Answer:
The tone is that of despair. An informal diction, as well as figurative speech, were used by the author and that, can be seen in these two examples;
a. The years took all the fight out of Janie's face
b. She was a rut in the road.
Explanation:
Diction is the word-choice of an author. It could be informal or formal depending on the topic of discussion. The author in this excerpt used informal diction and figurative language to describe the feeling of despair that Janie felt. This can be seen in the following expressions;
a. The years took all the fight out of Janie's face: This was used to show the dejection and depression Janie felt because of the constant disagreements between her and Jody.
b. She was a rut in the road: This is not to be understood literally, rather, just as a rut was deep and was caused by the constant passage of the wheels of a vehicle so was Janie whose essence could not be seen as a result of her outward pains and continuous struggles through the years.
