Sounder: Chapters II–III

by William H. Armstrong
In this powerful and heart-wrenching book, a sharecropper's family, including devoted dog Sounder, struggles to survive.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter I, Chapters II–III, Chapters IV–VII, Chapter VIII
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fallow
    left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
    Stalk land, fallow fields, and brushland, all appeared to be sewn together by wide fencerow stitches of trees.
  2. deputy
    someone authorized to exercise the powers of sheriff
    “You know who I am,” said the first man as he unbuttoned his heavy brown coat and pulled it back to show a shiny metal star pinned to his vest. “These are my deputies.”
  3. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    Suddenly the voice of the great dog shattered the heavy, seemingly endless silence that came between the gruff words of the sheriff and those of his men.
  4. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    The noise seemed to undo the fearful shock that had held the smaller children ashen and motionless.
  5. mongrel
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
    “Go out and hold that mongrel if you don’t want him shot.”
  6. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    A heavy boot half pushed, half kicked the entangled feet of the sprawled boy and the nose of the dog and slammed the door.
  7. regain
    get or find back; recover the use of
    The boy, regaining his balance, dragged Sounder off the porch and to the corner of the cabin.
  8. rouse
    cause to be agitated or excited
    The appearance of the horses and the added confusion of people coming from the cabin roused Sounder to new fury.
  9. clammy
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    His arms ached, and his grip on the dog’s collar was beginning to feel clammy and wet.
  10. numbness
    partial or total lack of sensation in a part of the body
    Numbness was beginning to creep up his arms and legs, and he was being dragged away from the corner of the house.
  11. lunge
    the act of moving forward suddenly
    Sounder made a great lunge forward, and the boy fell against the corner of the porch.
  12. constrain
    hold back
    There was another yelp, this one constrained and plaintive.
  13. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    There was another yelp, this one constrained and plaintive.
  14. flounder
    move clumsily or struggle to move, as in mud or water
    Sounder was running, falling, floundering, rising.
  15. mingle
    bring or combine together or with something else
    There was a large spot of mingled blood, hair, and naked flesh on one shoulder.
  16. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    He took the lantern to the stove, lit a splinter of kindling through the open door-draft, and held it to the lantern wick the way his father always did.
  17. jagged
    having a sharply uneven surface or outline
    One edge of it was bloody, and jagged like the edge of a broken windowpane.
  18. reckon
    expect, believe, or suppose
    Outside, he murmured to himself, “That was the stove, I reckon.”
  19. thaw
    become or cause to become soft or liquid
    “No sun to thaw things out today,” he said aloud to himself.
  20. skittish
    unpredictably excitable, especially of horses
    And preparing for a hunt, his father would caution a full moon, hanging over the foothills, “Don’t shine too bright, you’ll make the creatures skittish.”
  21. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    And Sounder too, settin’ on his haunches, would speak to the moon in ghost-stirrin’ tones of lonesome dog-talk.
  22. troublesome
    difficult to deal with
    His nose would start dripping and be powerful troublesome because he wouldn’t have a free hand to wipe it.
  23. barely
    in a sparse or scanty way
    I’ll be through in a while,” he said to the smallest child, who was looking out of the window, his chin barely high enough to rest on the sill.
  24. pallet
    a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts
    Sounder had not died in his favorite spot right behind the porch steps where he had a hole dug out and where the boy’s father had put two coffee sacks for a pallet.
  25. gnaw
    bite or chew on with the teeth
    They did this so they could gnaw through the floor from below.
  26. crockery
    ceramic dishes used for serving food
    He hurt his knees and elbows on broken glass, rusty sardine cans, and broken pieces of crockery and dishes.
  27. carcass
    the dead body of an animal
    Under the cabin it smelled stale and dead, like old carcasses and snakes.
  28. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    The threadbare knees of last year’s overalls opened up, and his bare knees scraped the soil.
  29. rivulet
    a small stream
    The tears ran down through the cobwebs and dust that covered his face, making little rivulets.
  30. holler
    call out loudly
    He followed the road the way the wagon had taken his father as far as he dared leave the fire and the children in the cabin, still in hollering distance.
Created on Wed Nov 28 10:14:33 EST 2018 (updated Wed Nov 28 10:29:49 EST 2018)

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