Vocabulary Practice: Their Eyes Were Watching God & When the Emperor Was Divine

A complete list of vocabulary, literary devices, and cultural terms derived from the study of Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' and Julie Otsuka's 'When the Emperor Was Divine'.

Beglamour

to make glamorous; to bedazzle, to deceive as if by magic

Lacerate

tear or make deep cuts in (flesh or skin)

Shiftless

characterized by laziness and a lack of ambition

Eye-dialect

a technique used by writers to simulate speech as it is actually spoken rather than in its polished, abstract, “correct” form. Eye dialect seeks to recreate the pronunciation, pacing, and syntax of oral language by deliberately altering “proper” spelling, sentence structure, and rules of grammar

Personification

A figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, an object, or a concept.

Hyperbole (overstatement)

a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth; exaggerated claims not meant to be taken literally.

pugnacious

eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight; combative; aggressive

mein

air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.

incredulous

(of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something

obliged

be indebted or grateful; make (someone) legally or morally bound to an action or course of action.

boisterously

in a noisy, energetic and rough way

Yonic

in the shape of female sex organ

Phallic

having to do with the male sex organ, especially in terms of shape.

temerity

excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.

"big-house"

term used during and after slavery to refer the plantation owner’s residence. It was usually the most notable building because of its size and position. It was always separated from the quarters for enslaved peoples.

Prong

each of two or more projecting pointed parts at the end of a fork.

Gilded

covered thinly with gold leaf or gold paint.

monotonous

dull, tedious, and repetitious; lacking in variety and interest.; (of a sound or utterance) lacking in variation in tone or pitch.

eulogy

a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died.

ponderous

slow and clumsy because of great weight.

resent

feel bitterness or indignation at (a circumstance, action, or person).

scoundrel

a dishonest or unscrupulous person; a rogue.

gallantry

courageous behavior, especially in battle; actions or words used when paying polite and respectful attention to women.

discomfiture

a feeling of unease or embarrassment; awkwardness.

indignantly

in a manner indicating anger or annoyance at something perceived as unfair.

coquetry

flirtatious behavior or a flirtatious manner.

ecstasy

an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement; an emotional or religious frenzy or trance-like state, originally one involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence.

dudgeon

a feeling of offense or deep resentment.

Fractious

irritable and quarrelsome; difficult to control; unruly

Stolidness

an indifference to pleasure or pain; having or revealing little/no emotion

Promontory

a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water; a headland.

Ostentatiously

in a pretentious or showy way designed to impress.

Lavish

sumptuously rich, elaborate, or luxurious.

Futile

incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.

Insinuation

an unpleasant hint or suggestion of something bad.

Usurper

a person who takes a position of power or importance illegally or by force.

Refracted

past tense of “refract;” make (a ray of light) change direction when it enters at an angle.

Shikata ga nai

It cannot be helped.

issei

first generation of immigrants who came from Japan to the US

nisei

second generation–children born in the US to issei parents

sansei

third generation–children born in the US to nisei parents; grandchildren of issei.

infamy

the state of being well known for some bad quality or deed; an evil or wicked act.

dehumanization

the denial/removal of human qualities from a person or a group, which can occur discursively, symbolically, or physically.

no no’s

the colloquial term for detained Japanese Americans who answered “no” to questions 27 and 28 on the so-called “loyalty questionnaire” during World War II.

repatriation

the return of someone to their own country.

nonassimilable

unable to be absorbed into the culture or mores of a population or group

ominous

giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious.

unsettling

causing anxiety or uneasiness; disturbing.

wily

skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully.

fester

(of a wound, sore, food, or garbage) become septic, rotten, and offensive to the senses; (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference.

forswear

agree to give up or do without (something).

segregated

set apart from each other; isolated or divided; separated or divided along racial, sexual, or religious lines.

melancholy

a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

intermittent

occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady.

stucco

fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces or molding into architectural decorations.

Espionage

the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information.

Hypocrisy

the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense

Internment

the state of being confined as a prisoner, especially for political or military reasons.

Unknowable

not able to be known.

Inscrutable

impossible to understand or interpret.

Oriental

of, from, or characteristic of Asia, specifically East Asia. Used offensively in the novel to refer to a person of East Asian descent.

Gritty

containing or covered with grit; in other contexts, can also mean showing courage and resolve

Barracks

a building or group of buildings used to house soldiers; a building or group of buildings used to house a specific group of people, such as laborers or prisoners, in austere conditions.

Latrines

a toilet or outhouse, especially a communal one in a camp or barracks.

Rapture

a feeling of intense pleasure or joy.

Outlaw

a person who has broken the law, especially one who remains at large or is a fugitive.

Geta

a Japanese wooden shoe with a thong to pass between the first (big) toe and the second toe.

Loyalty

the quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations

Disloyalty

the quality of not being loyal to a person, country, or organization; unfaithfulness.

Allegiance

loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.

Obedience

compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority.

Mohair

the long, silky hair of the angora goat.

Rolltop

a writing desk with a flexible cover sliding in curved grooves.

Trellis

a framework of light wooden or metal bars, chiefly used as a support for fruit trees or climbing plants.

Straddle

sit or stand with one leg on either side of.

Sabotage

deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something), especially for political or military advantage.

renounce

formally declare one's abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession).