Anger Is a Gift: Chapters 15–21

by Mark Oshiro
After his father is killed, Moss struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. Increasingly frustrated by violence and injustice at his underfunded Oakland high school, he tries to harness his anger to bring about meaningful change in his community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28, Chapters 29–39
40 words 37 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. uproarious
    marked by boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter
    That sent them into an uproarious bout of laughter, and they slipped past him into the kitchen to finish up that night’s meal.
  2. intoxicating
    extremely exciting
    A new burst of energy jolted through Moss, but it felt good. Thrilling. Intoxicating.
  3. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Moss was so transfixed by her that he was startled when he felt Javier’s foot rub up against his leg.
  4. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
    He’d lost count of how many times he’d had an iteration of this same dream, and while some of the details changed, the effect was the same.
  5. calibrate
    make fine adjustments for optimal measuring
    “They will be recalibrated and tested until next week,” Mr. Elliot’s voice said over the PA, “and we’ll have another test run then. I promise that we’ll have no more unfortunate incidents like the one on Monday.”
  6. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    That elicited a set of groans from Moss’s homeroom, and Mrs. Torrance was the loudest of the bunch.
  7. deftly
    in an agile manner
    Javier deftly swung his right leg back over his seat and came to a stop with his left leg still in the cages of his pedal.
  8. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    Jeff waved a hand dismissively at Moss. “You know how it is with our academic work. It takes over our lives.”
  9. authenticate
    establish the undisputed credibility of something
    “I mean...I’d like it if all of you started using Tor, maybe set up some two-factor authentication on your devices, took some steps to protect your own privacy.”
  10. logistics
    supplying an operation with labor and materials as needed
    As the group shifted the conversation to the logistics of getting the invitations out as quickly and efficiently as possible, Moss reached under the table again to grasp Javier’s hand.
  11. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    “And this seems like a good opportunity to get more involved.”
    “I agree,” said Rebecca. “Plus, I’m intrigued. I want to help plan if I can.”
  12. conciliation
    the act of placating and overcoming distrust and animosity
    Jeff had his hands up in conciliation. “We promise,” he said. “No going overboard.”
  13. tactful
    having a sense of what is considerate in dealing with others
    “There’s no tactful way to ask that question! I guess I just never met someone like you.”
  14. accost
    approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
    The very man who had accosted him in the West Oakland station raised his hand to Moss, and he lifted his chin quickly, a silent hello.
  15. dashiki
    a loose and brightly colored African shirt
    She had on a white dashiki etched in purple, blue, and black designs over white pants, and she looked stunning.
  16. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    “Pretty good turnout, no?”
    “That’s an understatement,” he said. “I guess I didn’t expect you to still have the same pull as you used to.”
  17. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “Look, I think you’re asking good questions, but you are nervous a lot. I don’t want to tell you that you worried for nothing, but I’m hoping that your mom can help direct all this chaos. She did volunteer, didn’t she?”
    “True,” he conceded.
  18. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    She allowed Reverend Okonjo to pass by her and step up to the pulpit, and as he did so, the room hushed almost immediately.
  19. initiative
    the first of a series of actions
    “She was responsible for helping the city council pass that domestic-violence initiative in the spring.”
  20. quaver
    give off unsteady sounds
    “My name is Kaisha Gordon,” she said, her voice quavering on her last name.
  21. clarity
    the quality of being coherent and easily understood
    “I was at West Oakland High when my boyfriend, Reginald Phillips, was brutally harmed by the recently installed metal detectors.” She said this with clarity as her quavering voice began to even out.
  22. toll
    value measured by what must be done to obtain something
    She really loves him, Moss realized, and he knew that this whole affair had taken a toll on Kaisha, too.
  23. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    The response from the students in the crowd was instantaneous, a raucous bout of yells and cries of anger.
  24. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    “That’s all I gots to say,” said Shawna, and she hopped off the stage and sauntered back to her family, who welcomed her with open arms.
  25. industrious
    characterized by hard work and perseverance
    Someone suggested that some of the more industrious members of the community “uninstall” the machines after hours.
  26. relevant
    having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
    “Because we care about what happens in this community,” she shot back. “West Oakland High is in this community. It’s our school, filled with our students, one of whom happens to be my son. So I think it’s pretty damn relevant that we talk about it.”
  27. roiling
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Moss felt the roiling anger under the surface, and he was envious of how calm Kaisha seemed up there.
  28. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    There’s a history in this city, one that y’all should know, of law enforcement agencies treating our youngsters with disrespect, disdain, and mistrust.
  29. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    But the consensus came about through this conversation: This community needed to stage a demonstration outside the campus during school hours, something that would be dramatic, distracting, and unable to be ignored.
  30. bastion
    a group that defends a principle
    “Welcome to the Bay Area,” said Moss. “Liberal bastion of progress.”
  31. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Suddenly, Moss didn’t feel so bad about being sensitive and easily riled.
  32. dismantle
    take apart into its constituent pieces
    “And to dismantling a system of violence in my school,” said Moss playfully, and they clinked glasses and laughed.
  33. dystopian
    of an imaginary place where life is extremely bad
    “You know, sometimes it does feel like we’re in one of those trendy dystopian novels,” she admitted.
  34. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    “Well,” he said dramatically, “if that will placate your white listeners and make them feel as if they’re not personally complicit in any corrupt systems, then why would I ever dream of keeping my life to myself?”
  35. assimilate
    become like one's environment
    “Have you already proposed marriage to him?” Rawiya said. “I know I’m like the millionth person to say this, but maybe you two should assimilate as soon as possible.”
  36. impromptu
    without advance preparation
    By the time they were finished with their impromptu photo shoot, Bits and Rawiya had found them.
  37. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    They said their hellos, but conversation was clipped. Sporadic. The tension flowed between all of them, and so their walk to school was not as cheery or social as it could have been.
  38. matte
    not reflecting light; not glossy
    Their heads were adorned with matte black helmets, and they reminded him of characters in one of those shoot-’em-up military games.
  39. uniformity
    the quality of lacking diversity or variation
    But the men said nothing to her, and the eeriness of their uniformity finally crept under Moss’s skin. They all looked like the exact same person.
  40. lament
    express grief verbally
    The man reached out quicker than Moss expected and wrapped the front of Moss’s shirt inside a fist, and he lifted. Moss was not a small guy, a fact he had frequently lamented to himself, but he was shocked when his own feet began to dangle, unable to reach the floor.
Created on Wed Jun 12 09:34:16 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jun 14 13:32:25 EDT 2019)

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