The Wonderful World of Tone!
Nostalgic

Definition: A longing for something long ago

"I'm fifty-seven years old, but even now I can remember everything from that year, down to the smallest details.  I relive that year often in my mind, bringing it back to life, and I realize that when I do, I always feel a strange combination of sadness and joy.  There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and talk all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.  So I take the memories as they come, accepting them all, letting them guide me whenever I can..."
~A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks 

     This piece is the quintessence of a nostalgic tone.  A Walk to Remember is a flashback of Landon Carter, and his poignant love story.  Quotes such as "I relive that year often in my mind...", "...I wish I could roll back the clock...", and "I take the memories as they come, accepting them all..." illustrate the character's yearnings to go back to a certain point in his life.  He realizes that if all the sadness is taken away, then so is all the joy.  Sparks creates this tone of nostalgia to hook the reader into his story, and relive Landon's senior year with the narrator.

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christy inc.
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