Read the excerpt from "object lesson 1". in his nose was the pungent smell of ink, glue, paper, chalk, musty wardrobe closets; surrounding him were discolored walls, peeling paint, tarnished fixtures, warped window poles, and mutilated desks. which words best express a negative tone in the excerpt? desks, smell, wardrobe musty, discolored, warped window, chalk, fixtures nose, paint, surrounding