Self-Made Boys: Chapters 23–28

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
35 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. languorous
    lacking spirit or liveliness
    “Who else? You have some little friend at work who’s dumber and better-looking than I am? You think I’m too ugly for the society pages?” Tom’s expression was good-natured enough. It was the languorous self-deprecation of a man who’d never been too ugly, too short, too poor, for anything.
  2. deprecate
    cause to seem or feel unimportant; belittle
    “Who else? You have some little friend at work who’s dumber and better-looking than I am? You think I’m too ugly for the society pages?” Tom’s expression was good-natured enough. It was the languorous self-deprecation of a man who’d never been too ugly, too short, too poor, for anything.
  3. renounce
    cast off
    Once and for all, renounce this man who hates everything I am and who would hate everything you are if only he knew you.
  4. demure
    shy or modest, often in a playful or provocative way
    But Daisy Fay kept her demure silence.
  5. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    I met Gatsby’s eyes, but the stoic set to his face told me nothing.
  6. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    “Why do you let him rile you like that?”
  7. apathy
    the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things
    Jordan had neither Tom’s cruelty, nor Daisy’s apathy, nor Gatsby’s senseless optimism.
  8. harbinger
    something indicating the approach of something or someone
    “We’re the awful harbingers of everyone intermarrying, Jordan, haven’t you heard?”
  9. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    Still, the questions reverberated in me. How did I not know? How did I not know you?
  10. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    Both rumor and newspaper print debated where Jordan was from, without clear consensus.
  11. dissuade
    turn away from by persuasion
    She was raised in Boston, where Massachusetts cold dissuaded her neither from the golf course nor from going out dancing.
  12. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    She might stay away so long that the name Fleurs-des-Bois would elude her memory, the town she grew up in as vague and distant as the name of an old friend she hadn’t seen in years.
  13. brooding
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    “Is this what all the young men do these days?” Martha Wolf called from the driver’s seat. “Go on long, brooding walks in a downpour?”
  14. curator
    the custodian of a collection, as a museum or library
    Martha could tell even from the scent whether a bottle had been faked, sure as a museum curator could tell a forged painting.
  15. incorrigible
    impervious to correction by punishment
    How much of her family knew; if she even knew for sure how much of her family knew, or had guessed. If they saw her as fashionable in her tailored jackets, her lipsticks brighter than the deep Bordeaux of the typical shade, and thought she was some incorrigible daughter, just a different variety than the ones in beaded dresses and pink side lacers.
  16. curt
    brief and to the point
    His firm grip on me, the curt way he’d patted his hand twice against my back, the hold that was more strong than intimate.
  17. pique
    a sudden outburst of anger
    I’m absolutely furious at Tom and his little fit of pique.
  18. exhortation
    a communication intended to urge or persuade to take action
    He stands outside my bedroom door with his exhortations. “Oh, come on, Daisy."
  19. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    But I refuse to be placated about how he's treated you.
  20. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    It will be such work teaching Tom not to be so spiteful.
  21. deplorable
    bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure
    But I'm glad his deplorable behavior at least had the welcome benefit of throwing you and Jay together.
  22. impulsive
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    Guests put on bathing costumes for the beach, but the pool always seemed to be a more impulsive decision. They jumped in wearing gowns and fine suits.
  23. tulle
    a fine fabric net used for veils, tutus, or gowns
    As I surfaced, the blue brightened, the sun pleating into layers as delicate as tulle.
  24. chignon
    a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck
    I know it's too curly and full for a French bob. But there are such neat little tricks. If I put my hair in a chignon, I can style the pieces in the front to give that same sort of look.
  25. silo
    a cylindrical tower used for storing grain
    “Where I’m from, we tell directions by barns.”
    “You mean, ‘take the road after the third silo,’ ‘turn after two red barns and a green one,’ that kind of thing?”
  26. self-effacing
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
    With a hand to his chin, he gave a self-effacing laugh.
  27. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
    Like the iterations of a fractal, I understood how Gatsby could wear such a haunted expression at his parties and still want to have them.
  28. incompatible
    not in harmonious or agreeable combination
    He was now a version of himself so utterly incompatible with North Dakota dust and blood-tainted mud that he might think of these things as belonging to someone else.
  29. seethe
    be in an agitated emotional state
    The whole train home, I thought of these men’s reckless optimism, and I seethed against it.
  30. idealism
    impracticality in thinking of things in a perfect form
    How could I condemn the idealism of men on Wall Street and yet think so highly of Gatsby’s infinite romantic faith?
  31. partial
    showing favoritism
    Everyone is partial to their own reasons for despising other people.
  32. dauntless
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation
    But there was no judging their dauntless cheer without judging Gatsby’s.
  33. upstanding
    meriting respect or esteem
    “It doesn’t make you look innocent to accuse an upstanding man,” he said.
  34. ermine
    the expensive white fur of a small mammal
    Men in top hats and bowlers who thought any land ribboned with silver ore belonged to them. Women in emerald green and ermine.
  35. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    Her smile was fond and pitying, and I despised myself for being both cynical and naïve.
Created on Fri Oct 28 11:17:15 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Nov 18 17:55:25 EST 2022)

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