Anger Is a Gift: Chapters 29–39

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 25 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. invigorating
    imparting strength and vitality
    It felt invigorating, even if it was nothing more than a simple distraction. He blew through the light at 20th.
  2. indifference
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    The lake still shimmered quietly in its own indifference to him. The world was still here.
  3. feasible
    capable of being done with means at hand
    After all these years, he wasn’t any closer to a sense of justice, was he? It didn’t seem like a feasible outcome, just some nebulous idea thrown about by people who had never experienced this kind of heartbreak.
  4. nebulous
    lacking definition or definite content
    After all these years, he wasn’t any closer to a sense of justice, was he? It didn’t seem like a feasible outcome, just some nebulous idea thrown about by people who had never experienced this kind of heartbreak.
  5. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    He hated the sign that rested above the door: a large silver badge with a smaller, blue star in the center. It was so egregious and unnecessary.
  6. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    He imagined himself in front of a reporter, a stoic, proud look on his face.
  7. unwavering
    marked by firm determination or resolution
    “I’m protesting the injustice of the death of Javier Perez,” he would say, his resolve unwavering. “I refuse to remove myself from this property until James Daley is arrested for the murder of my friend.”
  8. trite
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    He hadn’t planned this out at all. The impulsivity of the idea had been so attractive to him twenty minutes prior, but now it seemed silly. Trite. Meaningless.
  9. ambiguous
    having no intrinsic or objective meaning
    His plan seemed so ambiguous and meaningless now, in front of these uniformed men.
  10. spite
    meanness or nastiness
    “I watched Daley fire on him, and Javier didn’t have a weapon. He did it out of spite. And now Javier is gone because someone couldn’t control their temper. Do you know what that feels like?”
  11. subside
    wear off or die down
    He continued to practice his breathing technique, and his heart rate finally started to subside from the painful thumping of the last few minutes.
  12. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    The cops claimed that she had a weapon and brandished it, so they fired on her.
  13. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    Martin said he would take one for the team, and so Moss watched him walk away with a nearly full bottle of urine to dump somewhere discreetly.
  14. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    Moss didn’t recognize them at first, felt strange about how they lingered on the outside of the crowd. A black girl, her braids immaculate, two people cowering behind her.
  15. cower
    show submission or fear
    Moss didn’t recognize them at first, felt strange about how they lingered on the outside of the crowd. A black girl, her braids immaculate, two people cowering behind her.
  16. facilitate
    make easier
    “I’m here on behalf of the Oakland Police Department to help facilitate a fair exchange of ideas.”
  17. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    They were flanked by cameras, and Moss’s mother grabbed his arm.
  18. subvert
    undermine or hinder normal operations
    “However, the Oakland Police Department cannot comment on pending investigations, nor can it subvert the rule of law in this city.”
  19. dolly
    a wheeled handcart for moving heavy objects
    A bearish black man pushed a dolly with a speaker on it toward him. He was impressed, once more, by how resourceful this community was.
  20. foray
    an initial attempt
    Njemile regaled him with tales of her first foray into online dating.
  21. renounce
    turn away from; give up
    “...What did these guys think the end result would be? That you’d renounce your sexuality just because they could catfish a lesbian really well?”
  22. profound
    of the greatest intensity; complete
    A profound sense of isolation grew in him as he pushed onward, unable to find any of his friends in the swarm of people.
  23. throng
    a large gathering of people
    He heard horns blaring to his left; cars were trapped at the light at 5th because of the throngs of people streaming by.
  24. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    Moss watched in dismay as someone tried to leave and was promptly dropped by multiple baton swings.
  25. instill
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
    His mother had instilled that in Moss a long time ago. “Never say a word if you’re arrested,” she had said. “Just stay quiet and ask for your phone call. Do everything you are asked, but don’t say anything.”
  26. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    The officer in the back—his face blocked by the opaque black visor on his helmet—rose, and when he spoke, his voice was clear and sharp.
  27. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    There were more vans with OPD emblazoned on the side and a couple of cruisers.
  28. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    Javier was immortalized, transformed into a something both spiritual and visceral, a reminder of this city’s violence, a reminder of this city’s compassion.
  29. postulate
    maintain or assert
    He recognized a couple of them, certain one of them had postulated on-air that Javier was an illegal and therefore deserving of suspicion.
  30. grotesque
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size
    Her eye was bruised, yellow and purple, still swollen, though not as grotesquely as yesterday.
  31. smattering
    a small number or amount
    There was a smattering of applause.
  32. devise
    arrange by systematic planning and united effort
    “In the execution of our duty, we try to treat each situation as unique and devise a plan that protects the safety of others and our own officers.”
  33. rigorous
    demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
    “It was an unfortunate mistake,” Berendht continued, “and the officer responsible will have to submit to our rigorous internal review, as well as possibly face criminal charges.”
  34. conceptualize
    have the idea for
    But he couldn’t form words, couldn’t conceptualize this as a victory. It didn’t feel like a victory.
  35. offset
    compensate for or counterbalance
    “We have also established a victims’ fund,” Berendht continued, “that will help offset the costs incurred by the actions of our officers. These funds will go towards Ms. Perez for funeral costs and to those injured at West Oakland High over the past month. We offer our apology to Ms. Shawna Meyers, to Reg Phillips, and to anyone else hurt.”
  36. incur
    make oneself subject to
    “We have also established a victims’ fund,” Berendht continued, “that will help offset the costs incurred by the actions of our officers. These funds will go towards Ms. Perez for funeral costs and to those injured at West Oakland High over the past month. We offer our apology to Ms. Shawna Meyers, to Reg Phillips, and to anyone else hurt.”
  37. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    He said all of that without any inflection, without any sincerity, without any meaning.
  38. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    Berendht folded the paper up meticulously, then tucked it back into his pocket.
  39. preempt
    take the place of or have precedence over
    “The city prosecutor has already spoken to Chief Berendht, and she will be making a statement later today. But I wanted to preempt that, to show that I am ready to take responsibility for what happened at West Oakland High.”
  40. posture
    behave affectedly or unnaturally in order to impress others
    “Mr. Jeffries, good to see you again,” she said, and he knew she wasn’t posturing, wasn’t pretending. “I just have one question for you.”
Created on Wed Jun 12 09:35:37 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jun 14 15:35:34 EDT 2019)

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