VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “ NOTES OF A NATIVE SON ”

1. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” As we drove [my father’s body] to the graveyard, the spoils1 of injustice, anarchy, discontent , and hatred were all around us. It seemed to me that God himself had devised2, to mark my father’s end, the most sustained and brutally dissonant of codas3. dissonant (adjective): not in agreement with something; discordant; [music] not in harmony Whatever the origins of the malaise, this dissonant combination of urban potential, challenges and inadequate responses can only lead to more frustration and cynicism among citizens. —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries • spoils (noun): goods or property seized from a victim after a conflict, especially after a military victory; incidental benefits reaped by a winner • devise (verb): to invent or plan (something that is difficult or complicated) • coda (noun): an ending part of a piece of music or a work of literature or drama that is separate from the earlier parts; something that ends and completes something else

2. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” I had declined* to believe in that apocalypse which had been central to my father’s vision; very well, life seemed to be saying, here is something that will certainly pass for an apocalypse until the real thing comes along. apocalypse (noun): a great disaster; a sudden and very bad event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction; the end or destruction of the world especially as described in the Christian Bible The United States was calling in air strikes and heavy armor until we had the feeling that the whole thing was going to end in apocalypse. —Phillip Robertson, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary If ever, indeed, the violence which fills Harlem's churches, pool halls, and bars erupts outward in a more direct fashion, Harlem and its citizens are likely to vanish in an apocalyptic flood. —James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (Part III) *decline (verb): to become lower in amount or less in number; to become worse in condition or quality; to say that you will not or cannot do something

3. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” He had been born in New Orleans and had been a quite young man there during the time that Louis Armstrong*, a boy, was running errands for the dives and honky-tonks of what was always presented to me as one of the most wicked of cities—to this day, whenever I think of New Orleans, I also helplessly think of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom (noun): ancient city destroyed by God for its wickedness in Genesis 19; a place notorious for vice or corruption Gomorrah (noun): as above, ancient city destroyed by God for its wickedness in Genesis 19; a place notorious for vice or corruption Some may call Gotham City a Sodom and Gomorra of the modern era, but even with its faults and abundance of vice, there are still good people there trying to survive. —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries *Louis Armstrong (a.k.a. “Satchmo”): American jazz musician. A virtuoso trumpeter and popular, gravelly voiced singer, he greatly influenced the development of jazz.

4. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” He claimed to be proud of his blackness but it had also been the cause of much humiliation and it had fixed bleak boundaries to his life. bleak (adjective): exposed and barren; open to wind or weather; not warm, friendly, cheerful, etc.; not hopeful or encouraging The trees are bare, the land is bleak, closed, unproductive and numb, its furrows seemingly incapable of the new life we hope for in the spring. Homeowners in flood-prone areas faced a bleak start to the new year —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult. —John Millington Synge, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary That bleakly memorable morning I hated the unbelievable streets and the Negroes and whites who had, equally, made them that way. —James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (Part III)

5. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” He had been ill a long time—in the mind, as we now realized, reliving instances of his fantastic intransigence in the new light of his affliction1 and endeavoring2 to feel a sorrow for him which never, quite, came true. intransigent (adjective): completely unwilling to change; uncompromising; very stubborn intransigence (noun): the quality or state of being intransigent “We put a number of scenarios to them to try and get something in the package for everybody but they were very intransigent, they refused to move,” he said. Their doctrinal intransigence and inflexibility also reflected that of the political system. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries • affliction (noun): something (such as a disease) that causes pain or suffering; the state of being affected by something that causes suffering • endeavor (verb): to seriously or continually try to do (something)

6. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” He had always been so strange, and had lived, like a prophet, in such unimaginably close communion with the Lord that his long silences which were punctuated by moans and hallelujahs and snatches of old songs while he sat at the living-room window never seemed odd to us. commune (verb): to communicate with someone or something in a very personal or spiritual way communion (noun): a Christian ceremony in which bread is eaten and wine is drunk as a way of showing devotion to Jesus Christ ; a close relationship with someone or something In this churchyard communion with the dead was almost palpable. The sheer joy of that intimate communion with nature; the contented peace we discover on the banks of running waters—that's what it's really all about. Mutual participation or communion is an integral feature of Christian salvation. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries

7. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” He treated almost everybody on our block with a most uncharitable asperity and neither they, nor, of course, their children were slow to reciprocate*. asperity (noun): something making for hardship; severity; harshness of temper, manner, or tone; harshness of behavior or speech that expresses bitterness or anger doesn't like the asperity of most experimental music She responded with such asperity that we knew she was deeply offended by the question. —Usage Examples from Merriam-Webster Dictionary “We seemed incapable of venturing out onto those expansive grounds without encountering one another," she said with some asperity. —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries *reciprocate (verb): to do (something) for or to someone who has done something similar for or to you; to have (a feeling) for someone who has the same feeling for you

8. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” When I was around nine or ten I wrote a play which was directed by a young, white schoolteacher, a woman, who then took an interest in me . . . and, in order to corroborate my theatrical bent*, decided to take me to see what she somewhat tactlessly referred to as “real” plays. corroborate (verb): to support or help prove (a statement, theory, etc.) by providing information or evidence Studies that are wrong will be superseded by better studies with different results. Studies that are right will be corroborated by other good studies. —Harriet Hall, Usage Example from Merriam-Webster Dictionary ... but no one was interested in the facts. They preferred the invention because this invention expressed and corroborated their hates and fears so perfectly. It is just as well to remember that people are always doing this. —James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (Part III) *bent (noun): a strong inclination or interest; a special inclination or capacity ; talent

9. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” Theater-going was forbidden in our house, but, with the really cruel intuitiveness* of a child, I suspected that the color of this woman’s skin would carry the day for me. carry the day: to be victorious or successful; win; prevail For the winners, it was a case of team spirit, skill and determination carrying the day. I'd truly hate to see my argument carry the day in court, because it would knock the U.S. out of the trade-agreement business, possibly for a long time. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries In what is certain to be a hard-fought encounter, Manchester United's attacking prowess can carry the day. —Sunday Times, Usage Example from Collins English Dictionary *intuitive (adjective): knowing or understanding by intuition; having the ability to know or understand things without any proof or evidence

10. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” In later years, particularly when it began to be clear that this “education” of mine was going to lead me to perdition, he became more explicit* and warned me that my white friends in high school were not really my friends and that I would see, when I was older, how white people would do anything to keep a Negro down. perdition (noun): the state of being in hell forever as punishment after death; damnation; utter ruin Hence, if the children suffer eternal perdition because their parents, who are themselves Christians, do not teach them how to attain salvation, God will judge and punish the parents. Their aim is to persuade his hearers to pursue the better and safer path by alerting them to the danger of eternal perdition. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries *explicit (adjective): very clear and complete; leaving no doubt about the meaning; showing or referring very openly to nudity, violence, or sexual activity; openly shown

11. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” I did not know what I had done, and I shortly began to wonder what anyone could possibly do, to bring about such unanimous, active, and unbearably vocal hostility. I knew about jim-crow, but I had never experienced it. jim crow (noun): the systematic practice of discriminating against and segregating black people, especially as practiced in the American South from the end of Reconstruction to the mid-1900s Origin: Jim Crow was a stereotypical black character in a song-and-dance act presented by Thomas D. Rice in the 1800s I told them I wouldn't take a Jim Crow job. —Ralph Bunche, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary What Jackson did was an act of protest, not unlike what Rosa Parks committed when she refused to give in to a Jim Crow law —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries

12. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” I walked for perhaps a block or two until I came to an enormous, glittering, and fashionable restaurant in which I knew not even the intercession of the Virgin would cause me to be served. intercede (verb): to try to help settle an argument or disagreement between two or more people or groups; to speak to someone in order to defend or help another person intercession (noun): the action of intervening on behalf of another, especially a prayer or petition to God in behalf of another Their argument probably would have become violent if I hadn't interceded. When the boss accused her of lying, several other employees interceded on her behalf. Even the intercession of the United Nations failed to bring an end to the war. —Usage Examples from Merriam-Webster Dictionary

13. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” And she did step a very short step closer, with her pencil poised incongruously over her pad, and repeated the formula*: “. . . don’t serve Negroes here.” incongruous (noun): not harmonious, suitable, or proper; incompatible; inconsistent; strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected The duffel coat looked incongruous with the black dress she wore underneath. This magnificent building lauded as a perfect example of Art Deco, though it strikes one as incongruously European, counter balances the architecture of the Fort —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries [T]he first time the word wealth ever entered into my mind in relation to Harlem was when I saw it scattered in the streets. But one’s first, incongruous impression of plenty was countered immediately by an impression of waste. —James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (Part III) *formula (noun): a set form of words for use in a ceremony or ritual; a general fact or rule expressed in symbols and especially mathematical symbols; a required or set form or method

14. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” [C]rime wave or not, the Harlem police force had been augmented in March, and the unrest grew—perhaps, in fact, partly as a result of the ghetto’s instinctive hatred of policemen. augment (verb): to increase the size or amount of (something); to add something to (something) in order to improve or complete it … a former member of Brunet's team, Jean-Renaud Boisserie of Berkeley, is in the Middle Awash seeking to augment the animal fossil record—particularly that of hippopotamuses. —Rex Dalton, Usage Example from Merriam-Webster Dictionary The precision may be increased by augmenting the number of samples used. The new link features an expanded shop, revenue from which has become vital to augmenting the budget of any gallery. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries

15. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” [T]he people I knew felt, mainly, a peculiar kind of relief when they knew that their boys were being shipped out of the south, to do battle overseas. It was, perhaps . . . that now, even if death should come, it would come with honor and without the complicity of their countrymen. complicit (adjective): helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way complicity (noun): association or participation in a wrongful act Presidential handlers and a complicit press corps managed to suppress public awareness. —Andrew P.N. Erdmann, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary There's no proof of her complicity in the murder. —Usage Example from Merriam-Webster Dictionary The German Supreme Court found that the five members of the Court Martial were guilty of complicity in a crime against humanity. —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries

16. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” The closer we came to the hospital the more querulous she became and at the same time, naturally, grew more dependent on me. querulous (adjective): habitually complaining; complaining in a petulant or whining manner The child said in a querulous voice that he didn't like carrots. —Usage Example from Merriam-Webster Dictionary He is thereby reduced to the status of a child, though a spoiled child with the physical capabilities of a man: petulant, demanding, querulous, self-centered, and violent if he doesn't get his own way. Must poetry always be difficult to understand, asks another querulous voice; the poet's response, to the effect that poetry is a sort of sculpture carved from the stone of language, falls upon deafness. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries

17. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” The girl, stifling her very lively concern as to the possible effects of the whisky on one of my father’s chief mourners, concentrated on being conciliatory and practically helpful. conciliate (verb): to make (someone) more friendly or less angry; pacify; to bring into agreement conciliatory (adjective): intended or likely to placate or pacify The company's attempts to conciliate the strikers have failed. It will be hard to conciliate the views of labor and management regarding health benefits. —Usage Examples from Merriam-Webster Dictionary Pro-democracy legislators have been invited to the event in a move seen as a conciliatory gesture from Beijing. —Usage Example from Oxford Dictionaries

18. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” The minister who preached my father’s funeral sermon was one of the few my father had still been seeing as he neared his end. He presented to us in his sermon a man whom none of us had ever seen—a man thoughtful, patient, and forbearing, a Christian inspiration to all who knew him and a model for his children. forbear (verb): to choose not to do (something that you could do) : to avoid doing or saying (something) forbearing (adjective): patient and restrained He saw that she was preoccupied, and forbore to question her. —Thomas Hardy, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary You're surrounded by amazingly patient, forbearing people, especially your parents. It conveyed a sense of forbearing and compassionate understanding in which the idea that people are human and mistakes are natural was embodied. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries

19. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” . . . raising, which was worse, the question of whether or not an antidote was desirable; perhaps poison should be fought with poison. With these several schisms in the mind and with more terrors in the heart than could be named, it was better not to judge the man who had gone down under an impossible burden. schism (noun): division; separation; lack of harmony; a division among the members of a group caused by differences in opinion or belief [He] found it increasingly difficult to maintain party unity in the face of ideological schism over civil rights. —Nick Kotz, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary The author outlines both the commonalities that define science fiction fandom and the tensions and schisms within the community, focusing on participants in organized clubs, amateur publications, and conventions. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries

20. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” Snatches of popular songs, indecent jokes, bits of books I had read, movie sequences, faces, voices, political issues . . . all these impressions suspended*, as it were, in the solution of the faint nausea produced in me by the heat and liquor. solution (noun): an act or process of solving; an answer to a problem; an act or the process by which a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance is dissolved in a liquid; a liquid containing a dissolved substance Medication may not be the best solution for the patient's condition. She made a solution of baking soda and water. He rinsed the contact lens with saline solution. —Usage Examples from Merriam-Webster Dictionary *suspend (verb): to stop or do away with for a time; to keep from falling or sinking by some invisible support; to put a substance into a state in which its particles are mixed with but undissolved in a fluid or solid (suspension)

21. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” . . . and there they were, bewildered and frightened and very small, being led, one by one, to the casket. But there is also something very gallant about children at such moments. It has something to do with their silence and gravity* and with the fact that one cannot help them. gallant (adjective): showing courage; very brave; nobly or selflessly resolute; large and impressive; having or showing politeness and respect for women The defenders of the fort made a gallant stand. They failed to reach the summit, but they made a gallant attempt. He greeted her with a gallant bow. He offered her his seat in a gallant gesture. —Usage Examples from Merriam-Webster Dictionary *gravity (noun): a very serious quality or condition; the condition of being grave or serious; a force of attraction between particles or bodies that occurs because of their mass

22. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” But this does not mean, on the other hand, that love comes easily: the white world is too powerful, too complacent, too ready with gratuitous* humiliation, and, above all, too ignorant and too innocent for that. complacent (adjective): satisfied with how things are and not wanting to change them; showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements … I gazed at my mother's poised, beautiful profile as her face turned from side to side, calm or complacent, accepting what the route offered. —Donald Hall, Usage Example from Merriam-Webster Dictionary [I]t goes without saying that injustice is a commonplace. But this did not mean that one could be complacent, for . . . one must never, in one’s own life, accept these injustices as commonplace but must fight them with all one’s strength. —James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (Part III) *gratuitous (adjective): done or provided freely with nothing expected in return; not called for by the circumstances; not necessary or appropriate

23. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON” It was necessary to hold on to the things that mattered. The dead man mattered, the new life mattered; blackness and whiteness did not matter; to believe that they did was to acquiesce in one’s own destruction. acquiesce (verb): to accept, agree, or allow something to happen by staying silent or by not arguing However, to understand is not to acquiesce in or accept these developments. Then folding the map away, he instructed her to start driving again and Andrea reluctantly acquiesced. —Usage Examples from Oxford Dictionaries Socrates acquiesced in his own execution. —William H. Gass, Usage Example from American Heritage Dictionary