Beated, beaten, scratched. These words bring a strong presence in the writing in general but especially in My Papa's Waltz. As these used together in a piece of writing, they set a very violent and in some cases abusive tone. Authors, just like Vincent Van Gogh who chose his brushstrokes and colors precisely to convey a certain message, develop their writing and choose their words very precisely to convey the tone and meaning they wish to convey to their readers. Theodore Roethke, the author of My Papa's Waltz, used sensory details, specific words, and events in his story to convey a violent tone. “The whiskey on your breath could make a little boy dizzy (Roethke). » This sentence bombards the reader's brain with sensory details. The reader smells the sour, corrosive odor of whiskey wafting from the father's odorous mouth into the nostrils of the innocent young child. Sensory details help give the reader a sense of what is happening in the story and transport them into the story, allowing the reader to feel, touch, taste, smell and see what the characters are. A rich description as in the lines: “The hand which held my wrist was struck on one phalanx; With every step you missed, my right ear scratched the loop. the reader can feel the hand gripping his wrist and see the bruised knuckle holding his wrist. From the appearance of the bruised knuckle, the reader infers that the grip on the wrist is tight, because bruised knuckles mean that the father hit something or someone. The reader can also feel something or in this case a ringlet scratching their ear because of the father. The scratching sensation associated with scratching surprises the child and surprises him, because he is not expecting it. This line in the middle of the article... The author specifically pointed out this fact, emphasizing its importance. This line, combined with the other events in the poem, leads the reader to the conclusion that there is a hostile and abusive mood in the text. Roethke had very specific reasons for choosing the sensory details, specific words, and events that took place in his story to explain them. show the harsh and horrific abuse that plays out in the story, which conveys the violent/abusive tone. Authors choose their elements very carefully to represent the exact tone they want the reader to take away from their writing, just as artists such as Van Gogh chose specific brushstrokes and images to convey a certain message to people who have seen his works. The authors do a fantastic job of deliberately choosing what they want their reader to take away from the story, but what are they really trying to tell us beyond their calculated actions ??