The Red Umbrella: Chapters 15–20

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
After the Communist revolution in Cuba, fourteen-year-old Lucía Álvarez and her brother are sent to the United States to make a new life in Nebraska.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–14, Chapters 15–20, Chapters 21–28, Chapters 29–37
30 words 557 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vacant
    void of thought or knowledge
    I looked over at my mother, sit­ting in the armchair, hands crossed on her lap. A vacant look in her eyes.
  2. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    Papá tousled Frankie’s hair, then took the ball and placed it on the floor next to the table.
  3. somber
    serious and gloomy in character
    Papá’s somber mood frightened me.
  4. waiver
    a formal written statement of relinquishment
    Papá’s eyes glistened. “Lucy, we have no choice. You know they won't let us leave with you. Alicia Milian was able to get us some visa waivers for you and Frankie, but..."
  5. partition
    a vertical structure that divides or separates
    I watched as passengers, both adults and children, formed a line by a glass partition.
  6. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Papá walked over and pried Frankie away.
    This word is sometimes used in a figurative way to mean "to move someone away from something."
  7. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    The young boy wasn’t crying, or at least I couldn’t tell if he was because he had his shoulders hunched over and seemed to be keeping his head down low.
  8. contraband
    goods whose trade or possession is prohibited by law
    "We are conducting random searches for contraband,” announced the male soldier.
  9. sneer
    express through a scornful smile
    “El quinto gusano, ” sneered the woman.
  10. herd
    keep, move, or drive animals
    A sigh of relief escaped from my lips as the soldiers herded three other kids into a small room.
  11. altitude
    elevation above sea level or above the earth's surface
    I’d never been on a plane before, and seeing things from this altitude gave me a new perspective on how small we really were.
  12. pudgy
    short and plump
    Laura waved at a short, pudgy man and a woman with gray hair pulled into a bun.
  13. sterile
    deficient in originality or creativity
    Here, although I was only a couple hundred miles away, everything felt more sterile, like I'd just walked into an office building.
  14. facility
    a building or place that provides a particular service
    "Our first stop will be the Kendall facility."
  15. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    "Don’t worry, it may look like army barracks, but the people there will make you and Frankie as comfortable as possible."
  16. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    The station wagon pulled into a parking space between two looming gray buildings separated by a narrow road.
  17. splay
    widen or spread apart
    I could see Frankie’s hands splayed against the station wagon’s side window as I heard his muffled yell.
  18. urgency
    pressing importance requiring speedy action
    Classes at the camp reminded me of school in Cuba, except here there was a sense of urgency in learning English.
  19. worldly
    very sophisticated and experienced
    Back home, I used to feel worldly being able to understand the American movies and songs, but now I just felt silly speaking in English.
  20. mimeograph
    duplicator that uses a stencil through which ink is pressed
    It still had the smell of the mimeograph machine that it had been printed on.
  21. telegram
    message sent by a device that communicates over a wire
    Mrs. Eckhart already sent a telegram to them saying that we were staying here.
  22. censor
    a person authorized to suppress unacceptable material
    I knew that all the mail was checked and read by the Cuban censors, but how much longer would it take?
  23. clobber
    strike violently and repeatedly
    "Lucy, nothing’s worse than a tattletale. I’ll get clobbered by the other boys. That’s why I didn’t tell Mr. Ramirez.”
  24. consequence
    a phenomenon that is caused by some previous phenomenon
    "Lucía, we’ve tried, and Frankie knew there'd be consequences.”
  25. defiant
    boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    Frankie just crossed his arms and kept the defiant look in his eye.
  26. process
    a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
    “It’s not the way things are normally done...we have a process.”
  27. gauge
    judge tentatively or form an estimate of
    "What’s normal these days?” Mr. Ramirez paused, gauging Mrs. Eckhart's reaction. “Martha, I owe it to their father. It’s the least I can do.”
  28. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    My heart pounded. This might be our only chance. Mrs. Eckhart gave a slight nod, relenting.
  29. farfetched
    highly imaginative but unlikely
    Frankie’s fears about being slaves suddenly didn’t seem so far-fetched.
  30. kiosk
    small area set off by walls for special use
    He paused in front of a small kiosk, bought a newspaper, then continued down the terminal.
Created on Wed Sep 04 02:39:02 EDT 2013 (updated Wed Aug 29 10:14:35 EDT 2018)

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