Question

Read the excerpt from "Why Do Black Women Fear the Fro?” by Cheryl Thompson.

I also know a lot of black women who secretly want to go natural, but fear the reaction at work, what their family will say, even that their partner will leave them. If hair is just hair, you'd think going natural would be just as easy as processing your hair.

How does the author’s diction affect the mood of the excerpt?

The informal diction creates a frustrated mood.
The colloquial diction creates an appeasing mood.

Answer 1

The first option is correct: the informal/colloquial diction creates a frustrated (and anxious) mood. Words and phrases like "secretly want," "fear the reaction at work," "what their family will say," and "you'd think" convey disappointment, restraint, and incredulity—showing the speaker’s frustration at the social pressures that make a simple choice fraught.