Read the excerpt adapted from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce:

The wide playgrounds were swarming with boys playing football. All were shouting and the captains urged them on with strong cries. The evening air was pale and chilly, and the greasy leather ball flew like a heavy bird through the grey light. He kept on the edge of his line, out of sight of his captain, out of the reach of the rude feet, pretending to run now and then. His body felt small and he did his best to hide in plain sight.

Which mood does the author develop with syntax and diction?

A. gloomy
B. joyful
C. sarcastic
D. angry

The narrator seems to imply that he did not enjoy the game by using phrases like "swarming" and "greasy."
The plot of James Joyce's book "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" centers on the difficulties of Stephen Daedalus, a young Catholic intellectual, to conform to social norms.
The narrator describes a moment in the playground when the protagonist is reluctant to participate in the text's excerpted paragraph.
Additionally, the narrator expresses his disgust and refusal to participate in such a game by using adjectives like "swarming" and "greasy," implying that he did not enjoy the game either.

Hence, with his use of language and syntax, the author creates a gloomy mood.

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