The Mighty Miss Malone: Chapters 22–33

by Christopher Paul Curtis
This companion novel to Bud, Not Buddy focuses on middle schooler Deza Malone during the Great Depression, which causes her parents to lose their jobs in Indiana and complicates the family’s shared goal of journeying to someplace wonderful.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–21, Chapters 22–33
30 words 37 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. digest
    something that is compiled, as into a single book or file
    “I live for books! One day I may even be a writer.”
    “You don’t say? I’ve got plenty of Reader’s Digests you can read. I like ’em because they don’t let all the extra words writers want to cram in a story get in the way.”
  2. shift
    the time period during which you are at work
    She even found another job picking up both day and night shifts at the Durant Hotel.
  3. civics
    the study of the duties and rights of citizenship
    I got my usual As on the tests in mathematics, geography, civics and history.
  4. prejudice
    disadvantage by bias
    “All these teachers up here at Whittier’s prejudice. Katherine Williams was the smartest colored girl in the school and all she use to get was a C. You must be a genius to get a C plus!”
  5. fumble
    handle clumsily
    I’d hand him the dish after I’d washed it and when my hand touched his he’d start blinking a lot and would get twitchity and fumble the cloth when he tried to dry the dish.
  6. pucker
    gather something into small wrinkles or folds
    The little boy had closed his eyes, puckered his lips and leaned in toward me!
  7. slug
    strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat
    I started to slug him, just a arm punch.
  8. bound
    headed or intending to head in a certain direction
    “Oh, Shenandoah, I’m bound to leave thee…”
  9. fancy
    imagination, especially of a casual or whimsical kind
    Things are swooshing by so fast that it wouldn’t pay to get too interested or curious about any of them. With Father it was like you were strolling along a road, holding his hand and stopping whenever something caught your fancy.
  10. calamity
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    I’d learned not to cry or even get angry when all sorts of calamity befell us.
  11. befall
    happen or be the case in the course of events or by chance
    I’d learned not to cry or even get angry when all sorts of calamity befell us.
  12. spiritual
    religious song originated by African-Americans in the South
    I said, “Go on, Jimmie! Mr. Zee, do you know ‘Motherless Child’?”
    “You ain’t gonna be able to name no spiritual I don’t know. Young man, you up to giving these folks a little happiness?”
  13. court
    seek someone's favor
    I loved the times when Mother talked about Father courting her. The man she talked about who was serious and shy seemed different than the happy, jokey man I knew.
  14. dusky
    lighted by or as if by twilight
    He picked you up, said something ridiculous like, ‘How’s Daddy’s Darling Daughter Deza doing on this delightful dusky day?’ and child, he nearly dropped you like you were on fire when you said, ‘Fine, thank you, but Gram is mad at me, Daddy. She wants cream for her coffee, not milk.’
  15. breach
    an opening, especially a gap in a dike or fortification
    Mother tied the four corners of her blanket together and the bundle clanged as she threw it over her shoulder. She gave me a tired smile. “OK, Miss Malone, once more into the breach.”
  16. hobble
    walk unevenly due to pain, injury, or weakness
    A few old men hobbled along with the group.
  17. grits
    coarsely ground corn that is boiled
    “Just enough for the stove, we got some grits and greens I’ll hotten up for breakfast.”
  18. wither
    lose freshness, vigor, or vitality
    The Deza Malone in Gary would have been crushed. Her heart would have withered like grapes left on a vine at the North Pole in the middle of winter.
  19. luminescent
    emitting light not caused by heat
    Some of the time I’d get snapped out of the book when I read things that I couldn’t pretend were about me, even if I had the imagination of Mr. William Shakespeare.
    Words like “her pale, luminescent skin” or “her flowing mane of golden hair” or “her lovely, cornflower-blue eyes” or “the maiden fair.”
  20. gruel
    a thin porridge
    Jimmie was right when he said I couldn’t stop reading if I wanted to, and a whole lot of the enjoying comes from imagining it’s you charging at windmills or asking for more gruel or trying to wash invisible blood off of your hands.
  21. starch
    stiffen textile fabrics in laundering
    It was the kind of blouse worn by the white women at the front desk in the hotel where Mother cleans. It had HOTEL DURANT written in fancy letters on a pocket on the chest. It was nicely pressed and starched and crisp.
  22. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    “Catch on to what?”
    “The curtain, Deza, I went back for the blue gingham curtain!”
    “This…”
    “Yes, my sweet, naïve darling, yes!”
    I felt like such a idiot!
  23. flabbergasted
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    I hugged her again, put Father’s letter in my book and flew home. I couldn’t wait to see how flabbergasted Mother was going to be!
  24. speakeasy
    (during Prohibition) an illegal barroom
    Across the street was the address that Mr. Zee said was the New Turned Leaf, a speakeasy! A nightclub!
  25. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    Then a clear, strong voice sang, “More or less resigned to crying over Angela…”
  26. contract
    a binding agreement that is enforceable by law
    “That’s my manager, he’s like my boss. He’s the one that give me a contract.”
    “A contract?”
    “It means he has to give me money for singing.”
  27. whir
    make a soft continuous sound, as of something in motion
    Jimmie pushed a button on the wall and I heard a whirring, clankity sound.
  28. wallow
    roll around
    How can you allow someone to wallow in their own filth like this? Get me some soap, a washcloth, a towel, some scissors, a razor, a toothbrush, baking soda and Vaseline.
  29. stump
    cause to be perplexed or confounded
    But that didn’t make sense either, how would she know to send letters to us at general delivery in Flint?
    I was stumped.
  30. lofty
    having or displaying great dignity or nobility
    He had heard that hope has wings
    But never believed such lofty things.
    It took time to set him straight,
    To learn hope was an open gate.
    Try as he might, he didn’t see
    That hope lived in his family.
Created on Thu Jul 18 11:52:39 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Aug 02 10:16:01 EDT 2024)

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