Displacement: Chapters 1–5

by Kiku Hughes
In this graphic novel, which draws on the author's family history, a teenage girl is transported back in time to a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. displacement
    the act of moving something from its natural environment
    The first displacement took me while Mom and I were visiting San Francisco.
  2. incarceration
    the state of being imprisoned
    My grandmother and her immigrant parents lived there until 1942...when they, along with 120,000 other people of Japanese descent up and down the West Coast, were forced out of their homes and into American incarceration camps.
  3. smattering
    a small number or amount
    I had a smattering of facts that fit together like a puzzle that's missing half its pieces.
  4. foster
    providing nurture though not related by blood or legal ties
    They fostered her talent for violin, but were all taken to an incarceration camp during World War II.
  5. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    That was an understatement.
  6. arbitrarily
    in a random or indiscriminate manner
    I couldn't imagine my family being arbitrarily rounded up like that.
  7. credo
    any system of principles or beliefs
    Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.
  8. chronic
    of long duration
    Do you suffer from any chronic illnesses?
  9. immunize
    perform vaccinations or inoculate against a disease
    Looks like we're administering a smallpox immunization and a typhoid inoculation.
  10. typhoid
    infection marked by intestinal inflammation and ulceration
    Looks like we're administering a smallpox immunization and a typhoid inoculation.
  11. inoculation
    taking a vaccine as a precaution against a disease
    Looks like we're administering a smallpox immunization and a typhoid inoculation.
  12. fluent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    I knew no Japanese, and neither did my mom, but Ernestina spoke it fluently.
  13. stooge
    an obedient follower who works for someone else's advantage
    So you're done here. Stooge.
  14. lackey
    a servile or submissive follower
    Come on. The block lackey will report us if we don't show up on time.
  15. angst
    an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety
    Well, that's enough angst for the day.
  16. prejudice
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    Because she was so outspoken against the prejudices we were facing because of our heritage, I expected her to be more passionate about that heritage.
  17. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    Once again I felt helpless and at the mercy of the armed guards whose presence loomed over the camp at every moment.
  18. republican
    having the supreme power lying in citizens entitled to vote
    They may not care about real republican freedom, but I do.
  19. faction
    a dissenting clique
    Aiko and her friends helped me understand the different factions vying to be the voice of the entire Japanese American population.
  20. vie
    compete for something
    Aiko and her friends helped me understand the different factions vying to be the voice of the entire Japanese American population.
  21. fascism
    a political theory advocating an authoritarian government
    The leftist Nisei candidate who wants to protest for civil rights and against fascism abroad and at home.
  22. grandstand
    a covered structure with tiers of seats for spectators
    A friend brought it to me at the grandstands. That's not against the rules.
  23. communist
    relating to socialism that abolishes private ownership
    It's communist propaganda. We're taking it.
  24. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
    It's communist propaganda. We're taking it.
  25. obscure
    make undecipherable or imperceptible by concealing
    It was a closeness I had never felt before. So much of our history had been obscured by silence.
Created on Fri Jul 23 11:45:02 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Jul 26 11:41:06 EDT 2021)

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