Lord of the Flies VOCABULARY (List 1)

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1 Lord of the Flies VOCABULARY (List 1) 1. Apprehension n. 1. fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread. 2. the act of seizing or capturing; arrest. 3. the ability to apprehend or understand; understanding. 2. Specious adj. 1. having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious 2. deceptively attractive. 3. Enmity n. deep-rooted hatred 4. Decorous adj. 1. characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct 2. according with custom or propriety 5. Strident adj. loud, harsh, grating, or shrill; discordant 6. Incredulous adj. not disposed or willing to believe 7. Eccentric adj. departing from a recognized, conventional, or established norm or pattern 8. Furtive adj. marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed 9. Obscure adj. 1. deficient in light; dark. 2. so faintly perceptible as to lack clear delineation; indistinct. 3. not readily noticed or seen; inconspicuous 4. of undistinguished or humble station or reputation 5. not clearly understood or expressed; ambiguous or vague 10. Inimical adj. 1. Injurious or harmful in effect; adverse 2. Unfriendly; hostile 11. Indignation n. anger aroused by something unjust, mean, or unworthy 12. Immure v. to confine within or as if within walls; imprison 13. Summit n. the highest point or part; the top 14. Enormity n. 1. the quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness 2. monstrous offense or evil; an outrage 3. Usage Problem. Great size; immensity

2 15. Opaque adj. 1. Impenetrable by light; neither transparent nor translucent. Not reflecting light; having no luster. 2. So obscure as to be unintelligible. 3. Obtuse of mind; dense. 16. Compulsion n. An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation 17. Vicissitude n. 1. a. A change or variation. b. The quality of being changeable; mutability. 2. One of the sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one's life, activities, or surroundings. Often used in the plural. 18. Tacit adj. 1. Not spoken 2. Implied by or inferred from actions or statements 19. Abyss n. An immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void. 20. Inscrutable adj. Unsearchable; incapable of being searched into and understood by inquiry or study; impossible or difficult to be explained or accounted for satisfactorily; obscure; incomprehensible Lord of the Flies Vocabulary Unit (List 2) 1.Abominable adj. 1. Unequivocally detestable; loathsome 2. Thoroughly unpleasant or disagreeable. Sentence example: It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. 2. Torrid adj. 1. Parched with the heat of the sun; intensely hot. 2. Scorching; burning 3.Passionate; ardent 4. Hurried; rapid. Sentence example: Sitting on the tremendous rocks in the torrid sun, Roger received this news as an illumination. 3. Derision n. mockery; scornful or contemptuous treatment which holds one up to ridicule. Sentence example: Piggy once more was the centre of social derision so that everyone felt cheerful and normal.

3 4. Vitality n. 1. The capacity to live, grow, or develop 2. Physical or intellectual vigor; energy. 3. The characteristic, principle, or force that distinguishes living things from nonliving things. 4. Power to survive. Sentence example: Behind him came the twins, worried now for a while but full of unquenchable vitality. 5. Ludicrous adj. Laughable or hilarious because of obvious absurdity or incongruity. Sentence example: With ludicrous care he embraced the rock, pressing himself to it above the sucking sea. 6. Truculent adj. 1. Disposed to fight; pugnacious. 2. Expressing bitter opposition; scathing 3. Disposed to or exhibiting violence or destructiveness; fierce. Sentence example: Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance. 7. Infuriate v. To render furious; to enrage; to exasperate. Sentence example: Ralph looked back at Jack, seeing him, infuriatingly, for the first time. 8. Pinnacle n. 1. Architecture. A small turret or spire on a roof or buttress. 2. A tall pointed formation, such as a mountain peak. 3. The highest point; the culmination. Sentence example: There was the neck of land, the ledge skirting the rock, up there were the red pinnacles. 9. Propitiate v. To conciliate (an offended power); appease Sentence example: Piggy nodded propitiatingly. 10. Demure adj. 1. Modest and reserved in manner or behavior. 2. Affectedly shy, modest, or reserved. Sentence example: Each of them wore the remains of a black cap and ages ago they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of angels.

