Krik? Krak!: Children of the Sea

by Edwidge Danticat
In this short story collection, award-winning writer Edwidge Danticat explores everyday life in Haiti.

Here are links to our lists for the stories in the collection: Children of the Sea, Nineteen Thirty-Seven, A Wall of Fire Rising, Night Women, Between the Pool and the Gardenias, The Missing Peace, Seeing Things Simply, New York Day Women, Caroline's Wedding, Epilogue: Women Like Us, In the Old Days
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cross
    annoyed and irritable
    same, everything, i’m tired of the whole mess, i get so cross and irritable, i pass the time by chasing roaches around the house, i pound my heel on their heads, they make me so mad. everything makes me mad.
  2. irritable
    easily annoyed
    same, everything, i’m tired of the whole mess, i get so cross and irritable, i pass the time by chasing roaches around the house, i pound my heel on their heads, they make me so mad. everything makes me mad.
  3. federation
    a union of political organizations
    all the other youth federation members have disappeared, no one has heard from them, i think they might all be in prison, maybe they’re all dead, papa worries a little about you.
  4. martyr
    one who suffers for the sake of principle
    I really do not want to be a martyr.
  5. frail
    physically weak
    Since there are no mirrors, we look at each other's faces to see just how frail and sick we are starting to look.
  6. appease
    overcome or allay
    Some of the women sing and tell stories to each other to appease the vomiting.
  7. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    You probably do not know much about this, because you have always been so closely watched by your father in that well-guarded house with your genteel mother.
  8. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
    he said to me, i didn’t send your stupid trouble maker away, i started yelling at him. yes, you did. yes, you did. yes, you did, you pig peasant, i don’t know why i said that, he slapped me and kept slapping me really hard until manman came and grabbed me away from him.
  9. demeaning
    causing someone to lose status or the respect of others
    It is so demeaning having to squat in front of so many people.
  10. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    ...they were shouting at her, do you belong to the youth federation with those vagabonds who were on the radio?
  11. demonstration
    a public display of group feelings
    madan roger finally shouts, yes, he was one! he belonged to that group, he was on the radio, he was on the streets at these demonstrations, he hated you like i hate you criminals, you killed him.
  12. midwife
    a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies
    The captain asks the midwife to keep Celianne steady so she will not rock any more holes into the boat.
  13. civilized
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    ...manman told papa that you took the boat, papa told me before we left this morning that he thought himself a bad father for everything that happened, he says a father should be able to speak to his children like a civilized man.
  14. indigent
    poor enough to need help from others
    They get into arguments and they say to one another, “It is only my misfortune that would lump me together with an indigent like you.”
  15. noble
    having high or elevated character
    i know you would understand, you are the one for large noble gestures.
  16. mirage
    something illusory and unattainable
    From here, ships must be like a mirage in the desert.
Created on Mon Sep 10 10:47:19 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Sep 11 16:42:52 EDT 2018)

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