Kite Runner
Tone and Mood
You might think about the difference between mood and tone as follows: Mood as the attitude of the author toward the subject, and Tone as the attitude of the author toward the audience. Usually. Sometimes there is a fine line, and Tone can be an attitude toward the implied audience and subject both. Tone - the writer's attitude toward the audience; a writer's tone can be serious, sarcastic, tongue-incheek, solemn, objective, satirical, solemn, wicked, etc. - Tone is the author’s (not necessarily your narrator's) overall outlook or attitude toward the given audience. Ironic, matter-of-fact, bemused, outraged, curiously respectful, disdainful - how does he/she feel about the fragment of life displayed in the story? The curious thing about tone is that it may change, but it must never waver.
Mood - is the feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader: happy, sad, peaceful, etc. Mood is the overall feeling of the piece, or passage. It could be called the author’s. emotional-intellectual attitude toward the subject -By choosing certain words rather than others and by weaving their connotations together, an author can give whole settings and scenes a kind of personality, or mood. Note the difference if he/she describes a tall, thin tree as "erect like a steeple", "spiked like a witch's hat", "a leafy spear", or "rather inclining toward the slim". However, no single image can work alone; mood can only arise from a steady pressure in the language toward one major atmospheric effect. That effect should support the main purpose of the story."
These lists might help to distinguish between the two.
Tone words
POSITIVE TONE WORDS admiring adoring affectionate hilarious hopeful humorous
NEUTRAL
(+, -, or neutral) commanding direct impartial
NEGATIVE TONE WORDS abhorring acerbic ambiguous hostile impatient incredulous
appreciative approving bemused benevolent blithe calm casual celebratory cheerful comforting comic
You might think about the difference between mood and tone as follows: Mood as the attitude of the author toward the subject, and Tone as the attitude of the author toward the audience. Usually. Sometimes there is a fine line, and Tone can be an attitude toward the implied audience and subject both. Tone - the writer's attitude toward the audience; a writer's tone can be serious, sarcastic, tongue-incheek, solemn, objective, satirical, solemn, wicked, etc. - Tone is the author’s (not necessarily your narrator's) overall outlook or attitude toward the given audience. Ironic, matter-of-fact, bemused, outraged, curiously respectful, disdainful - how does he/she feel about the fragment of life displayed in the story? The curious thing about tone is that it may change, but it must never waver.
Mood - is the feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader: happy, sad, peaceful, etc. Mood is the overall feeling of the piece, or passage. It could be called the author’s. emotional-intellectual attitude toward the subject -By choosing certain words rather than others and by weaving their connotations together, an author can give whole settings and scenes a kind of personality, or mood. Note the difference if he/she describes a tall, thin tree as "erect like a steeple", "spiked like a witch's hat", "a leafy spear", or "rather inclining toward the slim". However, no single image can work alone; mood can only arise from a steady pressure in the language toward one major atmospheric effect. That effect should support the main purpose of the story."
These lists might help to distinguish between the two.
Tone words
POSITIVE TONE WORDS admiring adoring affectionate hilarious hopeful humorous
NEUTRAL
(+, -, or neutral) commanding direct impartial
NEGATIVE TONE WORDS abhorring acerbic ambiguous hostile impatient incredulous
appreciative approving bemused benevolent blithe calm casual celebratory cheerful comforting comic