Ka Ching Tone Assignment

In Margaret Atwood’s Ka-Ching!, the dominant tone of the passage is nostalgic and contemplative. When Atwood describes her first job, working for a small hotel coffee shop, she refers to it as being a clean, well-lighted, with booths, counters and waitresses. She is looking back on what seemed to be a poor experience.

The basis of the Machiavellian characteristics was to do whatever it took to gain power and maintain that power. During the time of William Shakespeare being a ruler had nothing to do with being a good person, nor did it ever mean doing the right thing. The characteristics that Claudius possess are that he manipulates people, he is unapologetic, and extremely selfish.

The dominant tone of the passage is cynical and satirical.

The idea that a baby or child could be used as a snack is cynical and satirical. Swift presents his point of view on cannibalism as if it were something completely normal, ignoring the fact that it is taboo, and not socially acceptable. When reading, we are able to understand that eating children would never happen, but due to his use of diction, a sarcastic and a cynical tone is used. With use of proper connotative diction the author allows us to understand the terrible conditions in Ireland and reveals the dominant tone. “I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it be urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom.” It may seem that the narrator may be serious when proposing his solution, but we are able to detect plenty of cynicism.

“For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too tender a consistence to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it.” An awful lot of extremity is portrayed when Jonathan Swift explains how humans could possibly be exported to other countries in order to be sold and eaten. This demonstrates plenty of sarcastic diction. The denotation of cynical is showing the belief that a person could be solely motivated by selfish concerns.

In this passage Swift is able to support his points of view towards the conditions of Ireland with valid reasoning although not realistic. The denotation of sarcasm is not necessarily ironic, but rather a rude or bitter remark toward a thought or point of view. Again, Swift uses sarcastic diction in a connotative way in order to explain to the reader that eating and selling humans is a valid option to better the country and the citizens.

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