Question

act 1: mood and tone analysis
part 1 - mood

1. what mood is created at the start of act 1? read the excerpt below and list three adjectives to describe the mood.

the camera has begun to pan down until it passes the horizon and on a sign which reads, \maple street.\ pan down until we are shooting down at an angle toward the street below. its a tree-lined, quiet residential american street, very typical of the small town. the houses have front porches on which people sit and swing on gliders, conversing across from house to house. steve brand polishes his car parked in front of his house. his neighbor, don martin, leans against the fender watching him. a good humor man rides a bicycle and is just in the process of stopping to sell some ice cream to a couple of kids. two women gossip on the front lawn. another man waters his lawn.

1. circle the adjective you wrote above that you feel best describes the mood.
2. after a mysterious event, the mood changes suddenly. read the excerpt and then circle the adjective that best describes this mood.

at this moment one of the little boys, tommy, looks up to listen to a sound of a tremendous screeching roar from overhead. a flash of light plays on both their faces and then it moves down the street past lawns and porches and rooftops and then disappears. various people leave their porches and stop what theyre doing to stare up at the sky. steve brand, the man whos been polishing his car and now he stands there transfixed, staring upwards. he looks at don martin, his neighbor from across the street.
a. depressing b. unsettling c. terrifying d. exciting

1. near the end of act 1, the mood continues to turn. read the excerpt and write three adjectives to describe the mood.

the group suddenly starts towards the house. in this brief fraction of a moment they take the first step toward performing a metamorphosis that changes people from a group into a mob. they begin to head purposefully across the street toward the house at the end. steve stands in front of them. for a moment their fear almost turns their walk into a wild stampede, but steves voice, loud, incisive, and commanding, makes them stop.

1. underline the words and phrases in the excerpt from #4 that best illustrate the mood.

Explanation:

Question 1

To determine the mood at the start of Act 1, we analyze the excerpt. The description includes a "tree - lined, quiet residential American street" with people engaging in peaceful activities like sitting on porches, conversing, polishing a car, selling ice cream, gossiping, and watering the lawn. From this, we can extract adjectives that capture the calm and peaceful atmosphere.

This is a subjective choice based on the adjectives listed in question 1. For example, if we consider the overall sense of tranquility, we might choose "peaceful" as the best - fitting adjective.

• Option a: "depressing" is incorrect as the event is mysterious and causes a sense of unease rather than sadness.
• Option b: "unsettling" is correct. The sudden screeching roar, flash of light, and people's reactions of stopping what they're doing and staring up create a sense of unease and disruption of the previous calm.
• Option c: "terrifying" is too strong. The event is mysterious and causes unease but not extreme terror at this point.
• Option d: "exciting" is incorrect as the event is more disturbing than exciting.

Answer:

Three adjectives to describe the mood are: peaceful, calm, serene.

Question 2