There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. there is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. there is a failure here that topples all our success. the fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. and children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. and coroners must fill in the certificates—died of malnutrition—because the food must rot, must be forced to rot.
which best describes how the diction supports the tone of this passage?
a. the phrase "died of malnutrition" communicates the author's sadness about the children's dying of pellagra.
b. the author uses irony to show the absurdity of malnourished children dying when food is plentiful.
c. the words "crime" and "denunciation" reveal the author's outrage toward the wasting of food.
d. the author repeats the phrase "there is" to create parallelism and reinforce the idea of loss.

The correct answer is C. The words "crime" and "denunciation" reveal the author's outrage toward the wasting of food.

Explanation:

The tone refers to the attitude of the writer towards the subject or topic the author is writing about, this means the tone expresses the position and point of view of the author towards the situation that is being described in the text. This attitude or position can be identified by the use of language, the point of view and the diction of the author, which is the election of words to refer to the main subject or topic.

In the excerpt presented the author describes the way food is wasted and children died because of this. The diction or election of words in this case is the use of words such as "crime", "denunciation", "died of malnutrition", "food must rot" and "must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange" to show the author disagrees with the situation of food being wasted and feels outraged or indignant as the author considers this situation is mainly unfair. Considering the previous ideas it can be concluded the diction or election of words supports the tone of this passage as the words "crime" and "denunciation" revel the author's outrage toward the wasting of food.