Internment: Chapters 4–6

by Samira Ahmed
Layla Amin thinks of herself as a typical American teenager. But when Muslim-Americans like Layla and her family are forcibly relocated to internment camps, the seventeen-year-old decides to fight for her freedom.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–16, Chapters 17–22, Chapters 23–28, Chapters 29–36

Here is a link to our lists for Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    My eyes scan this space that suddenly feels like it’s not my own, not the place I’ve spent every night for over a decade. The book left open on my bed, the disheveled kantha quilt, the long black cotton scarf with red roses embroidered on it, my phone plugged into the nightstand.
  2. detritus
    the remains of something that has been destroyed or finished
    I drop to my knees to reach for it amid the dust and detritus.
  3. vise
    a holding device attached to a workbench
    A vise grips my heart.
  4. chiasmus
    inversion in the second of two parallel phrases
    You should imagine yourself walking through the verse, he said, stopping at the chiasmus, the middle line: He knows that which is in front of them and that which is behind them.
  5. thematic
    relating to or constituting a topic of discourse
    When you read the four lines before and the four lines after, you’ll see how, thematically, they are concentric circles that loop around that middle line.
  6. stalwart
    dependable
    I may not be the most stalwart of Muslims, and my practice may waver, but this dua—maybe because of how I remember Nanni reciting it as she would blow the prayer over me—this one always gives me a sense of calm, but something more, too.
  7. endow
    give qualities or abilities to
    Like my nanni’s voice endowed each of the words with the strength of her belief, like the words were tangible.
  8. tangible
    perceptible by the senses, especially the sense of touch
    Like my nanni’s voice endowed each of the words with the strength of her belief, like the words were tangible.
  9. wan
    lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness
    “Make sure you remember socks and underwear.” She gives me a small, wan smile.
  10. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    I wonder if all moms do this—try to make the terrifying seem mundane.
  11. stifle
    smother or suppress
    I stifle my sobs. Dread clutches me, but so does anger.
  12. confer
    have a meeting in order to talk something over
    The Suits are conferring with the chief of police.
  13. bigwig
    the most important person in a group or undertaking
    The chief clears his throat. “Now, you all know I’m sorry about this, um, formality. Doing my job, following orders that come from above my pay grade. I’m sure you folks will be cleared in no time. The bigwigs need to see you’re not a threat.”
  14. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
    “Did she decide on a college yet?” I don’t have the energy or acting skills to make my voice sound chirpy, like I want to, so my delivery is totally deadpan, which I suppose fits with how I feel.
  15. gauntlet
    a form of punishment with two lines of men facing each other
    A gauntlet of guards lines the sidewalks to the entrance, some at the curb, others with their backs to the stone building.
  16. quagmire
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    Anyway, probably no one is thinking about an appropriately weighty yet catchy phrase to call our quagmire right now.
  17. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    A regular, nondescript conventional train that has probably been decommissioned, since California rail has gone high-speed.
  18. essay
    make an effort or attempt
    Remembering a poem, I lean over to my dad: “‘There was a man with tongue of wood / Who essayed to sing—’” I pause, waiting for my dad to finish the Stephen Crane verse, but he pats me on the arm and turns away.
  19. lamentable
    bad; unfortunate
    But I whisper the lines to myself anyway:
    There was a man with tongue of wood
    Who essayed to sing,
    And in truth it was lamentable.
  20. relativity
    the theory that space and time are not absolute concepts
    It’s like all of us on this train are part of an Einstein relativity experiment—every American has been hurtling through space at the speed of light except us.
  21. internment
    confinement during wartime
    The town where we disembark for internment is called Independence.
  22. compartmentalize
    keep separate; separate into isolated categories
    Did some try to block it all out, compartmentalize, imagine that it was only one more day?
  23. modular
    constructed with standardized, prefabricated units or pieces
    Some Authority guys step in and out of a gray modular building attached to the Hub.
  24. hijab
    a headscarf worn by Muslim women
    I hear a boy scream and then see him run away from his mom—I suppose it’s his mom—a middle-aged woman wearing a bright-blue turban-style hijab.
  25. quell
    overcome or allay
    It doesn’t calm me or quell my anger.
  26. peruse
    examine or consider with attention and in detail
    An auburn-haired woman with a tight bun and pursed red lips peruses the laptop on the desk in front of her, reading the data from our barcodes.
  27. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    “Layla.” I hear the fear in my dad’s voice when he chastises me.
  28. retrofit
    provide with parts not in use in the original manufacture
    They’re not shiny like Airstreams, or as cool, but I could totally see someone trying to retrofit one of these and renting it on Airbnb, appealing to people who don’t really want to rough it but want to pretend like they are.
  29. shanty
    a small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    I guess Mercury Homes are better than the shanties we saw when we passed Manzanar.
  30. discerning
    having or revealing keen insight and good judgment
    I also find a spot for my paperbacks Great American Poetry and Macbeth. Neither is exactly in my top five desert-island books, but I guess I wasn’t discerning when shoving stuff into my duffel.
  31. riveting
    capable of arousing and holding the attention
    I smirk. “I was saving the regs file for pre-bedtime viewing. I hear it’s riveting.”
  32. bon mot
    a witty or clever remark
    I smirk. “I’m going to put this out there, to be transparent: I can’t have a friendship based solely on puns.”
    “What about witty barbs?”
    “Add the occasional bon mot and I’m in.”
  33. ostensibly
    from appearances alone
    Ostensibly, they’re to prevent us from walking right up to the fence and getting electrocuted, but there’s space between them to slip by, and they’re only hip-high.
  34. wiry
    lean but strong
    He’s our age, maybe a little older, tall and wiry.
  35. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    Every moment in the short time we’ve been behind this fence has been a revelation.
  36. transgressor
    someone who violates a law or command
    His light-brown eyes look off into the distance, then snap back to us. “The curse inscribed on a statue of a High Priest of Amun says any transgressor will ‘die from hunger and thirst.’”
  37. succinct
    briefly giving the gist of something
    “Succinct,” I say. “I think I like that one. May our enemies be cooked with the condemned.”
  38. hodgepodge
    a motley assortment of things
    “Where’s your block?” I ask, trying to ease the tension. Soheil points across the Midway. “I’m on Block Six, with a hodgepodge of other Arab Americans.”
  39. abject
    showing utter resignation or hopelessness
    We're all different people, but each of us, to a person, has the same look: abject fear.
  40. stark
    devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
    As we near our trailers, I turn to look back toward the mountains, the stunning granite peaks off in the distance. They’re beautiful and stark against the sky, and I imagine how stunning the moonrise will be if we can see it this evening, a silver crescent hanging above the summit.
Created on Mon Apr 29 13:47:42 EDT 2019 (updated Tue Apr 30 09:09:35 EDT 2019)

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