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These phrases set a satirical tone. Both of them are examples of idioms, meaning they mean one thing, and say another. Satire itself also usually has one literal meaning, and one subtextual meaning that makes commentary.

Passage

Tone it Creates

“what had he scrawled?” (337)

Desperate, hurried (usually, one does not scrawl unless they’re in a rush)

“most accidental stain” (337)

Absurd (something either is accidental or isn’t—so the “most accidental” implies vast overanalysis)

“having fulfilled their noble mission” (338)

Pompous (to assume that kidnapping is ‘noble’ sounds like a false use of the word; censors think themselves more important than they are)

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This is a story condemning censorship and workaholism. Juan is consumed by his job as a government censor—it isolates him from his friends and makes him obsessive—and yet, this does not save him from ultimately being condemned to death by the government.

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Government censorship and capital punishment are extremely sobering subjects. They are aspects of many larger systems that oppress their citizens, causing them to suffer. The satirical, wry tone of the story initially seems inappropriate for a story centered on these topics, however, it also brings the story nearer to real life, and makes it seem less like something that would happen in the distant future. In real life, people go about their lives as great disasters happen, and even make jokes about them. Thus, approaching topics like censorship and capital punishment with dry humor makes it feel closer to the reader.