Blog Post #2: Tone and Purpose

This post is a sample given to previous students of what you could possibly write for your Blog Post #2: Tone and Purpose. Your task is to find a section of text from your book whether a short quote or a small passage like this one. You will first write what you feel the author's tone is, then explain why he/she used this tone or for what purpose.

*****

Here, the main character and narrator of the book I am reading, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, is describing her boyfriend's reaction to her collection of classical records:

I’ve shown them to Adam, but that was only after we’d already been together for five months. I’d expected him to laugh. He’s such the cool guy with his pegged jeans and black low-tops, his effortlessly beat-up punk-rock tees and his subtle tattoos. He is so not the kind of guy to end up with someone like me. Which was why when I’d first spotted him watching me at the music studios at school two years ago, I’d been convinced he was making fun of me and I’d hidden from him. Anyhow, he hadn’t laughed. It turned out he had a dusty collection of punk-rock records under his bed.

In this passage, Mia Hall, clearly shows a casual tone, almost as if she is speaking to a friend about the first experience she had with her now boyfriend. She is being honest, letting readers know what she truly felt during this encounter, perhaps with the purpose of truly relating to Forman's young demographic.

Most of us can say we've been surprised by a reaction a peer has given us - whether positive or negative. I remember when I had auditioned for a part in a school musical, the coveted Princess Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin, and after I had landed it, I assumed one of my best friends would be ecstatic for me. To my surprise, she was not. At all.

I had found out that she had been going around, telling people I did not deserve it and that she deserved it instead. We had talked about auditioning, and I was under the impression that because we both had wished one another good luck, and because she was auditioning for the part of Mulan as well, there would be no hard feelings no matter what the outcome. Turns out, I was wrong...much like Mia was about Adam.

I focused on the bolded, underlined parts of this excerpt because they definitely illustrate the thoughts of a young girl. She feared her boyfriend would laugh at her collection, especially since perhaps classical music is not a typical favorite of teenagers. She describes his clothes and his demeanor, explaining, "He is so not the kind of guy to end up with someone like me." I wouldn't go as far as to say she is insecure, but there is clearly an perception of who should end up with whom in the teenage world. Obviously, this did not meet her expectations. Instead of making fun of her, he embraced her love for these records because, similarly, he too, had a collection of records, just punk-rock. Even her use of "Anyhow," made Mia seem so nonchalant and relaxed, perhaps fulfilling the purpose that the reader should also be nonchalant and relaxed about misconceptions, judgments, and their own insecurities.

In the end, I think Mia and Adam are proof that unexpected relationships happen all the time. I know when I first met my husband in sixth grade, I did not see myself marrying him one day. Now, here we are, married as of May this year, and together for nine years.