SAT II Literature : Genre, Style, Tone, Mood, and Other Literary Features

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Literature

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Example Questions

Example Question #51 : Genre, Style, Tone, Mood, And Other Literary Features

“Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.  This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir!”

… The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little, and swept with their eyes the inclined plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.

What is the tone of paragraph 1?

Possible Answers:

Resilient

Enervating

Moralizing

Sycophantic

Debilitating

Correct answer:

Moralizing

Explanation:

Through use of short, terse sentences and excessive repetition, the speaker is delivering a didactic speech. The paragraph is not enervating or debilitating (weakening) in tone, and it is also not resilient. Sycophantic, a synonym for fawning, is also not the right description.

Passage adapted from Charles Dickens’s Hard Times (1854)

Example Question #42 : Tone, Style, And Mood

Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes, which, for the happiness of both, cannot be too soon forgotten; and the effort which the formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion should have been spared, had not my character required it to be written and read. You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but I demand it of your justice.

.....

This, madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which we have been concerned together; and if you do not absolutely reject it as false, you will, I hope, acquit me henceforth of cruelty towards Mr. Wickham. I know not in what manner, under what form of falsehood, he has imposed on you; but his success is not, perhaps, to be wondered at. Ignorant as you previously were of every thing concerning either, detection could not be in your power, and suspicion certainly not in your inclination. You may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last night. But I was not then master enough of myself to know what could or ought to be revealed. For the truth of every thing here related, I can appeal more particularly to the testimony of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who from our near relationship and constant intimacy, and still more as one of the executors of my father's will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of these transactions. If your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning. I will only add, God bless you.

 

(1813)

The tone of the first paragraph is primarily _______________.

Possible Answers:

angry and agitated

apologetic and miserable

terse and impolite

conciliatory and diplomatic

loving and effervescent

Correct answer:

conciliatory and diplomatic

Explanation:

The tone of the first paragraph could rightly be identified as "conciliatory and diplomatic." "Conciliatory" indicates that the speaker is trying to address and calm some sort of conflict that occurred between himself and the addressee. For instance, the phrases "be not alarmed" and "pardon my freedom" have the tone of someone who is trying to make peace with an offended party. "Diplomatic" describes the formal and carefully polite way in which the speaker writes.  

Some parts of the first paragraph could almost be described as "apologetic," but none of it is "miserable" in tone, and so that answer is not correct.  

Passage adapted from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813).  

Example Question #16 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Prose

1 Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.

2 A blazing sun upon a fierce August day was no greater rarity in southern France then, than at any other time, before or since. 3 Everything in Marseilles, and about Marseilles, had stared at the fervid sky, and been stared at in return, until a staring habit had become universal there. 4 Strangers were stared out of countenance by staring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of arid road, staring hills from which verdure was burnt away. 5 The only things to be seen not fixedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. 6 These did occasionally wink a little, as the hot air barely moved their faint leaves.

… 7 The churches were the freest from [the stare]. 8 To come out of the twilight of pillars and arches—dreamily dotted with winking lamps, dreamily peopled with ugly old shadows piously dozing, spitting, and begging—was to plunge into a fiery river, and swim for life to the nearest strip of shade. 9 So, with people lounging and lying wherever shade was, with but little hum of tongues or barking of dogs, with occasional jangling of discordant church bells and rattling of vicious drums, Marseilles, a fact to be strongly smelt and tasted, lay broiling in the sun one day.

What is the tone of sentence 4?

Possible Answers:

Comically exasperated

Maudlin

Carefully disinterested

Epically wronged

Fervent

Correct answer:

Comically exasperated

Explanation:

By repeating “staring” so much, the speaker gives us the sense that they are fed up with the relentless heat. Through the use of hyperbole, the speaker conveys subtle humor about the situation, which makes Marseilles pungent and odorous.

Passage adapted from Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit (1857)

Example Question #17 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Prose

1 The Maypole… was an old building, with more gable ends than a lazy man would care to count on a sunny day; huge zig-zag chimneys, out of which it seemed as though even smoke could not choose but come in more than naturally fantastic shapes, imparted to it in its tortuous progress; and vast stables, gloomy, ruinous, and empty…. 2 With its overhanging stories, drowsy little panes of glass, and front bulging out and projecting over the pathway, the old house looked as if it were nodding in its sleep. 3 Indeed, it needed no very great stretch of fancy to detect in it other resemblances to humanity. 4 The bricks of which it was built had originally been a deep dark red, but had grown yellow and discoloured like an old man's skin; the sturdy timbers had decayed like teeth; and here and there the ivy, like a warm garment to comfort it in its age, wrapt its green leaves closely round the time-worn walls.

