Word List 2 - Groups 6-7

Question 1

adulation

Answer 1

Strong admiration; worship

Scout, at times, expresses adulation for her father, Atticus Finch.

Question 2

bristle

Answer 2

To show irritation

Most of the people of Maycomb, Alabama bristled against African-American people.

Question 3

decoy

Answer 3

Lure; trap; trick

Scout, Jem, and Dill attempted to use a decoy to allow Boo Radley to exit his house and expose himself.

Question 4

erratic

Answer 4

Wandering; irregular

Scout was quite the erratic person, because of her tomboyish attitude and constant playing.

Question 5

histrionic

Answer 5

Theatrical; exaggerated

Scout and Jem’s view of Boo Radley is very histrionic, seeing the man as a monster-like figure.

Question 6

laud

Answer 6

Praise

Atticus Finch would get receive no laud for defending Tom Robinson, an African-American man.

Question 7

obstreperous

Answer 7

Noisy and boisterous

Scout, with her brother and Dill, were most likely obstreperous in the streets of Maycomb.

Question 8

portend

Answer 8

Foretell
Because of the racist attitude of Maycomb, one can easily portend the reaction of a white man, Atticus, being a lawyer for a black man, Tom Robinson.

Question 9

retraction

Answer 9

Withdrawal; cancellation of a statement

Francis, Scout’s cousin, insisted on making no retraction for his statement criticizing Atticus.

Question 10

titter

Answer 10

Giggle quietly

Scout, because of her masculine traits, would not titter very much, if not at all.

Question 11

adversity

Answer 11

Hardship
Black people in Atticus’s time dealt with adversities almost all of the time, especially in Alabama and other states in the south

Question 12

broach

Answer 12

Start to discuss; approach

One of the themes and subjects broached upon in To Kill a Mockingbird is racial injustice and life in the South.

Question 13

deference

Answer 13

Respect

Children in Scout’s time period, the Great Depression era, were expected to always have deference for their elders.

Question 14

esoteric

Answer 14

Obscure and difficult to understand

Boo Radley, in his secretive and secluded lifestyle, was esoteric in his behaviors.

Question 15

hoary

Answer 15

Old

The houses in Maycomb, Alabama, were quite hoary, due to their connection to periods of time like the Civil War.

Question 16

lavish

Answer 16

On a grand scale; wasteful
Everybody in Maycomb during the Great Depression did not live lavish lives at all, due to financial and economic difficulties.

Question 17

portent

Answer 17

A warning sign; omen
The racist attitude held in the South after the Civil War acts as a portent for the potential fate of Tom Robinson, a black man.

Question 18

revere

Answer 18

Worship
Although separated by hate and discrimination, black people and white people in Maycomb revered the same God, but however, in different churches.

Question 19

obtuse

Answer 19

Mentally dull

Boo Radley was an obtuse person, who did not hold the normal mental capacity of an average person.

Question 20

tome

Answer 20

Large book

Atticus Finch probably had to study many tomes in order for him to become a lawyer in Alabama.