Name______Determining Theme and Tone Date______Sports and Adventure Lit. and Writing

George Carlin, “Football and Baseball” from Carlin on Campus, 1984

As a comedian, Carlin has a clear purpose: to entertain his audience and make them laugh. However, like any writer, his purpose is also to make you think, to make you understand something that could be true about humans and the world in which we live. ● In literature, we call this message or underlying “truth” the theme. A theme statement is a sentence or two that expresses a lesson or controlling idea that the author wants you to consider or understand as a result of reading their work. Maybe you agree with Carlin’s point of view and the message he is trying to express about the difference between the two sports, or maybe you disagree with this message. Either way, he strategically uses language to get this message across.

1. What is Carlin’s message? What, according to this sketch, is the difference between baseball and football? a. Try to summarize the main idea in a complete sentence or two that is specific and arguable. “Baseball is different than football” is too vague and doesn’t really tell us anything about the point of this piece.

Tone is the word we use to describe the author’s attitude. In writing, tone is conveyed through diction (choice of words), syntax (sentence construction), and imagery (metaphors, similes, and other types of figurative language). Managing tone to effectively communicate a message is one of the best indicators of a sophisticated writer.

Carlin’s tone is definitely funny, but “funny” isn’t especially descriptive or specific. Things can be funny in lots of different ways. Below are a few words that could be used as a more specific description of the humor behind piece’s attitude. teasing condescending comical ridiculing

1. Which do you like best to describe the tone, or overall attitude of this piece? Why?

2. How does he change his physical presentation and tone of voice when presenting the differences? How does this help you understand the overall theme? Name______Determining Theme and Tone Date______Sports and Adventure Lit. and Writing

“Sports Talk with a Non-Fan,” Frederick C. Klein, The Wall Street Journal, 1991

1. Which word best describes the author's attitude toward Anderson? a. cautious b. compassionate c. curious d. dismayed

2. Explain why you chose that word.

3. What is the author’s purpose for writing this piece for his column?

4. What is the theme of the article?

5. How did you react to the piece? Did you think it was funny, or confusing, or boring, or too dated, etc?