Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Audacious with a Dash of Tongue-in-Cheek
Back when Barack Obama ran for POTUS the first time, there was a lot of buzz about his book The Audacity of Hope. Mainly it had people wondering what audacity meant. Now, of course, we all know that audacity is just another word for boldness or daring, and that's the way Pippi's tale is told.
Pippi is vibrant and strong, boisterous and self-sufficient. She tells tall tales, ignores rules she doesn't like, and turns traditional adult/child and male/female roles on their head. She's a bit of a firecracker, but Astrid Lindgren has the audacity to present her without apology. It's clear that Lindgren likes Pippi and enjoys the way she challenges people's stereotypes and expectations, and it's also clear that both she and Pippi have a certain amount of disdain for folks that cling unquestioningly to the status quo. That's where the tongue-in-cheek part comes in.
In Chapter Three, when the policemen try to explain to Pippi why she must go to school they come up a little short. Multiplication tables? Really? That's what it's all about? They try to strengthen their argument by saying how embarrassing it would be not to know the capital of Portugal. That line of reasoning backfires when Pippi first mocks them by replying, "No doubt I should lie awake nights and wonder and wonder, 'What is the capital of Portugal?' But one can't be having fun all the time," and then, a sentence later, reveals that she's not the ignorant little girl they believe her to be by adding, "For that matter, I've been in Lisbon with my papa" (3.26).
You can bet Astrid Lindgen's tongue was firmly planted in her cheek when she wrote that bit. How audacious.