10th Grade Recommended Reading List: “On Civil Disobedience” by Mohandas K. Gandhi

These word lists support the reading of the following texts from SpringBoard English Textual Power, Level 5, Unit 4 "Justice": Guernica, Nobel Peace Prize Speech, On Civil Disobedience, texts about hijab, Germany Divided over Hijab, School's Out for Summer, Mandela's Statement, Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Rough Justice, Time to Assert American Values, Kohlberg's Six Stages
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. quest
    the act of searching for something
    In brief, the significance of satyagraha consists in the quest for a principle of life.
  2. oust
    remove and replace
    We only made known the secondary aim of our movement, which was that the Government there, thinking us lowly and mean, was making laws to oust us from the country, and that it was right for us to defy these laws and show that we were brave.
  3. humiliate
    cause to feel shame
    If the Government intended to treat us in a similar fashion and made a law that appeared to humiliate us, it was for us to make it clear to the Government that we would not obey such a law.
  4. motive
    the reason that arouses action toward a desired goal
    But when someone else, with uncharitable motives, says the same thing, he clearly answers, "Look, brother, so long as my head is on my shoulders, you cannot humiliate me in this manner.
  5. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    Often a disease manifests itself in the body in various forms.
  6. counter
    speak in response
    There are two ways of countering injustice.
  7. perpetrate
    perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
    One way is to smash the head of the man who perpetrates injustice and to get your own head smashed in the process.
  8. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
    Soldiers returning from the front have become so bereft of reason that they indulge in various antisocial activities.
  9. victorious
    having won
    Pride makes a victorious nation bad-tempered.
  10. belligerent
    someone who fights or is fighting
    And if, perchance, either our act or our purpose was ill-conceived, it brings disaster to both belligerents.
  11. Satyagraha
    the form of nonviolent resistance initiated in India by Mahatma Gandhi in order to oppose British rule and to hasten political reforms
    This other method is satyagraha. One who resorts to it does not have to break another's head; he may merely have his own head broken.
  12. atrocious
    shockingly brutal or cruel
    In opposing the atrocious laws of the Government of South Africa, it was this method that we adopted.
  13. outrageous
    grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
    We made it clear to the said Government that we would never bow to its outrageous laws.
  14. quarrel
    an angry dispute
    No clapping is possible without two hands to do it, and no quarrel without two persons to make it.
  15. sovereign
    a nation's ruler usually by hereditary right
    You are our sovereign, our Government, only so long as we consider ourselves your subjects.
  16. statute book
    a record of the whole body of legislation in a given jurisdiction
    If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statute-books.
  17. scaffold
    a platform from which criminals are executed
    Ask us to mount the scaffold and we will do so laughing.
  18. endure
    face and withstand with courage
    Shower what sufferings you like upon us, we will calmly endure all and not hurt a hair of your body.
  19. arbitrary
    based on or subject to individual discretion or preference
    But so long as there is yet life in these our bones, we will never comply with your arbitrary laws.
  20. momentum
    an impelling force or strength
    I did not dream at the time that even a single Indian would be capable of the unprecedented heroism the Indian revealed or that the satyagraha movement would gain the momentum it did.
  21. treacherously
    in a disloyal and faithless manner
    Later, the Government treacherously refused to honour its pledge, and a third satyagraha battle became necessary.
  22. repeal
    cancel officially
    We were firmly decided that so long as the Government did not repeal its atrocious laws or make some settlement, we would accept every penalty but would not submit.
  23. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    Many people say that if Lord Hardinge had not intervened, a compromise would have been impossible.
  24. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    Where the spiritual might of thousands of men and women has been mustered, where innumerable men and women are eager to lay down their lives, what indeed is impossible?
  25. mediation
    the act of intervening to bring about a settlement
    There was no other course open for Lord Hardinge than to offer mediation and he only showed his wisdom in adopting it.
  26. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    What transpired later is well known to you: the Government of South Africa was compelled to come to terms with us.
  27. tortuous
    not straightforward
    He has to turn from the straight path and seek tortuous tracks.
  28. undergo
    pass through
    Had Christ and Buddha not undergone this preparation, they would not have been what they were.
  29. celibacy
    abstaining from sexual relations
    Similarly, if we want to put this body in the service of truth and humanity, we must first raise our soul by developing virtues like celibacy, non-violence and truth.
  30. passive
    peacefully resistant in response to injustice
    In brief, the aim of the satyagraha struggle was to infuse manliness in cowards and to develop the really human virtues, and its field was the passive resistance against the Government of South Africa.
Created on Tue Jul 08 13:24:46 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Jul 28 15:26:36 EDT 2014)

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