How are style and tone of the narrator's voice different from those of the characters?

In general, the style of the writer
is found in his or her diction
(word choice) and syntax (word order). This
often reveals the author's tone or feelings toward his/her subject. Style is known as
the author's "verbal identity." For instance, in Mark Twain's The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn, Twain's style can be found in the character of a young,
uneducated boy who has survived an abusive, alcoholic father, life without a mother, and
the tribulations of being "sivilized," while still remaining a decent person. Twain's
tone comes through in what Huck has to say. Ironically, Huck believes that helping a
runaway slave gain his freedom in the deep South is a bad thing because society teaches
him this. Because he has come to love Jim, Huck thinks that he is a
really bad person by helping Jim (the slave). He declares that good or bad, he will
continue to help and says,

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All right, then, I'll go to
hell.

Twain uses Huck to
convey Twain's own thoughts on the immorality of owning
slaves.

In terms of the narrator's voice and the
characters' voice, the characters will speak to provide information about themselves and
others, and to move the plot along. The author obviously manipulates his characters to
converse in a manner that feeds the plot, but sometimes the characters will not tell you
exactly how the author feels, but you—as the reader—must search for
meaning in the clues the author has the character's plant in what they say and how they
act. In other words, sometimes the author's feelings are implied, but not openly
conveyed. It is in this way that a difference can be seen between the true feelings of
the author toward his subject, and what the characters actually
say.