tone, mood, setting, and theme —

I realized that in writing a story you have to have these categories all cleared up before actually writing otherwise things might come out a bit funny and people won't follow what you write. The main reasoning for me updating this particular topic is because I've been going over this stuff in English class and since it's fresh in my mind, I can type it out much quicker. Of course it also helps that I've been taking notes and will be basing what this tutorial will be about. It was suggested to do more with the English language and whatnot, and I'll get to it -- this comes first though.

Tone is the author's attitude toward a subject. There are positive, neutral, and negative tone words. The positive ones are blue, negative ones will be red, and the neutral ones will be just regular font color (black). Note that there are a lot of tone words. I took some off the list after typing it up because I thought some were too far fetched and others were hard to understand why they were categorized as such.

• admiring, adoring, affectionate
• apprechiative
• approving
• bemused
• benevolent
• calm
• casual
• celebratory
• cheerful
• comforting
• comic
• compassionate
• complimentary
• confident
• contented
• delightful
• earnest
• estatic
• elated
• empathetic
• encouraging
• euphoric
• excited, exhilarated
• expenctant
• facetious
• fervent
• flippant
• forthright
• friendly
• funny
• happy
• hopeful
• humorous
• jovial
• joyful
• lively
• modest
• optimistic
• passionate
• proud
• reassuring
• reflective
• relaxed
• respectful
• reverent
• romantic
• straightforward
• sympathetic
• tender
• tranquil
• whimsical
• wistful
• worshipful
• zealous
• commanding
• direct
• impartial
• indirect
• meditative
• objective
• questioning
• speculative
• unambiguous
• unconcerned
• understated
• ambiguous
• angry
• annoyed
• antagonistic
• anxious
• apathetic
• apprehensive
• bewildered
• bitter, blunt, bossy
• cold
• condesending
• contemptuous
• curt, cynical
• demanding
• derogatory
• despairing
• desperate
• detached
• disrespectful
• doubtful
• embaressed
• enraged
• fearful
• foreboding
• frantic
• furious
• gloomy, grim
• harsh
• hopeless
• hostile
• impatient
• incredulous, indifferent, indignant, insecure
• lethargic
• melancholy
• miserable
• mocking
• mournful
• nervous
• ominous
• paranoid
• patronizing
• pessimistic
• resigned
• sarcastic
• scournful
• selfish
• serious
• severe
• sly
• somber
• stern
• tense
• threatening
• tragic
• uncertain, uneasy, unfriendly, unsympathetic
• upset
• wry

Mood is the atmosphere of a piece of writing; it is the emotions a selection arouses in a reader. Once again positive mood words will be in blue and negative ones will be in red.

• amused
• calm
• cheerful
• chipper
• confident
• content
• dignified
• dreamy
• estatic
• enlightened
• enthralled
• flirty
• giddy
• grateful
• hopeful
• hyper
• joyous
• liberating
• loving
• mellow
• opimistic
• peaceful
• pleased
• relaxed
• silly
• surprised
• sympathetic
• thoughtful
• touched
• trustful
• warm
• welcoming
• annoyed
• apathetic
• cold
• cranky
• depressed
• dreary
• embarressed
• enraged
• frustrated
• futile
• haunting
• heartbroken
• hostile
• indifferent
• irate
• nervous
• nightmarish
• painful
• pessimistic
• rejected
• scared
• serious
• tense
• terrifying
• uncomfortable

Setting, in the simplest of defintions, is where and when a story takes place. The setting of a story has to be a physical place. It doesn't matter if the place is fictional or not, it must be a physical place. A dream land is not a proper setting for a story. However, Hogwarts -- a fictional place -- is a physical place and is a proper setting. Real or imagionary, concrete or symbolic, a moment or eternity, the setting of a story will act as a dramatic backdrop for your piece of writing.

There is a high importance to your setting. It will reveal the prevailing atomosphere and mood of your  story. It shows inernal and external conflict. Confict between characters can be seen as: person versus person; person versus nature; person versus animal; person versus society; person versus him/herself; person versus supernatural; and person versus destiny. A person versus person conflict is internal (like emotions). Generally, any other type of conflict is external (like a physical fight with fists or words). Your setting can highlight these types of conflicts as the story goes on.

Your setting can also determine the fate of your main protagonist. If you're the main character of my story and I drop you into Africa. You'll have trouble getting around and fending for youself. That would be person versus nature and person versus animal (possibly). If I were to drop you into New York City, and say you are from the city anyway, you'd be just fine. The setting starts off the basis of the conflict you are about to write about and depict for your readers. Setting reflects character and often enbodies the theme.

Keep in mind: setting almost works like a mirror. It tells what happens in relation to your characters. Also, it works as a mold to form your characters.

An external force may enter the setting and end up altering it, causing conflict for characters. It may even act as an antagonist, continuing the amount of conflict in the work of writing. There are four kinds of setting to be kept in mind (because setting is a pain to fully understand). They are known as physical, geographical, historical, and cultural settings. 

