In the story “Shame” by Dick Gregory, the author uses mood and tone to develop the main character as a shameful person, which ultimately teaches the reader that people have to find themselves over time and also how stylistic techniques create the story and its plot. The narrator demonstrates this throughout the short story, influenced by a girl named Helen Tucker. Her existence alone developed the narrator as the shameful person he is and taught him that he will never have a daddy or live a life without feeling different.
The author uses mood, which are the feelings created in the set atmosphere of the reading, to put the reader in the narrator’s point of view and feel sympathy for his thrive to fit in with everyone else at school. This is what influenced the development of Richard’s feeling of shame. Another example is how Richard develops hate for his life and school. He hated asking everyone for necessities, such as rotten pears and even spoonfuls of sugar; even though it is the only way he can survive.
The mood, including shame and hate, puts the reader in Richard’s shoes and makes him or her realize how terrible it would be to live like that. The author also uses tone, which is expressed through the author’s attitude, to show how such a sweet kid is treated so badly for being different. For example, when all of the “daddy’s” came into school to donate money. Richard saved all of his money he earned shining shoes and with a very soft and sweet tone was trying to put the impression on his classmates that his father gave him the fifteen dollars to put in. Yet, the teacher still treated him with hate and disrespect, making feel left out.
Another example is the tone of love. Richard always talked to Helen with love in his voice, doing random chivalrous deeds for her and her family. Even after everything he did the love was not returned. This, overall, developed Richard to be a depressed little kid; shedding tears in front of his love and classmates. This technique allows the reader to see the change in the narrator easily.
Richard Gregory was a happy little kid filled with love who changed into a shameful kid filled with hate. In the story “Shame” by Dick Gregory, the author uses mood and tone to develop the main character as a shameful person, which ultimately teaches the reader that people have to find themselves over time, and what goes around does not always come back around. Richard learned that life does not go how you want it to and even the happiest person can turn out to be living in a life of shame. The trait was rubbed onto Richard through other characters attitudes and feelings. The reader can learn from this, and know to always keep their head up even when life isn’t going their way.
