Bringing it all Together: Luke Havergal, Richard Cory & Richard Bone

Art by M.C. Escher(1898-1972)

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Reading Strategies and Literary Elements • Grade 9 23

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Lesson 9: ToneTone is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the passage. Tone may becommunicated through words and details that express particular emotions and that evokean emotional response in the reader.

DIRECTIONS: Read the following excerpt from Gerald Durrell’s My Family and OtherAnimals. Then answer the questions that follow it.

1 I grew very fond of these scorpions. I found them to be pleasant, unassumingcreatures, with, on the whole, the most charming habits. Provided you did nothingsilly or clumsy (like putting your hand on one), the scorpions treated you withrespect, their one desire being to get away and hide as quickly as possible. They musthave found me rather a trial, for I was always ripping sections of the plaster away sothat I could watch them, or capturing them and making them walk about in jam jarsso that I could see the way their feet moved. By means of my sudden and unexpectedassaults on the wall I discovered quite a bit about scorpions. I found that they wouldeat bluebottles (though how they caught them was a mystery I never solved),grasshoppers, moths, and lacewing flies. Several times I found one of them eatinganother, a habit I found most distressing in a creature otherwise so impeccable.

2 By crouching under the wall at night with a torch, I managed to catch some briefglimpses of the scorpions’ wonderful courtship dances. I saw them standing, clawsclasped, their bodies raised to the skies, their tails lovingly entwined; I saw themwaltzing slowly in circles among the moss cushions, claw in claw. But my view ofthese performances was all too short, for almost as soon as I switched on the torchthe partners would stop, pause for a moment, and then, seeing that I was not goingto extinguish the light, would turn round and walk firmly away, claw in claw, side byside. They were definitely beasts that believed in keeping themselves to themselves.If I could have kept a colony in captivity I would probably have been able to see thewhole of the courtship, but the family had forbidden scorpions in the house, despitemy arguments in favor of them.

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ht ©

The

McG

raw

-Hil

l C

ompa

nies

,In

c.

Reading Strategies and Literary Elements • Grade 9 23

Name !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Date !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lesson 9: ToneTone is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the passage. Tone may becommunicated through words and details that express particular emotions and that evokean emotional response in the reader.

DIRECTIONS: Read the following excerpt from Gerald Durrell’s My Family and OtherAnimals. Then answer the questions that follow it.

1 I grew very fond of these scorpions. I found them to be pleasant, unassumingcreatures, with, on the whole, the most charming habits. Provided you did nothingsilly or clumsy (like putting your hand on one), the scorpions treated you withrespect, their one desire being to get away and hide as quickly as possible. They musthave found me rather a trial, for I was always ripping sections of the plaster away sothat I could watch them, or capturing them and making them walk about in jam jarsso that I could see the way their feet moved. By means of my sudden and unexpectedassaults on the wall I discovered quite a bit about scorpions. I found that they wouldeat bluebottles (though how they caught them was a mystery I never solved),grasshoppers, moths, and lacewing flies. Several times I found one of them eatinganother, a habit I found most distressing in a creature otherwise so impeccable.

2 By crouching under the wall at night with a torch, I managed to catch some briefglimpses of the scorpions’ wonderful courtship dances. I saw them standing, clawsclasped, their bodies raised to the skies, their tails lovingly entwined; I saw themwaltzing slowly in circles among the moss cushions, claw in claw. But my view ofthese performances was all too short, for almost as soon as I switched on the torchthe partners would stop, pause for a moment, and then, seeing that I was not goingto extinguish the light, would turn round and walk firmly away, claw in claw, side byside. They were definitely beasts that believed in keeping themselves to themselves.If I could have kept a colony in captivity I would probably have been able to see thewhole of the courtship, but the family had forbidden scorpions in the house, despitemy arguments in favor of them.

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24 Reading Strategies and Literary Elements • Grade 9

1. The author calls scorpions “pleasant, unassuming creatures with, on the whole, themost charming habits.” Do you think he is being serious or joking? What does thisphrase tell you about the author’s tone?

