Question

According to the article Me, Me, Me Generation: Why Millennials Will Save Us All by Joel Stein:

1. Compare the tone with which the writer starts and finishes the essay.

Answer 1

This is how the article begins with such confidence, words, and data.

"I am about to do what old people have done throughout history: call those younger than me lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow. But I have studies! I have statistics! I have quotes from respected academics! Unlike my parents, my grandparents and my great-grandparents, I have proof.

Here's the cold, hard data: The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that's now 65 or older, according to the National Institutes of Health; 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982. "

This is how it ends.

"So, yes, we have all that data about narcissism and laziness and entitlement. But a generation's greatness isn't determined by data; it's determined by how they react to the challenges that befall them. And, just as important, by how we react to them. Whether you think millennials are the new greatest generation of optimistic entrepreneurs or a group of 80 million people about to implode in a dwarf star of tears when their expectations are unmet depends largely on how you view change. Me, I choose to believe in the children. God knows they do."

The tone of the essay changed by the writer, from his conviction to prove his point with the help of data and figures, criticizing the older generations and his peers but later in the article, having put all the facts and figures forward, he adds some uncertainty to the tone and ends up with ' But a generation's greatness isn't determined by data; it's determined by how they react to the challenges that befall them.' It is a polar shift in the tone, mood, and meaning of the article. A person that sounded so confident in his article at the beginning with his facts and figures as his ammo, ends the article on the brink of uncertainty and it is a stark difference that can be seen about the tone of the article from beginning till the end.

I hope I was able to answer your question, thanks and don't forget to hit that thumbs-up button.