Question

Read the excerpt from "Missing in Action” by Thanhha Lai.

Everything on the altar
remains for the day
except the portrait.
Mother locks it away
as soon as her chant ends.

She cannot bear
to look into Father’s
forever-young
eyes.

How does the use of plot contribute to the tone of the excerpt?

It develops a tone of hostility as the reader grasps the speaker’s anger at her mother.
It develops a tone of grief as the reader observes the events through the speaker’s eyes.
It develops a tone of respect as the reader learns of one of the speaker’s family rituals.
It develops a tone of uncertainty as the speaker’s setting remains unknown to the reader.

Answer 1

It develops a tone of grief as the reader observes the events through the speaker’s eyes.

The sequence—the altar items left out, the portrait hidden immediately after the chant, and the mother's inability to look at the “forever-young” eyes—shows mourning and sorrow, which creates a grieving tone.