Talking About Tone

Near to the end of the book, Brent has yet another new psychologist named Mark Nusbaum. The tone in this scene is difficult to determine because, although the reader is very aware of how Brent feels at the moment, the view of the writer towards the scene is not immediately apparent.

Brent in the scene is annoyed and unhappy; he does not want to be there. His first thoughts regarding the doctor are "another Mark, another mustache," he is not impressed (240). Further on through their conversation he becomes more and more agitated: "Jesus, I am so fucking sick and tired of the fucking psychologists and their stupid little games to try and figure out what's going on inside my head. If they really want to know, they should just ask me" (240).

Despite young Brent's obvious frustration, the writer's tone towards the subject does not appear to be frustration. The tone of this scene is best described as either sarcastic or neutral; the author does not continue to feel the anger he felt towards this scene when it actually happened. The scene is presented as a dialogue with minimal narrative. What the author does include is Brent's thoughts towards what the psychologist is asking him to do. This information is presented almost matter-of-factly: here's what happened and what was said and nothing more. However, by the narrative of what goes on in Brent's head, the author seems to almost be mocking his younger self and the instant rebellion against everything that characterized his thoughts. The writer is not critical or ashamed, he is just aware of how juvenile his thoughts were at the time and presenting them with this knowledge gives the scene a slightly sarcastic tone.

I think this tone is appropriate according to the context of the scene. It does not change, and I don't think it should. Imagine writing about the thoughts that ran through your mind ten years ago - probably not your proudest moments. I believe the case is the same for Runyon. However, as he is spending an entire novel discussing the inner working of his teenage self, he chooses to be sarcastic instead of ashamed. Of course he can see how dumb he sounds now, yet he presents his rebellious mindset truthfully. Though, with any writing, the author always has an opinion on what he is writing about. In this case, the Runyon cannot help but let a little of his critical sarcasm towards his younger self come through his writing.