Physical setting (hints to identifying them) —

• Time of day and year
• Season (spring, winter, fall, so on)
• Weather/Temperature
• (Out)Indoors
• Type of room
• Building
• Imagry
• Objects (in the room/place)

Geographical setting (hints to identifying them) —

• Country (Japan, USA, Canada -- do not mistake them for continents!)
• Region
• Neighborhood
• Street
• Urban/Rural/Suburban
• State
• City

Cultural setting (hints to identifying them) —

• Dialogue
• Clothes
• Iconography
• Education
• Social standing
• Educational class
• Relgion belief(s)

Historical setting (hints to identifying them) —

• Time period/frame or Year
• Rein of government
• Major historical events
• Transportation
• Wars
• Economy
• Natural disasters (tornadoes, tsunamis, so on)

Theme is a story's life lesson, a (sometimes moral) message about human life or human nature that is communicated through a literary work. It is what the story teaches in simpler, shorter terms. A theme is not one word, it is a whole sentence. You don't have to agree with the theme of a story to identify what it is.

Examples of theme:

• Money can't buy happiness
• It is better to die free than to live under tyranny
• Don't judge people based on the surface (their looks)

Themes are not always cleary stated but are implied. They are bigger than the story itself and their main focus is the big picture (of the piece of writing). 

Examples of themes from "To Kill a Mockingbird" (by Harper Lee):

• The coexistance of good and evil. Good and evil is represented by Tom Robinson and Arthur "Boo" Radley. They are viewed as bad people when really, beneath the surface of what others say about them, they are good people. This is the biggest focus of Lee's novel.
• The importance of moral education. This theme focuses around the relationship between the three Finch characters: Jem, Atticus, and Scout (Jean Louise). While Scout is scolded for learning from her father, Atticus, at school it can be seen as hypocritical because it is the teachers that wish to halt the length of education that her father gives at home. Miss Caroline (Scout's teacher) is "well educated" she is poorly accustomed to those who live in Maycomb and are unable to understand the social standings of the students she has to mentor (such as the Cunninghams and the Ewels).
• The existance of social inquality. During this particular time frame, the story takes place prior to the Civil Right's Movement around the time FDR was in office (approx. in the 1930's). The plot takes place in the middle of the Great Depression where it took a big toll on the southern states that were more concerned about growing crops than making factories like the northern states did. Aunt Alexandra (Atticus's sister, Scout and Jem's aunt) states her dislike for her family being catergorized with people of a "lesser" social standing than them, such as the Cunninghams and those in the black community.
• The importance of mockingbirds. After reading through the whole book, I realized that this story has nothing to do with mockingbirds -- directly. It has a very literal connection (the mockingbird) to the title of this book but does not actually appear any time within the story. According to Miss Maudie (a neighbor of the Finch family) and Atticus himself it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing and not bother anyone. This point is symbolic to the theme because in killing a mockingbird you are "killing" one's innocence. Throughout the chapters you can see that characters are being represented as mockingbirds in their own way, having their innocence to the world killed. Mister Underwood (a man who writes a newspaper in the story) states that hurting Arthur "Boo" Radley would be like, "shootin' a mockingbird." To further the topic, the children's (Jem and Scout) last name is Finch, which is another type of bird. Throughout the story their ages range from six to thirteen (Scout begins the story at the age of six and her brother is four years older than her, "ending" the story when he is thirteen and she is nine) showing that the racist Maycomb (their hometown) has handled their innocence of childhood rather harsly.

I know that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is fairly old and may seem hard to read or understand, but if you just pay attention you'll get the main themes. However, older books tend to have more symbolism and themes that can be put into detail. To make things more understandable, I'll put one last bit of theme in here because you either understand theme or you don't. 

Examples of theme from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by JK Rowling the best author ever:

• Difficulty loving the dead. In the sixth book Severus kills Dumbledore using the killing curse, leaving Harry to attempt to find the last of the Horcruxes alone with his friends. Throughout the book Harry is heartbroken over losing Dumbledore because he believed that the headmaster truley loved him. Not only that but at the death of Dobby the House Elf, he loses yet another person (elf) in his life who, at one point, he once loved. Delving into Severus's past, he claims that he was in love with Lily Evans Potter. After her death he took up the role of taking care of Harry in secret. It just goes to show how hard it is to love someone who is no longer living. Harry has much difficulty getting over what happened to Dumbledore whereas Severus moves on. 
• The importance of second chances. It is shown that in the Goblet of Fire, that Dumbledore has an extreme belief in second chances. Focusing mainly on how Severus, a follower of Voldemort, was able to turn his life around after killing the man who put his utmost trust in him (referring to Dumbledore).
• Keeping the faith in the dead. Once Harry "dies" he is reawoken in another world where Dumbledore appears to him. Dumbledore was the only person who could fully plan out and orchastrate the killing of Voldemort. Not only that but with the help of the Order of the Pheonix, the vision was able to be carried out. Dumbledore along with Snape, Dobby (after being killed by Bellatrix in Malfoy Manor), along with many otheres in the big war at Hogwarts hold the loyalty and love of the living characters. At the memory of Dobby being killed in his arms (Harry's arms) while being with Dumbledore in another world, he is reminded of the promise he made and continued on to the real world (being carried by Hagrid) to keep his word.

All I have to say is, I hope you guys aren't confused right now. Let me know if you need further help with theme. Not a lot of my classmates understood it and we're honor students for Pete's sake.