APrep Open the app

AP English Literature · Unit 4: Narration

4.3 Narrative Distance & Tone

Distance

Narrative distance is how close or far the narration feels from a character's mind. Close distance immerses us in a character's thoughts and idiom; great distance reports events coolly from afar.

Tone through narration

A narrator's word choice, or diction, and syntax establish tone — the attitude toward events and characters. A mocking diction produces satire; a tender one, sympathy.

Free indirect discourse

Free indirect discourse blends the narrator's third-person voice with a character's thoughts and idiom, without quotation marks. It lets a text move fluidly between reporting and inhabiting a mind.

Key terms

Narrative distance
How close or far the narration feels from a character's mind.
Diction
A narrator's word choice, which shapes tone.
Tone
The narrator's attitude toward events and characters.
Free indirect discourse
Third-person narration blended with a character's thoughts.
Close vs. far distance
Close immerses us in a mind; far reports coolly from outside.

Try an AP-style question

Narrative distance refers to…

  1. the physical distance between places
  2. the total length of the story
  3. the number of chapters in the book
  4. how close the narrator is to characters
Show the answer

D. Closeness.

Practice 8 AP-style questions with instant explanations, flashcards and spaced review.

Study 4.3 free in APrep