Details and Tone

Detail: A

Consider: Whenever he was so fortunate as to have him near him a hare that had been kept too long, or a meat pie made with rancid butter, he gorged himself with such violence that his veins swelled, and the moisture broke out on his forehead.

-          Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Samuel Johnson”

Discuss:

1. What effect does the detail( the spoiled hare, the rancid  butter, the swollen veins, the sweaty forehead) have on the reader?

2. How would the meaning of the sentence be changed by ending it after himself?

The details show how disgusting the person is.

The meaning would change by taking away the disgust and curiosity.

Detail: B

Consider: An old man, Don Tomasito, the baker, played the tuba. When he blew into the huge mouthpiece, his face would turn purple and his thousand wrinkles would disappear as his skin filled out.

-          Alberto Alvaro Rios, “ The Iguana Killer”

Discuss: 

1. The first sentence is a general statement. How does the second enrich and intensify the first?

2. Contrast the second sentence with the following.

When he blew the tuba, his face turned purple and his cheeks puffed out.

Which sentence more effectively expresses an attitude toward Tomasito? What is that attitude and how is it communicated?

“His face would turn purple” gives more images and details. It also shows how intense Don Tasito blew his tuba.

The sentence doesn’t give as much intensity as the second sentence. The second is more effective and the attitude is trying hard. It gives an attitude of appreciation.

Detail: C

Consider: CHARLEY(to WILLY): Why must everybody like you? Who liked J.P. Morgan? Was he impressive? In a Turkish bath he’d look like a butcher. But with his pockets on he was very well liked. Now listen, Willy, I know you don’t like me, and nobody can say I’m in love with you, but I’ll give you a job because – just for the hell of it, put it that way. Now what do you say?

-          Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

Discuss:

1. Who was J.P. Morgan? What is a Turkish bath? What picture comes to mind when someone is said to look like a butcher? How do these details contribute to the point Charley is trying to make?

2. How would the passage be different if Charley said J.P. Morgan would look like a baker in a Turkish bath?

J.P Morgan was one of the wealthiest man in America. A Turkish bath is a method of cleaning your body and relaxing. A person with a knife with  blood on his clothes. The details shows that nobody has to like you to be wealthy.

The passage would be different by using baker would show that J.P. Morgan is nice.

Detail: D

Consider: To those who saw him often he seemed almost like two men: one the merry monarch of the hunt and banquet and procession, the friend of children, the patron of every kind of sport; the other the cold, acute observer of the audience chamber or the Council, watching vigilantly, weighing arguments, refusing except under the stress of great events to speak his own mind.

-          Winston Churchill, “ King Henry VIII,” Churchill’s History of the English- Speaking People’s

Discuss:

1. Churchill draws attention to the contrasting sides of Henry VIII through detail. How is the impact of this sentence strengthened by the order of the details’ presentation?

2. What is Churchill’s attitude toward Henry? What specific details reveal this attitude?

First it shows Henry VIII is a king that could be kind and also someone who listens to his people.

Churchill’s attitude is that Henry is a good king.