Self-Made Boys: Chapters 15–22

by Anna-Marie McLemore
Based on the classic novel The Great Gatsby, this work follows the story of Nicolás Caraveo, a seventeen-year-old transgender boy who moves to New York and meets his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby, another transgender boy with an extravagant and decadent lifestyle.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Letters–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–14, Chapters 15–22, Chapters 23–28, Chapters 29–40
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    He’d taught me how to seem at ease among men who said the word white so meticulously it carried an extra breath.
  2. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    When he finally looked up, he asked, brandishing a sheaf, “You think we should buy on this one?”
  3. purveyor
    someone who supplies provisions, especially food
    We’re purveyors of difficult-to-find luxury items.
  4. discretion
    refined taste; tact
    He’s discreet in all things, so I shouldn’t be surprised. That’s the way I like my friends. The only downside to discretion is that it leaves so much room for assumptions.
  5. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    Gatsby’s gardens were a place of ecstatic dancing, in which the whole world seemed to be having a gay time.
  6. anemone
    a plant grown for its beautiful, brightly colored flowers
    “Oh, Nicky, that shirt’s such a perfect blue on you. And Jordan”—she reached for her friend’s hands—“in coral ruffles you look like a field of anemones. I could lie down in your skirt and fall asleep for a hundred years.”
  7. vie
    compete for something
    Is every family in Tuxedo Park vying to have you bow at their summer estates?
  8. overwrought
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
    He was talking in the overwrought voice he used with people who didn’t know him.
  9. turret
    a small tower extending above a building
    “What’s the point in hosting a party if you’re going to hide in a turret?”
  10. connive
    form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner
    “And didn’t she practically connive to get you to New York?” Jordan asked. “I think it’s time someone plotted behind her back in her favor for once, don’t you?”
  11. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Surprise lit up Daisy’s face, and Gatsby feigned the same.
  12. soiree
    a party of people assembled in the evening
    “Look at these soirees of yours.” Jordan spun, taking in the party. “A ball would be nothing for you.”
  13. frock
    a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
    “If you ask me,” Tom went on, “it’s all ridiculous anyway, girls prancing around in white frocks a year or two before they should be getting married. If a girl has to display herself in order to attract a man, what’s there to do but feel sorry for her?”
  14. farce
    an event or situation that is absurd, empty, or insincere
    “It could be a delightful little farce,” Tom said. “A laugh for all our friends. Daisy, you can show them that sense of humor of yours, prancing about like some courtier.”
  15. intrigue
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
    “I know intrigue when I hear it,” she said. “It’s practically my third language. All of you were behind this.”
  16. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    She was talking with a Black woman wearing a tuxedo, and I couldn’t remember what the lapels on her tuxedo jacket were called—though Gatsby had told me the difference between notched and peaked, I couldn’t keep them straight—but the lapel fabric shined like glass.
  17. enamored
    marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
    They touched hands every time they reached for their drinks. (Had they been this obviously enamored of each other at Gatsby’s? Had I simply missed it?)
  18. buoyant
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    It gave me a hope as buoyant as the bubbles rising in their glasses.
  19. enthralled
    filled with wonder and delight
    Gatsby indicated a table where two men looked as enthralled with each other as the women did.
  20. overture
    a tentative suggestion to elicit the reactions of others
    It all felt friendly and casual, more like a greeting than an overture.
  21. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    The moment I unlocked the cottage door, the sight of Dechert pinned me at the threshold.
  22. disarray
    untidiness, especially of clothing and appearance
    He’d left the kitchen in even worse disarray. Jars of flour and sugar pushed over. The icebox left open.
  23. facilitate
    be of use
    I existed in the play script of Gatsby’s life for no reason except to facilitate his reunion with the girl he loved.
  24. incandescent
    characterized by ardent emotion, intensity, or brilliance
    “Wisconsin, if I were you, I’d get yourself to Hexton’s office as fast as your plow can carry you,” Princeton said. “He’s incandescent.”
  25. disconcerting
    causing an emotional disturbance
    The golfers held their fingers to the wind, checking the direction and speed, and that wind blew the disconcerting lime of Daisy’s Le Jade toward Gatsby.
  26. seersucker
    a light puckered fabric that is usually striped
    The men around here were in those voluminous plus fours, or in chalk stripe or seersucker.
  27. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
    She and Jordan were off in a pool of dappled shade.
  28. intermittent
    stopping and starting at irregular intervals
    I involved Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby in an intermittent conversation about the arc of the swing and the angle of the shot, cementing myself as an absolute bore.
  29. diaphanous
    so thin as to transmit light
    Hotel guests looked on, amused by this diaphanous girl.
  30. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    Jordan was stunning and wry, with a shell of sarcasm around her open heart.
  31. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    She was neither as cynical as I knew myself to be nor as recklessly romantic as Gatsby.
  32. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    I admired her without envy, indifferent to who she laughed with or smiled at.
  33. abandon
    the trait of lacking restraint or control
    They laughed with the abandon of young girls and the reckless grace of rich young women.
  34. flush
    sudden reddening of the face
    The flush of Tom’s annoyance climbed up his neck.
  35. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
    “It was so dreadfully rude of you, and Jordan’s feelings are so very hurt.” Daisy looked at Jordan, who answered the cue with a crestfallen expression that the back row of a theater couldn’t have missed.
  36. upholster
    provide furniture with comfortable padding or covers
    They both draped themselves on chaises upholstered in matching periwinkle satin.
  37. croon
    sing softly
    “Too hot,” Daisy crooned.
  38. lucrative
    producing a sizeable profit
    “Wasn’t he the one who paid someone to fight in his place in—what was it, the Civil War?—so he could stay home? Profit off all that lucrative bloodshed? What rank was he?”
  39. tenor
    the general meaning or substance of an utterance
    The casual tenor of his voice was a mismatch to the heaving of his breath under his shirt.
  40. filament
    a thin wire heated by the passage of an electric current
    It was a dock light bursting, spilling its filaments everywhere.
Created on Fri Oct 28 11:17:05 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Nov 18 17:55:16 EST 2022)

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