Thursday, February 11, 2010

Word Watcher

Chapter 13

Pg.110
Impotence-(noun.) feebleness, helplessness, infirmity, powerlessness.
Sentence- The little girl was hopeless, she cried in her impotence.
  • The word impotence show the frustration of Francie when she can't handle the fact that other kids are mocking her parents. This shows Francie expressing emotion, which she will do more further in the novel.
Pg.113
Grotesque-(adj.) odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.
Sentence- The boy is grotesque when he began to show his ugly side.
  • Betty Smith uses the word grotesque in order to describe the way kids were back in the 1900s.

Chapter 19

Pg.152
Recalcitrant-(adj.) resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
Sentence- The boys at school are recalcitrant, never obeying the regulations of the school.

1 comment:

  1. I feel as though it is interesting that you pointed out how certain vocabulary terms can portray setting. This relates to using context clues; as if, you don't know a word, using the sentence surrouding it can help define the vocabulary word itself. Relating to this idea, as you mentioned, "Grotesque" helped the reader determine the lit elementof setting. Using the context clues surrounding this word further helped me, as the reader, determine the meaning behind itself.

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