2. Look up the word impeccable, which appears at the end of paragraph 1. Why do youthink the author used this word to describe a scorpion? What does this suggest aboutthe author’s tone?

3. Write down any observations you can make about the author’s style, and explain howthe author’s style relates to his purpose.

For more information on these terms, see GlencoeLiterature, Course 4, pp. 220, 474, 850, and R13.

Luke HavergalEdwin Arlington Robinson

Luke HavergalEdwin Arlington Robinson

In order to examine tone, we must identify the speaker

Again, tone is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the passage. Tone

may be communicated through words and details that express particular emotions and that

evoke an emotional response in the reader.

What is the tone of the speaker?

Richard CoryEdwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

!And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked. !

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king— And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.

!So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Richard CoryEdwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

!And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked. !

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king— And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.

!So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

What details suggest that the speaker of “Richard Cory” is speaking for the entire town?

Richard CoryEdwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

!And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked. !

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king— And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.

!So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

What details suggest that the speaker of “Richard Cory” is speaking for the entire town?

In what ways does the speaker’s admiration for Richard Cory add to

the power of the poem?

Richard CoryEdwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

!And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked. !

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king— And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.

!So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

What details suggest that the speaker of “Richard Cory” is speaking for the entire town?

In what ways does the speaker’s admiration for Richard Cory add to

the power of the poem?

If Richard Cory spoke for himself, how might the poem be different?

Richard CoryEdwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

!And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked. !

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king— And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.

!So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

What details suggest that the speaker of “Richard Cory” is speaking for the entire town?

In what ways does the speaker’s admiration for Richard Cory add to

the power of the poem?

If Richard Cory spoke for himself, how might the poem be different?

In what way does the speaker’s attitude toward Richard Cory differ

from Cory’s attitude toward himself?

Richard BoneEdgar Lee Masters

When I first came to Spoon RiverI did not know whether what they told meWas true or false.They would bring me the epitaphAnd stand around the shop while I workedAnd say “He was so kind,” “He was wonderful,”“She was the sweetest woman,” “He was a consistent Christian.”And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,All in ignorance of its truth.But later, as I lived among the people here,I knew how near to the lifeWere the epitaphs that were ordered for them as they died.But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chiseland made myself party to the false chroniclesOf the stones,Even as the historian does who writesWithout knowing the truth,Or because he is influenced to hide it.

Richard BoneEdgar Lee Masters

When I first came to Spoon RiverI did not know whether what they told meWas true or false.They would bring me the epitaphAnd stand around the shop while I workedAnd say “He was so kind,” “He was wonderful,”“She was the sweetest woman,” “He was a consistent Christian.”And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,All in ignorance of its truth.But later, as I lived among the people here,I knew how near to the lifeWere the epitaphs that were ordered for them as they died.But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chiseland made myself party to the false chroniclesOf the stones,Even as the historian does who writesWithout knowing the truth,Or because he is influenced to hide it.

Identify and explain the attitude of the speaker in “Richard Bone”

Richard BoneEdgar Lee Masters

When I first came to Spoon RiverI did not know whether what they told meWas true or false.They would bring me the epitaphAnd stand around the shop while I workedAnd say “He was so kind,” “He was wonderful,”“She was the sweetest woman,” “He was a consistent Christian.”And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,All in ignorance of its truth.But later, as I lived among the people here,I knew how near to the lifeWere the epitaphs that were ordered for them as they died.But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chiseland made myself party to the false chroniclesOf the stones,Even as the historian does who writesWithout knowing the truth,Or because he is influenced to hide it.

Identify and explain the attitude of the speaker in “Richard Bone”

Use this chart to describe Richard Bone’s outlook on life

Tragedies Pleasures Opinions

Outlook on Life

Consider the ways in which these characters deal with change and explain other, healthier options