18) speaks
19) meet
20)smoke
21)not to go
22)has been waiting
23) have I talked to
24) are expected
25)that you be
26)should have told
Hi! Sorry I'm late, but the answer is 'It shows that the speaker will live with a misery that will never leave him'. I know this because I just took a k12 quiz with this question, and this was the correct option.
Diction and figurative language can impact an author's tone and characterization because they can make the story seem more real if everything is working well together, or they can keep the reader from connecting to the work if the choice of words and use of language clashes with the tone the author is trying to convey.
