Rebecca 3
In chapter seven, after marrying rather suddenly, the nameless narrator and Maxim, her new husband, travel to his home, Manderley. There is a moment here, as the narrator describes hedges of rhododendrons that line the driveway leading up to the house, that really showcases how important word choice is to the tone of a piece of writing.
We were among the rhododendrons. There was something bewildering, even shocking, about the suddenness of their discovery. The woods had not prepared me for them. They startled me with their crimson faces, massed one upon the other in incredible profusion, showing no leaf, no twig, nothing but the slaughterous red, luscious and fantastic, unlike any rhododendron plant I had seen before. (emphasis mine)
If this had been an ordinary romance, a young wife coming to see her new home for the first time, this moment would be described very differently. The red of the flowers would be likened to the romance, to love, rather than with the adjective "slaughterous". The narrator would be "delighted" and "surprised", rather than startled or shocked.
It's like in movies and shows, the background music feeds the intended tone and emotion to the audience. Without the music cues, there is room for interpreting the intention of the scene, and even the intentions of the characters on the screen. If a pair of characters are looking each other in the eye and the music swells with romantic strings, we know they have a romantic connection and are feeling that connection. But if the music is tense, we know the characters are in a stand-off.
The same is true with the written word, and it means we writers must be careful in choosing our words to make sure the exact meaning and tone is carried to the reader. With omen of the slaughterous red flowers, I know that our young narrator is heading into a tense, potentially dangerous situation that she is perhaps not prepared for.