I Am Alfonso Jones: List 1

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 1-96.

Here are links to our lists for the graphic novel: List 1, List 2
40 words 141 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. callus
    a skin area that is thick or hard from continual pressure
    Um, a book. An iPhone. Weird brown grooves in the shape of an M—and calluses?
  2. reverend
    a male religious leader, especially a Christian one
    As my grandfather—the good reverend Velasco T. Jones—always says, "Harlem is living history!"
  3. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    That's my motto! You can put that on my tombstone now!
  4. silhouette
    a filled-in drawing of the outline of an object
    This is my favorite, a silhouette of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
  5. pamper
    treat with excessive indulgence
    Us girls had to help her, of course. That's how it was. The men were pampered.
  6. exonerate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    He's been completely exonerated, and this nightmare is finally over!
  7. deity
    a supernatural being worshipped as controlling the world
    It's part of African culture—talking to spirits and deities and stuff.
  8. obtuse
    lacking in insight or discernment
    How could you make such an obtuse observation?
  9. avenge
    take action in return for a perceived wrong
    Why does King Hamlet charge Hamlet with avenging his death?
  10. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    What an ominous weather pattern—for the birds, the bees, the flowers, the trees—and the global warming climate change skep—
  11. inclement
    severe, of weather
    Due to inclement weather and an increasing threat of hazardous conditions—
  12. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    Will I scold you
    If you took my life
    And caused strife?
  13. bureaucracy
    unnecessary procedures that obstruct action
    That—and getting him clothes...and dealing with his lawyers and all the bureaucracy in Africa...
  14. lynch
    kill without legal sanction
    Baby, what happened? Were you lynched?
  15. colander
    bowl-shaped strainer used to wash or drain foods
    They got you looking like a colander.
  16. eviction
    the removal of someone occupying a home or land
    EVICTION NOTICE
  17. hypothermia
    subnormal body temperature
    He died of hypothermia.
    He...he froze to death?
  18. ancestor
    someone from whom you are descended
    There are ancestors all around.
  19. percussion
    section of a band or orchestra that plays struck instruments
    You can get a heart attack, cops treat your head like a percussion instrument!
  20. cliche
    a trite or obvious remark
    Who ever thought this crazy cliché would come true?
  21. terrestrial
    operating or living or growing on land
    It is being broadcast on terrestrial and satellite channels as well as social media.
  22. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Protestors take to the streets in Paris, London, Palestine in solidarity with American Youth...
  23. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
    I can't believe he's at my funeral—giving my eulogy!
  24. evasion
    the act of physically escaping from something
    Couldn't've been no tax evasion—
    Or insider trading.
  25. spoke
    a rod joining the hub of a wheel to the rim
    Each stop is a key. Like spokes on a wheel connecting you to your past and present and those living connected to you.
  26. interrogate
    pose a series of questions to
    He told me my father was just interrogated...
  27. induce
    cause to occur rapidly
    We have a woman in her mid to late twenties. She's about seven or eight months pregnant. We were forced to induce labor...
  28. drab
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    Tried to bring a little beauty to this drab-ass, Dante's Inferno space.
  29. subject
    cause to experience or suffer or make vulnerable to
    Meanwhile, as my moms tried to get the skinny on my death from Danetta, she had to be subjected to this mess.
  30. adverse
    contrary to your interests or welfare
    I'm sure that will have an adverse impact on your son's attendance.
  31. borough
    one of the administrative divisions of a large city
    My mother knew living in a different borough didn't apply to Harlem Academy, since it was a private school.
  32. diabolical
    showing cunning or ingenuity or wickedness
    She's mad diabolical, yo!
  33. rhetorical question
    an inquiry that is not supposed to be answered
    That's not a rhetorical question—it's an actual question.
  34. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    Or how the homeless are everywhere: in the subway, on street corners, sleeping on metal grates, outside buildings—even on church stoops!
  35. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    But we can't allow our anger to turn us into what we loathe most.
  36. cower
    show submission or fear
    Then I saw something deep inside: a child cowering, whimpering.
  37. rosary
    a series of prayers counted using a string of beads
    He'd be crying on his knees praying to Saint Anthony, with a rosary in his hand.
  38. perish
    pass from physical life
    What does any life matter—if we allow police to operate with such perishing impunity?
  39. impunity
    exemption from punishment or loss
    What does any life matter—if we allow police to operate with such perishing impunity?
  40. astronomical
    inconceivably large
    Are these numbers mind-boggling? Do you find them disturbing?
    They're astronomical. Diabolical.
Created on Wed Jun 06 12:24:09 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Apr 08 15:40:40 EDT 2019)

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