Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Matter-of-Fact, Moderately Chatty
Lewis knew that he had to tell this story in a way that would make sense to young readers, but he also knew that he couldn't be condescending to his audience, which he assumed would be bright and inquisitive. To accomplish this, then, the tone in The Silver Chair is unassuming, straightforward, and lacking in sarcasm or other subtleties that could be misread on the page. Also—and we talk about this more over in "Narrator Point of View," so be sure to check it out—there's a certain warmth and friendliness thanks to the second-person direct addresses to the audience. Check it:
But what really made Jill open her eyes and mouth as wide as they would go, was the people themselves. If "people" was the right word. For only about one in every five was human. The rest were things you never saw in our world. Fauns, satyrs, centaurs: Jill could give a name to these for she had seen pictures of them. Dwarfs too. And there were a lot of animals she knew as well; bears, badgers, moles, leopards, mice, and various birds. But then they were so very different from the animals which one called by the same names in England. (3.35)
The reader is given everything they need to understand this strange place. As Jill takes the scene in, readers get to do the same, receiving information directly—we know exactly what is before Jill's eyes. But did you notice the word our tucked in there? When the narrator says "our world," he aligns himself with readers, as though he's sitting across the table from us telling us this fantastical tale while we munch on donuts. Mmm…