Rasin Vocab Flashcards
undistinguished
(adj) common; nothing special (23)
“Its furnishings are typical and undistinguished and their primary feature now is that they have clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years—and they are tired”
pretense
(n) pretending or feigning; make-believe; a false show of something (24)
“Weariness has, in fact, won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed too often. All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room”
sewer workers heading to a conference
exasperated
(adj) irritated; provoked; irked (28)
“TRAVIS I am eating. RUTH Hush up now and just eat! (The boy gives her an exasperated look for her lack
of understanding, and eats grudgingly)”
viciously
(adv) with violence or fury (29)
“RUTH Just hush, I said. (Travis jabs his spoon into his cereal bowl viciously, and rests his head in anger upon his fists) If you through eating, you can get over there and make up your bed.”
sullen
(adj) showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve (29)
“RUTH Get carfare and milk money—(Waving one finger)—and not a single penny for no caps, you hear me?
TRAVIS (With sullen politeness) Yes’m”
vindicated
(v) cleared of accusation, blame, or doubt (30)
“RUTH (Mocking; as she thinks he would say it) Oh, Mama makes me so mad sometimes, I don’t know what to do! (She waits and continues to his back as he stands stock-still in front of the door) I wouldn’t kiss that woman good-bye for nothing in this world this morning! (The boy finally turns around and rolls his eyes at her, knowing the mood has changed and he is vindicated; he doesn’t, however, move toward her yet)”
proposition
(n) a suggested plan (33)
“(He sits down beside her and demonstrates graphically what he thinks her methods and tone should be)—you just sip your coffee, see, and say easy like that you been thinking ’bout that deal Walter Lee is so interested in, ’bout the store and all, and sip some more coffee, like what you saying ain’t really that important to you— And the next thing you know, she be listening good and asking you questions and when I come home—I can tell her the details. This ain’t no fly-by-night proposition, baby. I mean we figured it out, me and Willy and Bobo”
vengeance
(n) revenge (35)
“She closes the door with a sleepy vengeance and crosses to the table and sits down a little defeated”
tentatively
(adv) uncertainly (44)
“She waits several seconds, trying to make up her mind about something, and looks at Ruth a little tentatively before going on”
furtively
(adv) stealthily; in a way that hides motive (44)
“RUTH (Studying her mother-in-law furtively and concentrating on her ironing, anxious to encourage without seeming to) Well, Lord knows, we’ve put enough rent into this here rat trap to pay for four houses by now …”
futile
(adj) useless (45)
“(She waits and stops smiling) And didn’t none of it happen. (Dropping her hands in a futile gesture)
RUTH (Keeps her head down, ironing) Yes, life can be a barrel of disappointments, sometimes”
tyrant
(n) dictator; harsh ruler (52)
“BENEATHA I see. (Quietly) I also see that everybody thinks it’s all right for Mama to be a tyrant. But all the
tyranny in the world will never put a God in the heavens!”
forlornly
(adv) pitifully; desperately; hopelessly (57)
“(RUTH comes in forlornly and pulls off her coat with dejection. They both turn to look at her)”
mutilated
(adj) maimed; damaged (61)
“You wear it well … very well … mutilated hair and all. BENEATHA (Turning suddenly) My hair—what’s wrong with my hair?”
assimilationism
(n) belief that minority cultures should be absorbed into a dominant culture (63)
“But what does it matter? Assimilationism is so popular in your country. BENEATHA (Wheeling, passionately, sharply)
I am not an assimilationist!”
insinuatingly
(adv) with more meaning than is spoken; implied (66)
“MAMA (After him) Lord, that’s a pretty thing just went out here! (Insinuatingly, to her daughter) Yes, I guess I see why we done commence to get so interested in Africa ’round here. Missionaries my aunt Jenny!”
haphazardly
(adv) carelessly (66)
“(She picks up the Nigerian dress and holds it up to her in front of the mirror again. She sets the headdress
on haphazardly and then notices her hair again and clutches at it and then replaces the headdress and frowns at herself.”
arrogant
(adj) proud; haughty (76)
“(She promenades to the radio and, with an arrogant flourish, turns off the good loud blues that is playing)
Enough of this assimilationist junk!”
eccentric
(adj) deviating from the norm; strange (80)
“GEORGE Oh, don’t be so proud of yourself, Bennie—just because you look eccentric. BENEATHA How can
something that’s natural be eccentric? GEORGE That’s what being eccentric means—being natural. Get dressed. BENEATHA I don’t like that, George.”
oppressive
(adj) tyrannical (81)
“It means someone who is willing to give up his own culture and submerge himself completely in the dominant, and in this case oppressive culture!”
cliché
(n) trite or overused expression or idea (82)
“Just like they always say about Chicago weather: If it’s too hot or cold for you, just wait a minute and it’ll change. (She smiles happily at this cliché of clichés)”
plaintively
(adv) sorrowfully; pathetically (86)
“Your nagging! Where was I? Who was I with? How much money did I spend? RUTH (Plaintively) Walter Lee—why don’t we just try to talk about it …”
menacingly
(adv) threateningly (90)
“(MAMA clamps her lips together, and RUTH advances toward her son menacingly)”
exuberant
(adj) marked by unrestrained enthusiasm (93)
“All I can say is—if this is my time in life—MY TIME —to say good-bye—(And she builds with momentum as
she starts to circle the room with an exuberant, almost tearfully happy release)—to these goddamned
cracking walls!—(She pounds the walls)”