What is the tone of this passage?

Possible Answers:

Litigious

Hysterical

Denunciatory

Ethereal

Informative

Correct answer:

Informative

Explanation:

This passage is mildly comical, but it is not outright hysterical. It is also not ethereal (delicate and otherworldly), denunciatory (accusatory), or litigious (prone to filing lawsuits). It is, however, concerned with presenting facts and describing the Maypole in a relatively neutral way. In other words, the tone is informative.

Passage adapted from Charles Dickens’ Barnaby Rudge (1841)

Example Question #18 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Prose

There are days which occur in this climate, at almost any season of the year, wherein the world reaches its perfection, when the air, the heavenly bodies, and the earth, make a harmony, as if nature would indulge her offspring; when, in these bleak upper sides of the planet, nothing is to desire that we have heard of the happiest latitudes, and we bask in the shining hours of Florida and Cuba; when everything that has life gives sign of satisfaction, and the cattle that lie on the ground seem to have great and tranquil thoughts. 2. These halcyons may be looked for with a little more assurance in that pure October weather, which we distinguish by the name of the Indian Summer.  3. The day, immeasurably long, sleeps over the broad hills and warm wide fields. 4. To have lived through all its sunny hours, seems longevity enough. 5. The solitary places do not seem quite lonely. 6. At the gates of the forest, the surprised man of the world is forced to leave his city estimates of great and small, wise and foolish. 7. The knapsack of custom falls off his back with the first step he makes into these precincts. 8. Here is sanctity which shames our religions, and reality which discredits our heroes. 9. Here we find nature to be the circumstance which dwarfs every other circumstance, and judges like a god all men that come to her. 10. We have crept out of our close and crowded houses into the night and morning, and we see what majestic beauties daily wrap us in their bosom. 11. How willingly we would escape the barriers which render them comparatively impotent, escape the sophistication and second thought, and suffer nature to intrance us. 12. The tempered light of the woods is like a perpetual morning, and is stimulating and heroic. 13. The anciently reported spells of these places creep on us. 14. The stems of pines, hemlocks, and oaks, almost gleam like iron on the excited eye. 15. The incommunicable trees begin to persuade us to live with them, and quit our life of solemn trifles. 16. Here no history, or church, or state, is interpolated on the divine sky and the immortal year. 17. How easily we might walk onward into the opening landscape, absorbed by new pictures, and by thoughts fast succeeding each other, until by degrees the recollection of home was crowded out of the mind, all memory obliterated by the tyranny of the present, and we were led in triumph by nature.

The author’s tone can best be described as _______________.

Possible Answers:

Reverent

Choleric

Peevish


Circumlocutory

Fatuous

Correct answer:

Reverent

Explanation:

The author's discussion of nature is reverent in tone. ("We have crept out of our close and crowded houses into the night and morning, and we see what majestic beauties daily wrap us in their bosom." "Here no history, or church, or state, is interpolated on the divine sky and the immortal year.")

It is not "circumlocutory" (talking at great length without ever getting to the point) It is not "fatuous" (foolish or inane), nor is it "choleric" (angry) or "peevish" (irritable).

Passage adapted from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Essay VI, Nature" (1836)

Example Question #41 : Tone, Style, And Mood

“The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I’ve never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.”

Which of the following words best describes the attitude towards ivory, as described by the author?

Possible Answers:

Disgust

Disdain

Nostalgia

Reverence

Fear

Correct answer:

Reverence

Explanation:

Of the options provided, reverence is the word that best reflects Conrad's description of the attitude towards ivory. The text that supports this is the author's description of people whispering and sighing the word ivory like they are praying to it. There is not enough evidence in the provided text to support the choice of any of the other words as a better answer.

Passage adapted from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899).

Example Question #22 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Prose

Passage adapted from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813)

"Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced ; their behavior at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general ; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister, and with a judgement too unassailed by any attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve them. They were in fact very fine ladies ; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable where they chose it ; but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank ; and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. They were of a respectable family in the north of England ; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother’s fortune and their own had been acquired by trade."

The narrator's tone can best be described as one of _______________.

