Tone Analysis Example

The most striking element of Eighner’s essay is his use of a

“matter-of-fact” tone to describe an activity most people feel repulsion
toward. His criterion for judging whether someone is serious about
dumpster diving provides a good example: “But eating from Dumpsters
is what separates the dilettanti from the professionals.” For many
people, it is probably difficult to visualize the action described here
without feeling nauseous. Eighner remains value-neutral toward his
subject and his audience with a few notable exceptions. He “hates the
can scroungers” because they scatter trash looking for aluminum cans
they can redeem for small amounts of cash, which they typically spend,
on alcohol. He refers to college students’ money as coming from
“Daddy,” which suggests they are thoughtless and wasteful because they
live on family subsidizes. And, at the end of the essay, he expresses his
sorrow for “the rat-race millions who nightly scavenge the cable
channels looking for they know not what.” These millions are
apparently the American middle class.
Although Eighner explains that he would rather be a “comfortable
consumer” than someone scavenging for scraps in dumpsters, he
provides a potentially useful guide for those interested in living on the
streets. Eighner’s tone is sadly ironic because his professional diction,
vivid descriptions and good advice contrast sharply with the reality of
the activity he describes. Perhaps the educated audience he seems to be
writing for will appreciate this contrast and ask themselves what
Eighner’s analysis suggests about the society that produces this
abundance of trash.

1. Words naming the tone

2. Quotations to support tone
3. Your ideas about how the author’s words connect to [or create] the tone you’ve named.
This is the “critical thinking” piece.
4. Your conclusions [as the writer] about how the author’s tone impacts the theme [or purpose]
of the essay, article, etc.