I Am Alfonso Jones: List 2

by Tony Medina
This powerful graphic novel, illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings, explores the life and afterlife of a teenager who is a victim of gun violence.

This list covers pages 97-160.

Here are links to our lists for the graphic novel: List 1, List 2
40 words 63 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. holocaust
    an act of mass destruction and loss of life
    Remind you of anything we've studied this entire academic year?
    The Holocaust?
  2. genocide
    systematic killing of a racial or cultural group
    The genocide against Native Americans.
    The genocide in Armenia.
  3. internment
    confinement during wartime
    The Japanese internment camps.
  4. annihilation
    destruction by obliterating something
    Anti-immigration, extermination, annihilation...All this "ish" rhymes, yo!
  5. antagonistic
    characterized by feelings of intense dislike or hostility
    From the looks of it, Mr. Jones seems to have an antagonistic relationship with—if not a negative opinion of—law enforcement.
  6. faux
    not genuine or real
    Well, he was wasting time on that sicko Saniti's show on that faux news station, bloviating.
  7. bloviate
    speak verbosely and windily
    Well, he was wasting time on that sicko Saniti's show on that faux news station, bloviating.
  8. mobilize
    make ready for action or use
    But we need to join together and mobilize around Alfonso for the sake of the cause.
  9. progressive
    favoring or promoting modern or innovative ideas
    You're supposed to be progressive!
  10. theology
    a particular system or school of religious beliefs
    But I do believe in liberation theology.
  11. forensics
    the use of scientific techniques in criminal investigations
    Scobie and Mrs. Bumpurs said, "Don't try this at home"—but ha ha, there has to be a real reason my letter still ended up with me, and not some forensics nerd or the clumsy cops stepping all over my blood in the snow.
  12. surveillance
    close observation of a person or group
    Is this...is this a videotape from the store surveillance?
  13. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    And not something to be so easily...so rapidly...so wistfully disposed of.
  14. prowl
    move about in or as if in a predatory manner
    That prowly Punk E sneaking around with my girl in a big backstabbing scene, making me have to prowl around to see what he was up to!
  15. undaunted
    resolutely courageous
    Anger and frustration
    Stalking his undaunted thoughts
    He wasn't gonna take it
    Anymore—
  16. telepathic
    communicating without apparent physical signals
    I round the corner and feel her eyes
    Through the curtain, her breath
    Heavy, trails me like a second backpack,
    Whispering to me telepathically, Come
    Back safely, come back safely, come back
  17. contingent
    determined by conditions or circumstances that follow
    Of course, all of this is contingent upon your agreeing to...
    ...to being away from my wife, away from my son. Are you crazy, Warden?
  18. rite of passage
    a ritual performed when an individual changes status
    Some kids from my old neighborhood make it a crazy rite of passage—like going to prison makes you a man or something.
  19. rational
    consistent with or based on or using reason
    Too many of our people are getting vacuumed into the prison industry, or killed for no rational reason whatsoever but the skin they're living in...
  20. harried
    troubled persistently, especially with petty annoyances
    It is our position that Officer Whitson felt he was in danger, having been informed by a harried customer that a suspicious man was aiming a handgun at shoppers.
  21. hulk
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    He went from being a beautiful teen with a loving family and gifted schoolmates, with his whole future ahead of him, to some hulking monster asking to be shot.
  22. languish
    lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
    My grandson is dead, and my son, who's been proven innocent, has languished behind the treacherous bars of a prison system that is an industry—a new form of slavery—a damn shell game.
  23. smother
    conceal or hide
    Your damn mama and my blood brother tried to smother the sound of my blood breathing—beating—bleating—from the tip of my crown to the soles of my feet on this hallowed bloody ground!
  24. bleat
    cry plaintively like a sheep or goat
    Your damn mama and my blood brother tried to smother the sound of my blood breathing—beating—bleating—from the tip of my crown to the soles of my feet on this hallowed bloody ground!
  25. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    Your damn mama and my blood brother tried to smother the sound of my blood breathing—beating—bleating—from the tip of my crown to the soles of my feet on this hallowed bloody ground!
  26. shrew
    a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
    Is it true, you shrew?
  27. arsenal
    all the weapons and equipment that a country has
    As you can see, the two officers trailing behind are carrying the arsenal he brought with him in a large military duffel bag and a black-and-tan rucksack.
  28. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    But the kill shot was a bullet that entered my left ear and ricocheted up off my skull and bore through my brain.
  29. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
    Our officers need better training, and they need to demonstrate a bit more caution, compassion, empathy, and patience before possibly jumping to conclusions that may result in such unfortunate loss of life.
  30. convene
    call together
    At this time we don't have enough evidence to convene a grand jury.
  31. wherewithal
    the necessary means (especially financial means)
    A man entrusted to carry a fully loaded firearm should have the wherewithal to get this right.
  32. haiku
    an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
    The "s" is silent—but I use it the way you do, most times...like how people mistake the plural of haiku for haikus!
  33. prevail
    prove superior
    But I am here to ensure that justice prevails.
  34. subterranean
    being or operating under the surface of the earth
    But I am here to ensure that justice prevails. Even from this subterranean world.
  35. belligerent
    characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
    Damn cop said I was belligerent.
  36. arson
    malicious burning to destroy property
    Fire department officials suspect arson.
  37. ambush
    hunt by stalking and attacking by surprise
    Two police officers were ambushed by a lone gunman while they sat in their patrol car eating lunch...
  38. vigil
    the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes
    My class held a vigil in my honor, planting a tree beside the Schomburg.
  39. lament
    a mournful poem
    "The is a place down
    There not sad with pain
    But only with dark
    Shadows, where
    Laments have not the
    Sound of wailings but
    Of sighs."
  40. altar
    a raised structure on which sacrifices to a god are made
    Mom keeps a candle on her altar lit for me.
Created on Wed Jun 06 12:23:48 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Apr 08 15:40:54 EDT 2019)

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