Exploring Tone in Powder and The Palmist While tone shows the author’s attitude towards their subject, it also forces the reader into a mindset the author so chooses. Both Tobias Wolff in Powder and Andrew Lam in The Palmist write to convey discomfort and lack of trust, allowing the reader to better understand the dynamics of the father-son relationships within their stories. Wolff’s tone in Powder allows the rocky relationship to ease into comfort towards the end. While Lam’s tone in The Palmist portrays uncertainty in life’s journey, both characters took to connect to a sense of familiarity. In each short story, the anxious tones serve essential parts for the reader to further understand the purpose of broken men wanting to connect with …show more content…
Wolff’s use of skepticism in the tone allows the reader to empathize with the son’s discomfort. Even then, the son “clamps [his] hands between his knees” to stop shaking as his father irresponsibly has him move the barricade so they can try to make it home on time (Wolff 50). The author uses the son’s discomfort and tension to further disapprove of the father’s risky business while Wolff guides the reader to see the son’s careful obedience. While the son battles with anxiety, the father hums and does “little scat riffs,” on their way home (Wolff 51). The unpredictable melody of jazz music characterizes the father’s impulsiveness, creating a sense of uncertainty. The contrasting personalities are portrayed through Wolff’s imagery and insight of characteristics. Similarly in The Palmist, Lam portrays the teenager as timid and uncertain of the palmist’s intentions. When initially approached by the palmist, the young boy hesitates “to be touched by the old man” (Lam 80). The boy’s skepticism of the palmist later causes him to become flippant towards the palmist’s suggestions, allowing Lam to portray the young boy as disrespectful, and the palmist as foolish. The young’s disregard of the palmist’s idea is exemplified at the end of the story, when the boy “wipe[s] [his hand] clean” of the vision that the palmist had seen for him (Lam 84). The boy’s repudiation of the …show more content…
In Powder, Wolff’s tone reveals the distance and unfamiliarity within the father-son relationship. The description of the fine sports car the father and son travel in evokes anger and pity when the reader realizes that he “couldn’t afford it, and kept promising to sell it” (Wolff 50). Caught in the middle of his parents’ split, the boy literally becomes trapped in his father’s irresponsibility. Wolff describes the son having “considerable doubt” in regards to his father’s schemes, further revealing distance within the father and son’s relationship (Wolff 51). From this, the reader concludes that their relationships may fall apart with the marriage. It is not until later on that the boy realizes that he may as well enjoy the daring time with his father. On the other hand in The Palmist, Lam’s skepticism of the palm reader, allows the reader to better understand the young boy’s intentions. Initially, the boy doesn’t know if he believes in the “all that hocus-pocus stuff” (Lam 80). The young boy’s discomfort with the palmist reveals his hesitation. Although uneasy about the palmist’s intentions, the palmist feels a certain connection towards the boy, saying he reminds him of his lost son. The more the palmist speak, the more the old man’s voice reminds the young boy of his “long-dead grandfather, who also came from another country” (Lam 81). This