A takes the blame at face value. B adds worry that the light language never shows. D doesn't match roosters and goalies.
Answer
Lighthearted, with the joke on the narrator.
Wrong: The narrator is angry because the clock failed to wake them.
Right: The narrator pretends to blame the clock, while the reader sees the narrator turned it off.
A comic complaint isn't meant at face value. Ask who is really responsible, and the joke's target appears.
Step 3 of 5
Name the tone yourself
Read this excerpt
Every afternoon at three, our dog Pepper takes up her post at the front window. She is, by her own account, the fiercest guardian on Maple Street. Squirrels are warned. Leaves are barked at. Delivery trucks are informed of their crimes. Yesterday a real stranger knocked at the door, a man selling window cleaning. Pepper inspected him carefully from behind the couch, where she remained until he had gone.
Check yourself · Question 1
Which description best fits the tone of the excerpt?
Answer: B
An ordinary dog at a window gets grand language: a post, the fiercest guardian, crimes. The joke lands on Pepper, who hides when a real stranger comes, and the narrator clearly enjoys her.
Trap answer: Fearful about strangers at the door
Tone from the topic alone
- Why it looks right
- A stranger knocking can be frightening, so worry seems to fit.
- Why it's wrong
- Tone comes from the language, not the topic. Fiercest guardian, informed of their crimes and inspected him carefully from behind the couch are jokes.
- The right answer
- Affectionately teasing toward the dog.
Check yourself · Question 2
What is ironic about Pepper's response to the stranger?
Answer: A
The narrator builds Pepper up as a fierce guard, so you expect her to face a real stranger. Instead she watches from behind the couch, the opposite of what the buildup promised.
Common mistake
I took the narrator's complaint at face value.
- Why it's tempting
- Narrators usually tell the truth about what happened, so their blame seems reliable.
- Do this instead
- When a narrator blames an object or someone else, check what the passage shows. If the narrator caused the problem, the tone is self-mocking.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Compare the size of the language with the size of the problem. A big mismatch signals humor.
- Ask who the joke is on. A narrator who blames an object for their own habit is mocking themselves.
- Check every word of a tone choice, since one wrong word sinks it.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, which words show the size of the language, and who is the real target of the joke?