Mississippi Trial, 1955: Chapters 4–7

by Chris Crowe
In this historical fiction, sixteen-year-old Hiram Hillburn crosses paths with fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, whom he unsuccessfully tries to protect from the hateful intentions he has grown more aware of in his birthplace of Greenwood, Mississippi.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–14, Chapters 15–17
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fertile
    bearing in abundance, especially offspring
    It always seemed ironic to me that once we left the Delta in fertile Mississippi for the barren Arizona desert Mom and Dad suddenly started producing kids at the rate of one per year for four years: Joseph was born about a year after we got to Tempe, 1949; then came Emma, Eliza, and finally Brigham in 1952.
  2. barren
    completely wanting or lacking
    It always seemed ironic to me that once we left the Delta in fertile Mississippi for the barren Arizona desert Mom and Dad suddenly started producing kids at the rate of one per year for four years: Joseph was born about a year after we got to Tempe, 1949; then came Emma, Eliza, and finally Brigham in 1952.
  3. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He glared at me with that mean look I'd seen him use with Grampa.
  4. lapse
    pass into a specified state or condition
    I could hear snatches of conversation in the same heavy Mississippi accent that Mom and Dad sometimes lapsed into when they talked to each other at home, and it seemed like the most natural kind of speech in the world.
  5. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Bobo sauntered over.
  6. liable
    likely to be or do something
    And hurry up, or you’re liable to miss your train.
  7. stubble
    short hairs growing on a man's face when he has not shaved
    His cheeks were rough with stubble and paler than I remembered, but his arms felt as solid and strong as ever.
  8. reacquaint
    become familiar with again
    Guess I’ll just enjoy getting reacquainted with my oldest grandson for a while.
  9. savor
    derive or receive pleasure from
    For a moment I felt like I was a little kid again and Gramma was down in the kitchen cooking breakfast. The moment soon passed, but I lay in bed for a long time savoring the warm feelings and memories that washed over me in my favorite place in the world.
  10. hogwash
    nonsensical or ridiculous speech or writing
    Besides, boy, anyone with a noodle of sense would know with a single look that you’re not even close to thirty-two years old. Hogwash! It’s complete foolishness for you to even dream you could pass for a man of that mature age.
  11. libation
    a serving of an alcoholic beverage
    Fishing, now there’s a messy game. And a capital waste of time, if you ask me. Of course, it can be made better if accompanied by the right spirits, as in libations.
  12. inhumane
    reflecting a lack of pity or compassion
    And when you do catch one, well, you treat it in the most inhumane manner, slicing it from tail to throat, sliding your thumb along its spine to dump its guts.
  13. deception
    a misleading falsehood
    Going behind your father’s back, are you? Well, your little deception here with me would suggest you might tend to that sort of game.
  14. tackle
    gear used in fishing
    I couldn’t remember exactly where Grampa kept his fishing stuff, so I rummaged around the garage until I found a fishing pole and some tackle.
  15. drone
    an unchanging intonation
    The air smelled rich with dampness and earth, and whenever the engine slowed, I could hear the steady drone of locusts everywhere.
  16. solitude
    the state or situation of being alone
    But it didn’t really matter, because I just wanted to get out on the river, not to fish but because I had always loved the solitude of sitting on the banks, enjoying the lazy movement of water and the beauty of the Delta.
  17. shanty
    a small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    Not far past a few tar-paper shanties where Negro field hands lived, I caught a glimpse of the river, so I turned down the next road and followed it through the brush to a small clearing on the banks of the Tallahatchie.
  18. hypnotic
    of or relating to a state that resembles sleep
    The thick green water seemed hypnotic or soothing or something, and the anger I’d had for Dad, the worries about Grampa, and any other cares I’d brought with me to Mississippi were swept away, and for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time since I’d left Greenwood, I felt content.
  19. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    “Help, hey, somebody!” The voice was garbled, choking.
  20. maintain
    keep in a certain state, position, or activity
    “Got my reputation to maintain,” he said as he stood up.
  21. conniption
    a display of bad temper
    It’s about lunchtime, and my aunt’ll have conniptions if I’m not there to eat.
  22. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    I laid the pole on the grass and sat back down under the shade of a cypress tree hoping to go back to sleep, but I still had too much adrenaline pumping through me to relax.
  23. desegregation
    incorporation of a formerly excluded group into a community
    Hasn’t your daddy told you about the desegregation ruling by that rabble-rousing Supreme Court?
  24. integration
    incorporating a racial or religious group into a community
    I tell you, son, around here, we’re not going to take this integration craziness lying down.
  25. cultivate
    prepare for crops
    This is where a man should be, Hiram. Working the earth. Planting, cultivating, harvesting.
  26. sustain
    supply with necessities and support
    That’s what made the South great, and that’s what still sustains this country.
  27. haywire
    not functioning properly
    I loved Harlan and treated him right, but somewhere he went haywire. Or we went haywire. Seemed to always get along with his mother, but soured on me when he turned twelve.
  28. contrary
    very opposed in nature or character or purpose
    That’s when he started acting contrary, and nothing I did could shake it out of him.
  29. concession
    refreshments purchased at a small stand in a larger business
    I strolled down the main lobby of the courthouse toward Mr. Paul’s concessions stand.
  30. privy
    a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
    Nobody cared that the colored school didn’t have any water. So, how’d you like to go to a school with outdoor privies, no books, rickety old desks, and no water most of the time?
Created on Tue Jun 06 14:08:42 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 14 12:42:43 EDT 2023)

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