Salt to the Sea: Chapter 132 (Florian)–Author's Note

by Ruta Sepetys
Through the alternating perspectives of four fictional teens, best-selling author Ruta Sepetys dramatizes the experiences of refugees searching for a safe haven during World War II. Learn key vocabulary from this engrossing historical novel based on a true story.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter 1 (Joana)–Chapter 33 (Emilia), Chapter 34 (Joana)–Chapter 64 (Alfred), Chapter 65 (Joana)–Chapter 97 (Florian), Chapter 98 (Joana)–Chapter 131 (Emilia), Chapter 132 (Florian)–Author's Note
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. evade
    use cunning or deceit to escape or avoid
    Sailors were discussing whether the ship should follow a zigzag course to evade lurking submarines and whether the navigation lights would be illuminated.
  2. integrity
    moral soundness
    It is at crossroads such as these that my mind often questions the very integrity of man.
  3. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
    It confounds me when people don’t assist or even welcome those on their own team.
  4. pathetic
    inspiring mixed contempt and pity
    Or was it just my own pathetic loneliness that made me grab the scissors?
  5. agile
    moving quickly and lightly
    I quickly followed him to the stairs. He leapt up, taking them in twos, agile even with his pack.
  6. delirious
    experiencing hallucinations
    “You were delirious. You didn’t know what you were saying.”
  7. jolt
    a sudden jarring impact
    A massive jolt. My head hit the wall. Lights flickered. Emilia was on the floor.
  8. nautical
    relating to ships or navigation
    We were twenty-five nautical miles offshore.
  9. discordant
    not in agreement or harmony
    Suddenly, the grand piano in the music room rolled fast, crushing the little girl with the bear in its path before crashing into the wall and releasing a discordant cry.
  10. joist
    a beam used to support a floor or ceiling
    The sound of joists snapping and rivets popping echoed through the stairwell.
  11. shuttle
    travel back and forth between two points
    He shuttled people toward the stairs. “Come on!” he shouted to me. “Get these people out!”
  12. horde
    a vast multitude
    Hordes of people emerged onto the icy deck.
  13. choreograph
    compose a sequence of dance steps, often to music
    The scene played as if to music. People looked to me, eyes panting and desperate. Their hands reached for me in choreographed synchronization.
  14. contort
    twist and press out of shape
    The recruit was screaming. Veins bulged in his neck. His mouth contorted as he summoned all of his strength to roar one, single word.
  15. capsize
    overturn accidentally
    “There’s too many people,” someone screamed. “We're going to capsize.”
  16. dislodge
    remove or force from a position previously occupied
    She began kicking at them frantically, to dislodge them from the deck. One of the rafts came loose. The girl pulled me down onto it. And then we began to slide.
  17. strew
    spread by scattering
    Bodies were strewn like human confetti.
  18. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    The woman yelled and berated her husband as he bravely jumped from our boat into the other.
  19. lethal
    of an instrument of certain death
    The frigid temperature of the water would induce immediate and lethal stress on their hearts.
  20. hypothermia
    subnormal body temperature
    They would die of hypothermia.
  21. catastrophe
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    Instead of helping, I was forced to watch the panorama of catastrophe unroll before my eyes.
  22. detonate
    burst as through a violent chemical or physical reaction
    An explosion detonated from within the boat under the water.
  23. detest
    dislike intensely
    You see, the dark corridors I ran through felt like a lumpy mattress, the kind I detest. But I soon realized that it was, in fact, a carpet of bodies that I was walking over.
  24. inferior
    of or characteristic of low rank or importance
    Hitler, he understands my theories. And I, his. Protection of the sick, weak, and inferior is not sensible.
  25. gentile
    a Christian as contrasted with a Jew
    I thought surely you would have had sense enough to tell the officers that your mother was a gentile, that you would have aligned yourself to the greater being inside you.
  26. deranged
    driven insane
    “Did you take my medal? Are you a thief?” he asked, deranged from the cold.
  27. insistent
    demanding attention
    He crawled over to me and started grabbing at the pack. I swatted his hands away. He became more insistent.
  28. inquisition
    a severe interrogation
    He pulled himself up, his face covered in blood, eyes wide with momentary inquisition.
  29. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    Sailors unfurled a large knotted net down the side of the ship.
  30. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    I was disoriented.
    Everything was dark.
    Which way was up? Where was the surface?
    I was losing breath, my head spinning.
  31. prowl
    move about in or as if in a predatory manner
    There are still Russian subs prowling the area.
  32. defy
    resist or confront with resistance
    She arrived not on a public beach, like most of the bottles and floats. She came directly to us, in our sandy backyard, defying tides and the elements.
  33. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    Certainly nothing made sense. But then Niels found your little notebook. The writing was so small we could not read it without a strong magnifier. The details were cryptic.
  34. maritime
    relating to ships or navigation
    The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is the deadliest disaster in maritime history, with losses dwarfing the death tolls of the famous ships Titanic and Lusitania.
  35. torpedo
    a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile
    On January 30, 1945, four torpedoes waited in the belly of Soviet submarine S-Z3. Each torpedo was painted with a scrawled dedication:
    For the Motherland.
    For the Soviet People.
    For Leningrad.
    For Stalin.
  36. estimate
    an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth
    Three of the four torpedoes were launched, destroying the Wilhelm Gustloff and killing estimates of nine thousand people.
  37. majority
    the main part
    The majority of the passengers on the Gustloff were civilians, with an estimated five thousand being children.
  38. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    There are many important stories of World War II. Much has been documented about combat, politics, guilt, and responsibility. Suffering emerged the victor, touching all sides, sparing no nation involved.
  39. vengeful
    disposed to take action in return for a perceived wrong
    As I wrote this novel, I was haunted by thoughts of the helpless children and teenagers—innocent victims of border shifts, ethnic cleansings, and vengeful regimes.
  40. remembrance
    the ability to recall past occurrences
    Every nation has hidden history, countless stories preserved only by those who experienced them. Stories of war are often read and discussed worldwide by readers whose nations stood on opposite sides during battle. History divided us, but through reading we can be united in story, study, and remembrance.
Created on Wed Jun 07 21:11:44 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Oct 07 11:57:07 EDT 2019)

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