The mood and tone to any well written story is essential, and without both devices, a story would not be as engaging as it could be. Often in stories, mood and tone are developed by diction, or the word choice that the author uses to help the readers define the feelings and emotions of the characters and the story itself. The short stories that Alice Walker wrote use a massive amount of diction to represent and further all the moods and tone that appears in her stories. Without diction, the mood and tone would not be as easily identified, or even created.
Therefore, the mood and tone of the short stories “The Flowers” and “Everyday Use” are developed by the contribution of diction. Incorporated in both short stories, “The Flowers” and “Everyday Use”, is an insurmountable amount of diction to develop the mood of the story. In the story “The Flowers”, Walker contributes a lot of descriptions of Myop’s surroundings to build the mood. Stated from page one, “The air held a keenness that made her nose twitch. The harvesting of the corn and cotton, peanuts and squash, made each day a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws. (Walker 1).
This quote from the short story illustrates how he word choice uplifts the story and allows the mood to appeal to be such a joyful and light-hearted story. This type of diction is also found in the story “Everyday Use”. To develop the mood of the story, Mama’s unique phrases full of diction are the key tool to distinguishing the mood. “In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man working hands. ” (Walker 1). These types of phrases are found numerous times in the story. Mama’s word choice keeps the mood of the story uplifting, even when there is tension between characters.
Furthermore, in “The Flowers”, as the story continues and reaches its climax, readers an find the mood turning into a more upsetting and gloomy feeling. “It seemed gloomy in the little cove in which she found herself. The air was damp, the silence close and deep. ” (Walker 1). This quote is placed right before the climax of the story, and with the word choice, the mood begins to slightly change. In addition, “It was only when she saw his naked grin that she gave a little yelp of surprise. ” (Walker 1). This quote exemplifies the fear and shock running through Myop. Before, she was a bright, upbeat and positive little girl.
Now, she is not only extremely errified, but is left with an unforgetting, engraved memory. In addition, towards the end of “Everyday Use”, a family complication outbreaks, and Mama’s words tend to drift from the happiness that they once were throughout most of the story. There is a battle between the two daughters and who will be able to keep the beloved and cherished quilts. In past history, it has always been Dee who got what she wanted, but with blood boiling, Mama might change that. Due to the anger that begins to erupt inside Mama, the diction begins to have less enthusiastic words.
Then, suddenly, a witty phrase or word will e placed to reassure the flow of a lighthearted mood in the story. “Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses.. After we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed. ” (Walker 7). Proven from this quote that is found at the end of the short story, is the exemplification that even though the tension was risen, the diction will always guide the story to its jubilant mood.
For both “The Flowers” and “Everyday Use”, diction was a backbone in presenting the moods that appeared throughout the stories. Illustrated through the use of diction, in both short stories Walker is able to use diction to establish the tones in “The Flowers and “Everyday Use”. Myop is a young, ten-year-old girl who has not had many experiences, and can be classified as sheltered. The tone she brings into the story is a jocular attitude, as most young people are. Her blissfulness is recognized with the help of diction. “She felt light and good in the warm sun.
She was ten, and nothing existed for her but her song. ” (Walker 1). This quote exemplifies how with the specific word choice, Myop brings an extreme amount of happiness into the story to onstruct the tone. Further, Walker provided a lot of diction in the story to form the tone. Within this story, the diction is found through the narrator’s descriptions of her and Dee. Mama, the narrator, has strong beliefs and thoughts about every person and thing in life, and the tone often changes when Mama mentions her daughter Dee.
I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon. when the hard clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, irregular grooves, anyone can come up and sit and look up into the elm tree and ait for the breezes that ever come inside the house. ” (Walker ghters, Maggie 1). Represented in this quote is Mama’s boastfulness when describing the yard Maggie and her worked so hard on. The descriptions provided helped clarify the tone for the story, since the words Mama said were calming and positive.
Similar to “The Flowers”, as the story progresses, the tone becomes darker and mature. The main character, Myop, faces a terrifying situation at a very young age. The situation she has to confront is witnessing a dead body that she accidently stepped on, and the diction in he story helps create the drastic change in the once light- hearted tone. “It was the rotted remains of a noose, a bit of shredding plow line, now blending benignly into the soil. Around an overhanging limb of a great spreading oak clung another piece.
Frayed, rotted, bleached, and frazzled – barely there – but spinning restlessly in a breeze, Myop laid down her flowers. And the summer was over. ” (Walker 2). As the story reached its end, Myop is left astonished and saddened; that state of mind Myop is engaged with forces the story’s tone to be left with the same feeling. The readers are able to identify this tone when Walker escribes how Myop is feeling right before she matures and rests the flowers on the dead body. This demonstration is also found in “Everyday Use”, when Walker has the tone shift when Dee is mentioned by the narrator.
In “Everyday Use”, Mama is usually calm and collected when it comes to her other daughter Maggie or any other surrounding and event. Although, when Dee is spoken about or the thought appears in her head, Mama suddenly expresses her wrath and disliking towards Dee. These qualities are often found by the diction Walker supplies to show how Mama reacts with one daughter and the other. “She used o read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. ” (Walker 2).
The diction Walker dispensed the readers with helped show the difference in tone throughout the short story. Every time Dee was mentioned, which was in all different sections of the story, Mama would feel the sudden urge to change the tone from upbeat to harsh and critical. Within both short stories, the tone is shifted into rather somber and cruel as the stories progress and the diction changes. As proven in the short stories, “The Flowers” and “Everyday Use”, iction is an extreme component in developing the mood and tone in any story.
Diction allows each story to have its own different way of portrayal, as well as allowing the readers to have all sorts of feelings throughout the story. If there was no diction in stories, the readers would be unable to have specific emotions to the characters or any factors written. In both stories, diction lends to all the ups and downs, and all the feelings and change in character moments. The mood and tone is an essential piece to the writing, and diction only helps the mood and tone come off the page.
