What advice would Joe Small give you if you were facing a tough challenge? *
Help please

Which techniques best describe the tone the author is using in this passage?

June and sylvio speak to mr. teller in the driveway of their farmhouse. it is raining hard, and they all carry umbrellas. a dog sits on the steps of the house. june: we didn’t think you’d be coming back for the puppy. mr. teller: i said i would when i dropped the puppy off. sylvio: yes, but that was months ago. we thought you’d be back for the puppy in a couple days. now she’s a full-grown dog. we have raised her ourselves, we built her her own doghouse, and we love her. mr. teller: but she’s my dog. i only dropped her off at your house for safekeeping since i had to go out of town on business. now i’m back and i want my dog back. what is the setting of this play? a basket a farm a doghouse a trip

Read the following excerpt from life on the mississippi by mark twain. no girl could withstand his charms. he "cut out" every boy in the village. when his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism. how does twain's use of understatement serve his purpose? be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.