Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Philosophical Cut with Comic Relief
The play, as you've no doubt noticed by now, gets into some pretty heady territory. We're talking about the meaning of life, the existence of God, the point of suffering, and all that doctorate-level stuff. For instance, describing the pain of the world, White says:
"And if that pain were actually collective instead of simply reiterative then the sheer weight of it would drag the world from the walls of the universe and send it crashing and burning through whatever night it might yet be capable of engendering until it was not even ash." (137)
Whoa… dude. Lighten up a little, will ya? But fear not: It's not all "reiterative" this and "capable of engendering" that—not at all. In fact, the tone in this play is frequently sort of lighthearted… for a play about suicide. The conversation about "Cecil" (11-12) early on in the play is a good example.