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This Light Between Us: Part Two

A Japanese-American boy and a French girl become unlikely pen pals during World War II.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prelude, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four–Epilogue
40 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. cordon
    a series of sentinels or posts enclosing some place or thing
    A cordon of these soldiers is lined up along the road.
  2. rudimentary
    being in the earliest stages of development
    Later, jobs will be assigned, rudimentary classrooms built, clubs organized.
  3. vestige
    an indication that something has been present
    But for these first few months, the day stretches long, the nights longer, and the boredom, especially for older teens, is unending. All their innate energy, along with any vestige of altruism, melts away under the harsh sun and the slow tick of time.
  4. altruism
    the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    But for these first few months, the day stretches long, the nights longer, and the boredom, especially for older teens, is unending. All their innate energy, along with any vestige of altruism, melts away under the harsh sun and the slow tick of time.
  5. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    His curiosity piqued, he scans the bulletin for a job.
  6. pittance
    an inadequate payment
    None pay well, barely a pittance for the hard, unglamorous labor.
  7. tract
    a brief treatise on a subject of interest
    Papa read the tract with a deep frown.
  8. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    “Alex,” Ueno says patronizingly. “Babies don’t die for no good reason. There’s always a reason.”
  9. filch
    make off with belongings of others
    “And it’s not just sugar he’s stealing. He’s filching meat as well. And milk. And kitchen knives. Then selling it on the black market outside the camp. Making a pretty dime while our babies die.”
  10. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    Over the next few days at work Alex keeps his head down, completes his tasks, waits the tables with his usual decorum.
  11. solicitous
    showing hovering attentiveness
    They are solicitous. They seem happy. The children are mostly well behaved.
  12. tenuous
    lacking substance or significance
    He imagines he can feel against his fingertips the dips of her handwriting, and in the most tenuous of ways, it feels like he is reaching out and touching her.
  13. internment
    confinement during wartime
    The newspaper circulated around Manzanar internment camp, four pages of mimeographed reporting on mostly camp affairs: sports results, weddings, births, deaths, important events, a reminder of rules.
  14. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
    Angry diatribes against the camp administration, accusing them of stealing meat and sugar for the black market.
  15. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    When the MPs move into the camp, the first inkling that something awful might happen—perhaps even tragic—flits into his head.
  16. de facto
    existing, whether with lawful authority or not
    A meeting is called by the de facto leaders for 1 P.M. in a mess hall in Block 22.
  17. compliant
    disposed to act in accordance with someone's wishes
    They’re supposed to be compliant and polite, these people who are told what to do and unquestioningly do it.
  18. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    A tense standoff ensues. Minutes pass, the two groups glaring at one another.
  19. contingent
    a gathering of persons representative of some larger group
    From the other side, a small contingent of internee representatives steps forward.
  20. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    Alex feels the raw visceral energy of the crowd more than ever.
  21. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Yet the tension is palpable.
  22. indignation
    a feeling of righteous anger
    A rock is thrown at Captain Hall. It whizzes by his head, almost hitting him. His eyes are wide with indignation.
  23. temerity
    fearless daring
    To think [he] would have the temerity to throw a rock at him—
  24. macabre
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Searchlights cutting manically left and right, making shadows dance in macabre fashion.
  25. cipher
    a person of no influence
    Old men and old women dream of hot public baths where steam rises from the water like ghosts and ciphers.
  26. languish
    experience prolonged suffering in an unpleasant situation or place
    But at night the worst thoughts—that she is in prison somewhere, languishing—keep him awake.
  27. clinical
    detached or unemotional
    It is accurate but it is clinical. There is nothing of her spirit.
  28. lucidity
    a clear state of mind
    There are moments of lucidity. When the absurdity of all this slams home. When he accepts that her appearance was merely a trick of light.
  29. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    This last thought surfaces only in his nightmares, where every night he roams the empty Parisian streets, searching for her in café after café filled only with Nazis who bark out in haughty German demands for more beer, more Camembert, and he walks past them with head tucked down, walking all over Paris until his feet blister and the cobblestones rub his tender soles raw.
  30. scant
    less than the correct or legal or full amount
    Ray Takeda wasn’t lying: news about the plight of Jews in France—or in Poland or the Netherlands or anywhere—is scant. A sentence here and there.
  31. ingratiate
    gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts
    He doesn’t ingratiate. His voice is soft, not with timidity but with an easy confidence. Like he doesn’t have anything left to prove.
  32. turret
    a self-contained weapons platform housing guns
    I was a dorsal turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator. Which means I sat in a glass bubble on the underside of the plane. Completely visible, completely vulnerable.
  33. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    The lieutenant sniffs with contempt.
  34. barrage
    an overwhelming or vigorous outpouring
    A barrage of questions are yelled out.
  35. fodder
    soldiers regarded as expendable under artillery fire
    “Even so,” Frank says, “there will be some idiots who’ll still enlist. And that’s stupid. That’s foolish. They’ll think it’s patriotic. But it’s not. It’s being gullible. And they won’t realize this until it’s too late, until they’re lying on the battlefield, their guts oozing out of them, and finally thinking, Oh boy, I'm an idiot, America's just used me as cannon fodder, and America doesn't care, America won't even remember me.”
  36. emanate
    proceed or issue forth, as from a source
    Tonight there is no color emanating from her.
  37. sallow
    unhealthy looking
    Her cheeks sallow, her eyes sunken.
  38. infinitesimal
    immeasurably small
    Even he knows the odds of finding Charlie, assuming he’s even sent to Europe, are so infinitesimal as to be negligible.
  39. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    Frank’s face blanches with shock.
  40. inconsequential
    lacking worth or importance
    They stare somberly back at their mothers and family who are already fading into the distance, who will soon be as small and inconsequential as the dust that gathers around them and blows them away.
Created on Thu Sep 09 10:43:53 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Sep 13 12:03:08 EDT 2021)

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