Possible Answers:

nostalgia

judgement

plain indifference

level-headed perceptiveness

righteous indignation

Correct answer:

level-headed perceptiveness

Explanation:

The answer is level-headed perceptiveness. As always with multiple choice tests it is important to cross out ridiculous answers beforehand. The narrator is clearly a well-informed third party and thus not nostalgic for the events he/she describes nor indignant or indifferent. The choice must be made between level-headed perceptiveness and judgmental temperament. Even a quick skim of the passage will reveal that the narrator supports many of her claims with solid evidence, evincing a level headed perceptive tone rather than a motive driven judgmental tone. 

Example Question #1 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Twentieth Century Prose

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory with stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener.

It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety’s sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came — next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams — visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender!

Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation:

God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest, 
Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!

Then came the “long” prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory —

(1904)

What is the tone of the first paragraph?

Possible Answers:

Modesty and peace

Patriotism and pride 

Poverty and strife

Celebration and anxiety 

Happiness but reservation 

Correct answer:

Patriotism and pride 

Explanation:

The townspeople are very patriotic and prideful, illustrated by diction such as "holy fire of patriotism," and "proud mothers and fathers."

Passage adapted from Mark Twain's "War Prayer" (1904).

Example Question #2 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Twentieth Century Prose

All that day the heat was terrible. The wind blew close to the ground; it rooted among the tussock grass, slithered along the road, so that the white pumice dust swirled in our faces, settled and sifted over us and was like a dry-skin itching for growth on our bodies. The  horses stumbled along, coughing and chuffing. The pack horse was sick -- with a big open sore rubbed under the belly. Now and again she stopped short, threw back her head, looked at us as though she were going to cry, and whinnied. Hundreds of larks shrilled; the sky was slate colour, and the sound of the larks reminded me of slate pencils scraping over its surface. There was nothing to be seen but wave after wave of tussock grass, patched with purple orchids and manuka bushes covered with thick spider webs.

Jo rode ahead. He wore a blue galatea shirt, corduroy trousers and riding boots. A white handkerchief, spotted with red -- it looked as though his nose had been bleeding on it -- was knotted round his throat. Wisps of white hair straggled from under his wideawake -- his moustache and eyebrows were called white -- he slouched in the saddle, grunting. Not once that day had he sung "I don't care, for don't you see, My wife' mother was in front  of me!... ” It was the first day we had been without it for a month, and now there seemed something uncanny in his silence. Hin rode beside me, white as a clown; his black eyes glittered, and he kept shooting out his tongue and moistening his lips. He was dressed in a Jaeger vest, and a pair of blue duck trousers, fastened round the waist with a plaited leather belt. We had hardly spoken since dawn. At noon we had lunched off fly biscuits and apricots by the side of a swampy creek.  

(1912)

Which two adjectives best describe all three characters in this passage? 

Possible Answers:

Weary and tense

Arrogant and caustic 

Secretive and sullen

Cautious and pragmatic 

Jealous and volatile 

Correct answer:

Weary and tense

Explanation:

We can infer that all three characters are weary because of the multiple references to the long journey they are on, as well as the heat and dirt. The weariness of the horse can also be read as a reflection of the characters' mental states. There are several descriptions that indicate that the characters are tense. The narrator says there is an "uncanny" feeling to the silence. Jo has stopped his good-natured singing for the first time in a month. Hin and the narrator have "barely spoken since dawn." The characters do not speak to each other, so we have no evidence that they are arrogant, caustic, jealous or volatile. Their behavior could be interpreted as sullen but the passage does not provide any reference to them being secretive. Likewise, there is no evidence that they are cautious and optimistic.

Passage adapted from Katherine Mansfield's "The Woman at the Store" (1912)

Example Question #1 : Tone, Style, And Mood: Drama

MEPHISTOPHELES: Within the bowels of these elements,

Where we are tortured and remain forever.

Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed

In one self place, for where we are is hell,

And where hell is must we ever be.    (5)

And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves,

And every creature shall be purified,

All places shall be hell that is not heaven.

(1604)

What is the tone of this passage?

Possible Answers:

Jocose

Venerable

Grave

Moribund

Cacophonous

Correct answer:

Grave

Explanation:

This passage discusses torture, punishment, and eternity in somber, serious tones. The passage is certainly not "jocose" (playful, mirthful) or "cacophonous" (clangorous). "Venerable," which means distinguished or respected, is not a word normally applied to a passage’s tone, nor is "moribund," which means dying.

Passage adapted from Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (1604)

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