Setting: Mood and Tone

Setting is very important in establishing the mood of a story. The author’s tone, shown inthe language used while describing the setting, influences the mood. Using your notes about the different settings in Tuck Everlasting as well as your book, discuss how the author’s tone establishes the mood. Use textual evidence to support your ideas, and remember to cite your source in parenthesis.

Write a short essay that describes threeof the four major settings in the book: the Touch-Me-Not cottage; the woods; the Tuck’s cabin; and the pond. What is the mood of each of these settings. Discuss how the author’s tone shown through the words that she chooses to describe each of the settings influences the mood of the reader.

Step 1: Introduction

Restate the prompt in your opening paragraph. Include the title of the book (underlined) and the author’s name as well as enough background information to inform the reader about the story.

Example (but you can’t use this…you have to use your own words):

Natalie Babbitt, in Tuck Everlasting, uses distinct language when describing the different settings of this story. Her use of language establishes the tone, or author’s attitude about the setting, and helps to establish the mood of the story within the different settings. Four settings in the story that have a very clear tone and mood are the Touch-Me-Not Cottage, home of Winnie Foster, the main character; the Woods, a place that holds the mysterious spring; the Tuck’s cabin, a hidden away, comfortable cabin; and the Tuck’s pond, a small lake next to the cabin that is full of life.

Step 2: Supporting paragraphs

This is where you will:

Describe each setting in more detail

Give examples from the book showing the words that Natalie Babbitt uses to establish tone

Discuss how the tone influences the mood of the setting.

Example of a Supporting Paragraph:

The Touch-Me-Not cottage, home to Winnie Foster, is “a square and solid cottage with a touch-me-not appearance” (Babbitt 6) located in the village of Treegap. Owned by the Foster family, It is a place that is well-groomed, “surrounded by grass cut painfully to the quick and surrounded by a capable iron fence some four feet high that clearly said, ‘ Move on – we don’t want you here.’” (Babbitt 6) The author’s tone, shown by her choice of descriptive words, is negative toward the cottage; she makes the reader feel as though the home and yard are like a jail for Winnie Foster. Babbitt uses words like “painfully to the quick…move on…we don’t want you…iron bars…so proud of itself” to establish a mood of arrogance and pride. There is nothing welcoming or comfortable about the Touch-Me-Not cottage, instead it “was so proud of itself that you wanted to make a lot of noise as you passed, and maybe even throw a rock or two.” (Babbitt 3)

You will have three supporting paragraphs since there are four settings in the question.

Step 3: Concluding paragraph

This is where you will sum up all the ideas you presented in your supporting paragraphs. You should not introduce anything new in your conclusion.

Restate each supporting idea briefly in your conclusion.

Finally, give an opinion about the effect of author’s tone on the mood.

Example of Conclusion:

Natalie Babbitt establishes a different mood in each of her settings based on the descriptive words she chooses, which set the tone. The tone of the Touch-Me-Not cottage is negative, the mood set with words like “painfully” and “move on”. The mood of the Woods, however, was light and non-threatening, described with words that set a positive tone, like “full of light” and “gentle”. The Tuck’s cabin was a place where the reader felt comfortable and careless, and the tone was set with descriptive words like “gentle eddies of dust” and “surveying the mess approvingly”. The Tuck’s pond was a place of peace and carried answers about the circle of life. Natalie Babbitt uses words like “life, moving, growing, changing, noiselessly” to set a positive and peaceful tone. It is obvious that an author’s choice of words can do a lot to set the mood of different settings in a book, and Natalie Babbitt is a master of this in Tuck Everlasting.