Lord Of The Flies Flashcards
Lagoon
“The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon.”
Area of shallow water
Clamber
“He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another.”
To climb or shuffle using both hands and feet
Vainly
“He took off his glasses and looked vainly for something with which to clean them.”
Without success
Quiver
“The palms that still stood made a green roof, covered on the underside with a quivering tangle of reflections from the lagoon.”
Tremble or shake with a slightly rapid motion
Decorous
“Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement.”
Proper; marked by good taste
Interpose
“The shell was interesting and pretty and a worthy plaything; but the vivid phantoms of his day-dream still interposed between him and Piggy, who in this context was an irrelevance.”
Place or insert between two things
Strident
“The note boomed again: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before.”
Loud and harsh
Scupper
To deliberately sink
Speculate
“Their heads clustered above the trunks in the green shade; heads brown, fair, black, chestnut, sandy, mouse-colored; heads muttering, whispering, heads full of eyes that watched Ralph and speculated.”
To casually talk and make predictions without firm evidence
Clamor
“The conch was silent, a gleaming tusk; Ralph’s face was dark with breathlessness and the air over the island was full of bird-clamor and echoes ringing.”
A loud and confused noise
Pallor
“Now that the pallor of his faint was over, he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.”
An extreme or unnatural paleness
Indignation
“Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks.”
A feeling of righteous anger
Jumble
“There was a jumble of the usual squareness, with one great block sitting out in the lagoon.”
Untidy collection or pile
Grating
“This one, against which Jack leaned, moved with a grating sound when they pushed.”
Sounding unpleasant and annoying
Warped
“He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity, and he bored into the coarse grass with one toe. He was muttering and about to cry.”
Bent, distorted, pulled out
Conch
“A conch he called it.”
A large spiral shell of a mollusk, often used as a horn
Scornfully
“Like kids!” he said scornfully. “Acting like a crowd of kids!”
With contempt or derision
Officious
“There was pushing and pulling and officious cries.”
Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
Tumult
“He paused in the tumult, standing, looking beyond them and down the unfriendly side of the mountain to the great patch where they had found dead wood.”
A state of commotion, noise, and confusion
Irresistible
“At the sight of the flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering.”
Not capable of being refused
Nimble
Quick and agile
Festoon
“Smoke was rising here and there among the creepers that festooned the dead or dying trees.”
Decorate with strings of flowers
Tendril
“Here was loop of creeper with a tendril pendant from a node.”
A stemlike structure of climbing plants that holds onto walls and other objects
Oppressive
“The silence of the forest was more oppressive than the heat, and at this hour of the day there was not even the whine of insects.”
Weighing heavily on the senses or spirit