When analyzing voice in literature, we also need to look at tone. In CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD Matthew Salesses defines tone as an “orientation toward the world.” (vs. Aristotle “who describes emotion as an ‘orientation to the world.’” He writes, “if we think about what tone does for fiction, it seems to offer a kind of lens through which to understand the attitudes of the characters toward each other and the world.” Salesses states, “What is important to Aristotle is what you feel can teach you what you think. Emotion is intelligent.” Where Salesses parts with Aristotles is in his understanding that emotions are cultural, “not universal or instinctual.” He argues that “an orientation toward the world does not originate in an individual but in the world. What we consider unjust is shaped by shared values.” Therefore, he argues that the difference between emotion and tone is about an overall effect. The tone can last an entire story. In contrast, a book that expresses one single emotion would overwhelm the reader.
This is important when evaluating texts that live in a space with very different cultural contexts as it is the case in the two texts I have chosen for my analysis. Alice Munro’s LIVES OF GIRLS AND WOMEN and Uwem Akpan’s SAY YOU ARE ONE OF THEM. My definition of tone is the narrator’s attitude toward that voice—the way the narrator of the story “speaks.” It is a sense of distinct personhood or personality behind the narrator. The narrator’s tone is the attitude towards the story content as sensed by everything from word choice to the details we’re shown. This is particularly useful when evaluating the young narrating voice which is only achieved by focusing on specific details and tone. In the case of these two texts, the narrator is also the character in the story.