Tone:
Similar to mood, tone describes the author's attitude toward his/her material, the audience, or both.


Example:
“Before society had grown corrupt enough to smile, instead of shuddering at it.”

-The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Explanation:

This sentence effectively shows Hawthorne tone. He sees the society as cynical and hypocritical, because they are not suppose to judge people as a Puritan, but they do. The purpose of creating a cynical tone while talking to the Puritans is simple. He is trying to show and convince the reader that the Puritans were wrong and hypocritical. He talks down to Puritanism, putting them in in "bad light". He also describes their ways as cruel and corrupt, which is seen in this example. Which all creates his cynical tone, which the reader sees, and picks up on.