Read this passage from the essay “This Is Spinal Fusion,” which describes the writer’s experience wearing a back brace. Note the tone created by the connotations of words. The near-constant bracing coincided with some of the most awkward months of my early adolescent life. At first I was excited by the prospect of a solution. I clung to that hope through the humiliating process of fitting, which required me to wear a thin cotton body sock while a stranger measured and molded my torso. The product looked medieval: a portable, plastic iron maiden. Instead of spikes, though, the prosthetic was to use hard, round protuberances to torment me.

What emotional effect do the author’s word choices create?