My Brother Sam is Dead: Chapters 1–3

by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier
In this historical novel set during the American Revolution, Tim Meeker must decide whether he should do as his father says and remain loyal to the British king or join his brother among the rebels.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–10, Chapters 11–12, Chapter 13–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. muffled
    being or made softer or less loud or clear
    It was April, and outside in the dark the rain whipped against the windows of our tavern, making a sound like muffled drums.
  2. garrison
    a fortified military post where troops are stationed
    All right, the British troops. From the garrison in Boston. They marched up to Lexington looking for Mr. Adams and the rest, but they’d got away.
  3. steeple
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    Somebody signalled them from some church steeple in Boston, so when the Lobst—British got up to Lexington there wasn’t anybody there, except the Minutemen.
  4. rebellion
    organized opposition to authority
    “Damn it, that’s rebellion,” one of the fanners said.
  5. prevail
    prove superior
    Mr. Beach shook his head. “I think men of common sense will prevail. Nobody wants rebellion except fools and hotheads.”
  6. hothead
    a reckless, impetuous, irresponsible person
    Mr. Beach shook his head. “I think men of common sense will prevail. Nobody wants rebellion except fools and hotheads.”
  7. treason
    disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior
    “I will not have treason spoken in my house, Sam.”
  8. constitute
    form or compose
    “In my house I will decide what constitutes treason. What have they been teaching you at college?”
  9. virtue
    a particular moral excellence
    I think you’ll find that loyalty is a virtue everywhere.
  10. agitator
    a political troublemaker
    These agitators can always manage to stir up the passions of the people for a week or so, but it never lasts.
  11. mock
    treat with contempt
    “Free? Free to do what, Sam? Free to mock your King? To shoot your neighbor? To make a mess of thousands of lives? Where have you been getting these ideas?”
  12. civil
    not rude
    My mother hated it when Father hit Sam for speaking out, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it, and anyway, she believed that Father was right, children ought to keep a civil tongue in their heads.
  13. inscription
    a short message dedicating it to someone or something
    And I guess most of his boasts were true: he was always bringing home some book in Latin or Greek with an inscription, saying he had won it for some telling point he had scored.
  14. sloth
    apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue
    But he didn’t come, so I began to daydream about being older and going to Yale with Sam and scoring some telling points myself and Sam being proud of me—even though I know that daydreams are sloth and sloth is a sin.
  15. idle
    not in action or at work
    “I wasn’t going to, but Mother said that idle hands make the Devil’s work.”
  16. lascivious
    driven by lust
    I giggled. “So is—what’s that word for girls? Lasviciousness.”
    “Lasciviousness, stupid, not lasviciousness. I have a new song about girls, but it’s too lasvicious for you.”
  17. bayonet
    a knife fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon
    The gun was about as long as I was tall, and had a bayonet around twenty inches long.
  18. mantelpiece
    a shelf that projects from a wall above a fireplace
    Father kept the bayonet hanging over the mantelpiece.
  19. livestock
    any animals kept for use or profit
    He used the Brown Bess for deer and sometimes when he went out with the other men to go after a wolf that was getting into the livestock.
  20. loft
    floor consisting of open space at the top of a house
    Above the second floor is the loft where Sam and I sleep. There isn’t much in it—just a couple of beds. There are no stairs up to the loft—just a ladder.
  21. subversion
    the act of overthrowing or destroying, as a government
    “I will not have subversion, I will not have treason in my house. We are Englishmen, we are subjects of the King, this rebellion is the talk of madmen.”
  22. principle
    a rule or standard especially of good behavior
    “Oh God, Sam fight? Is it worth war to save a few pence in taxes?”
    “It’s not the money, it’s the principle.”
  23. gaudy
    tastelessly showy
    “A man? You’re a boy, Sam, a boy dressed up in a gaudy soldier’s suit.”
  24. vile
    morally reprehensible
    “Go, Sam. Go. Get out of my sight. I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume. Get out. And don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not as a stranger.”
  25. meddle
    intrude in other people's affairs or business
    “He wasn’t boasting, Tim. He’s going over to Wethersfield. The fools are planning to march up to Massachusetts to meddle in something that isn’t their affair.”
  26. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    “That’s just college-boy wind,” Father said. He sounded pretty scornful.
  27. parish
    a local church community
    Church was practically the only time we ever saw some of the farmers from farther out in the parish—places like Umpawaug.
  28. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    They wanted to keep up with the news, and Father always spent some time with them—it was good business, Father said, to be cordial with people.
  29. thatch
    plant stalks used as roofing material
    Covering the poles were hides and rags and in some places patches of straw thatch.
  30. militia
    civilians trained as soldiers, not part of the regular army
    “Oh, we’re all Patriots. After all, my grandfather is head of the militia.”
  31. resign
    leave voluntarily, as a job or position
    “He’s too old. He said he would probably resign his commission to some younger man. Anyway he doesn’t think we ought to fight unless we really have to. He says there ought to be some way of working it out with the King and Parliament without having to fight.”
  32. commission
    document conferring the rank of officer in the armed forces
    “He’s too old. He said he would probably resign his commission to some younger man. Anyway he doesn’t think we ought to fight unless we really have to. He says there ought to be some way of working it out with the King and Parliament without having to fight.”
  33. almanac
    an annual publication arranged according to the calendar
    Or if nobody was watching me, I’d sneak up into the loft and look at the old almanacs Sam brought back from college sometimes.
  34. linger
    take one's time; proceed slowly
    She came into the tavern pretty often to buy thread or cloth or something, and I noticed that when she did she’d linger around on some excuse and try to listen to what people were saying until my mother would say, “Betsy, I don’t think your mother intended for you to spend the day idling,” and she’d go.
  35. waver
    move or sway to and fro
    So September passed and then October. The geese flew south in long, wavering V’s.
Created on Thu Oct 18 08:32:32 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 30 08:54:17 EDT 2018)

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