I Must Betray You: "Beneath the Gilded Frame"–Chapter 7

by Ruta Sepetys
In 1989 Romania, with the country controlled by a dictator, seventeen-year-old aspiring writer Cristian Florescu dreams of freedom, especially when he is blackmailed by the secret police into informing on the family of an American diplomat.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: "Beneath the Gilded Frame"–Chapter 7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–36, Chapters 37–63, Chapter 64–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. undertow
    a current that flows away from the shore after waves break
    They avoided the eyes of others. To look into the face of fear brought risk of getting trapped in its undertow.
  2. perpetual
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Always watching.
    Romania’s perpetual sense of surveillance.
  3. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    The citizens of Romania were stoic and resilient, but they suffered a terror of tyranny.
  4. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    The citizens of Romania were stoic and resilient, but they suffered a terror of tyranny.
  5. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    He walked toward me, passing the tedious sign shouting from the concrete wall.
    New Men of Romania:
    Long live Communism—the bright future of mankind!
  6. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    Comrade Director shifted his weight, trying to appear casual.
    Nothing was ever casual.
  7. pinafore
    a sleeveless dress resembling an apron
    Luca and me, we wore navy suits and ties to liceu. All boys did. Girls, navy pinafores and white hair bands.
  8. communism
    a theory favoring collectivism in a classless society
    We were told that we were all brothers and sisters in communism. Addressing each other with the term “comrade” reinforced that we were all equal, with no social classes to divide us. Good brothers and sisters in communism followed rules.
  9. maverick
    someone who exhibits independence in thought and action
    Our beloved leader. Our hero. Maverick of the grand Communist Party of Romania and vampire to the necks of millions.
  10. agitator
    a political troublemaker
    Complaining aloud could get you arrested as a “political agitator.”
  11. bolster
    support and strengthen
    Reading English contraband bolstered my vocabulary.
  12. abysmal
    exceptionally bad or displeasing
    Abysmal conditions in Romania.
  13. megalomaniac
    a pathological egotist
    Nicolae Ceauşescu. Ruthless leader. Megalomaniac.
  14. sanity
    normal or sound powers of mind
    Imagine a madhouse where the lunatics are running the asylum and the workers are punished for their sanity.
  15. decree
    issue an authoritative order
    Everyone was a possible target for surveillance. She, Mother Elena Ceauşescu, even decreed that balconies of apartments must remain fully visible.
  16. compromise
    expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute
    It was not a proposal. It was an order, and one that compromised all principles of decency. I’d be a rat, a turnător, secretly informing on the private lives of others.
  17. facility
    skillful performance or ability without difficulty
    Florescu was described to us as intelligent, quietly observant, with strong facility for the English language.
  18. guise
    an artful or simulated semblance
    Approached Florescu on school grounds and used guise of illegal stamp trading as basis for recruitment.
  19. wary
    openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
    Florescu appeared wary but agreed to provide information as OSCAR when medication for his grandfather was presented as an option.
  20. ascertain
    learn or discover with confidence
    OSCAR will be used to:
    –interact with Van Dorn’s son, Dan (16)
    –determine schedule patterns of the Van Dorn family
    –determine who frequents the residence
    –provide detailed mapping and layout of the Van Dorn residence
    –ascertain general attitudes of the Van Dorns toward Romania
  21. monochrome
    a black-and-white photograph or slide
    Living in Bucharest was like living inside a black-and-white photo. Life in cold monochrome.
  22. palette
    range of color characteristic of a painting, artist, etc.
    You knew that color existed somewhere beyond the city’s palette of cement and charcoal, but you couldn’t get there—beyond the gray.
  23. leach
    permeate or seep into gradually
    To me, the darkness felt poisonous, leaching into everything.
  24. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    They had no doors, no elevators, no stair railings. Similar concrete hulks loomed around the city, gray staircases to nowhere.
  25. collectivize
    bring under joint control of the people or state
    Everyone will live together! Everything is collectivized, shared by the Party! was the mantra.
  26. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    The animals lunged at the girl, growling wild and guttural.
  27. subdue
    hold within limits and control
    “Culcat,” I ordered, extending the stick for the gnashing dogs to bite, speaking low to subdue them.
  28. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    The dogs, eventually outnumbered by the group, ran off to search for easier prey. Frantic chatter ensued, arguments about the strays.
  29. regime
    the governing authority of a political unit
    When the regime bulldozed the city, dogs were lost and left to the streets.
  30. maul
    injure badly
    The month prior, our teacher’s baby was mauled to death in her stroller.
  31. elated
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    For months I’d been trying to talk to Liliana Pavel. We were finally alone, talking, agreeing to see each other on Saturday night and instead of being elated, I was suspicious?
  32. bland
    lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
    The State broadcasts only two hours of bland television per day, mainly propaganda and salutes to Ceauşescu.
  33. lament
    express grief verbally
    “Bugs, bugs all around,” lamented Bunu. “Philips inside and outside.”
    Philips were listening devices and rumored to be everywhere: hidden in walls, telephones, ashtrays.
  34. mantra
    a commonly repeated word or phrase
    So all families followed the same mantra:
    At home we speak in whispers.
  35. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    I looked up English words and phrases to describe her and wrote them in my notebook: Jittery. Distressed. Flustered. Freaked out.
  36. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
    I also admired his ingenuity. Because of Bunu, we had an illegal sofa wedged in our small alcove of a kitchen.
  37. buffet
    piece of furniture that stands at the side of a dining room
    The living area consisted of an oval table with chairs, a narrow buffet cabinet, and a sofa that folded open.
  38. elaborate
    add details to clarify an idea
    “A young man needs his own space for things, doesn’t he?”
    I did but hoped Bunu wouldn’t elaborate and embarrass me.
  39. feisty
    showing spirit and courage
    One sick, yet feisty grandfather on an illegal sofa in the kitchen.
  40. transgression
    the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
    The transgressions made me think of the Securitate agent. These were the type of things I’d probably have to report about the American family. Things I myself was guilty of.
Created on Wed Jan 24 12:56:55 EST 2024 (updated Thu Jan 25 12:12:05 EST 2024)

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