I Am David: Chapters 7–8

by Anne Holm
This novel chronicles a young boy's escape from an Eastern European prison camp.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–8
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    David had slept in a stable outside of the town, and that morning he had trudged on, the road climbing up and up and the air growing colder and colder until at last the snow came.
  2. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    Before the snow had begun falling, he had seen how easy it was to miss one’s footing and go hurtling down the mountainside.
  3. gale
    a strong wind moving 34–40 knots
    He ached all over, and the snow continued to swirl about him in a howling gale that seemed to cut right into his head.
  4. lavish
    bestow or expend profusely
    There was Maria, like a flower in the grace of her movements, with a laugh like the tinkle of slender polished glasses touching together, Maria with her ready smile, full of affection that she lavished on everyone, grownups, children, animals—even on a runaway boy.
  5. meddle
    intrude in other people's affairs or business
    He can work—I’ll not meddle with that—and the stable’s good enough for him.
  6. tramp
    travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
    He knew now that he could never have lasted through the winter tramping the roads ...
  7. pastime
    an interest or pursuit that someone pursues regularly
    It was one of their pastimes to make the dogs bite the prisoners.
  8. berth
    a place where a sailing vessel can be secured
    Since his escape into Italy, he had of course noticed that good people kept dogs, too, but he had always given them a wide berth, just in case they could tell where he came from, and then they would bite him.
    In this sentence "berth" means "space" or "room"--David tried to put space between him and dogs that could smell his secret and bite him.
  9. befall
    become of; happen to
    Then some harm might befall Maria.
  10. retort
    answer back
    They had heard one of the guards put the blame for some neglect of duty on another who had retorted that it was the fault of a third man, and Johannes had said to David, “Never let me hear you say it’s someone else’s fault.
  11. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    It often is, but you must never shirk your own responsibility.
  12. blunt
    not sharp (used of a knife or other blade)
    His knife grew blunter and blunter, but at last he managed to hack out a big square hole large enough to get through.
  13. trough
    a long narrow shallow receptacle
    The bucket came in handy, and he emptied the snow he dug out into the beasts’ drinking trough.
  14. spite
    hurt the feelings of
    He wouldn’t be sick, but he was in spite of that.
    In this sentence, the phrase "in spite of" means "disregarding" or "despite"--despite having the will to stay healthy, David still got sick, almost as if his body were spiting him.
  15. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
    Swiss—often they all looked dour, as if they never laughed.
  16. frontier
    a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
    But he found he would have to cross a great river to get to France, and the frontier ran along it through the town.
  17. frank
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    The only point he was quite frank about was his name, for he was David, and that was something he would always stand by.
  18. apathetic
    showing little or no emotion or animation
    People always looked like that where they were—like prisoners in a concentration camp, weary, gray-faced, apprehensive . . . dejected and sorrowful, as though they had forgotten life could be good . . . dull-eyed and apathetic, as if they no longer thought about anything.
    In addition to the setting (concentration camp), the groupings of the adjectives emphasize the moods of the people: being "apprehensive" ("in fear or dread of possible harm or evil") all the time can make one look "gray-faced" and "weary" ("physically and mentally tired"); being a helpless prisoner can make one "dejected" and "sorrowful" (synonyms that mean "sad"); and when one is too tired to feel, one becomes dull-eyed and apathetic.
  19. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    In their barracks they would have a list of everybody who was under suspicion and should be arrested on sight.
  20. kiosk
    small area set off by walls for special use
    He only had to slip away while the driver was not looking and find another telephone kiosk.
Created on Wed Dec 18 19:13:51 EST 2013 (updated Wed Aug 15 17:56:00 EDT 2018)

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