4 11. Impervious adj. 1. Incapable of being penetrated 2. Incapable of being affected Sentence example: So they sat, the rocking, tapping, impervious Roger and Ralph, fuming; round them the close sky was loaded with stars, save where the mountain punched up a hole of blackness. 12. Glower v. To look or stare angrily or sullenly. Sentence example: He glowered up under his eyebrows. 13. Cower v. To cringe in fear. Sentence example: Birds were screaming, mice shrieking, and a little hopping thing came under the mat and cowered. 14. Corruption n. 1: lack of integrity or honesty; esp susceptibility to bribery; use of a position of trust for dishonest gain 2: in a state of progressive putrefaction 3: decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation) 4: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles. Sentence example: The tangle of lines showed him the mechanics of this parody; he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colors of corruption. 15. Chastise v. 1. To punish, as by beating 2. To criticize severely; rebuke Sentence example: In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand. 16. Discursive adj. 1. Covering a wide field of subjects; rambling. 2. (philosophy) proceeding to a conclusion by reason or argument rather than intuition 3. (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects Sentence example: The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter from the palms to the water and away along the beach, beyond night-sight. 17. Myriad n. A vast number adj. 1. Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable 2. Composed of numerous diverse elements or facets Sentence example: Like a myriad of tiny teeth in a saw, the transparencies came scavenging over the beach.

5 18. Detritus n. 1: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up 2: loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn away from rocks Sentence example: Perhaps food had appeared where at the last incursion there had been none; bird droppings, insects perhaps, any of the strewn detritus of landward life. 19. Diffident adj. 1. Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid. 2. Reserved in manner. Sentence example: Diffidently, Simon allowed his pace to slacken until he was walking side by side with Ralph and looking up at him through the coarse black hair that now fell to his eyes. 20. Chronic adj. 1. Of long duration; continuing 2. Lasting for a long period of time or marked by frequent recurrence, as certain diseases 3. Subject to a habit or pattern of behavior for a long time Sentence example: They were used now to stomach-aches and a sort of chronic diarrhea. Synonyms and Antonyms from Lord of the Flies List #2 1. derision mockery 2. ludicrous solemn 3. infuriate aggravate 4. pinnacle nadir 5. demure brazen 6. discursive meandering 7. myriad few 8. chronic abiding 9. corruption scrupulousness 10. impervious susceptible

6 List #2: Sentence Completion Exercises Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 1. Rather than hand in a concise essay that addressed only the assigned question, Martha obliviously submitted a piece that was both irrelevant and. (A) demure (B) diffident (C) impervious (D) discursive (E) torrid 2. Much to the speaker s chagrin, his vulgar joke was met with only. (A) vitality (B) derision (C) corruption (D) myriad (E) detritus 3. The substitute teacher was too appalled to respond to the inappropriate comment and the impertinent student. (A) chronic..infuriate (B) truculent.. propitiate (C) demure.. chastise (D) abominable.. glower (E) diffident..cower 4. Few professional athletes retire during the of their physical prowess. (A) vitality (B) derision (C) corruption (D) myriad (E) pinnacle 5. To his wife, the adulterous husband bought her not only flowers but also a new car in the hope that she would forgive him. (A) glower (B) infuriate (C) propitiate (D) chastise (E) cower

7 Piggy clasped his hands in apprehension. WORDS IN CONTEXT FROM THE LORD OF THE FLIES Ralph had been deceived before now by the specious appearance of depth in a beach pool and he approached this one preparing to be disappointed. He trotted through the sand, enduring the sun's enmity, crossed the platform and found his scattered clothes. Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement. The note boomed again: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before. They were twins, and the eye was shocked and incredulous at such cheery duplication. The creature was a party of boys, marching approximately in step in two parallel lines and dressed in strangely eccentric clothing. There was a slight, furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. To carry he must speak louder; and this would rouse those striped and inimical creatures from their feasting by the fire. Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks. others. Immured in these tangles, at perhaps their most difficult moment, Ralph turned with shining eyes to the The assault on the summit must wait while the three boys accepted this challenge. The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. hair. The opaque, mad look came into his eyes again. Ralph looked at him critically through his tangle of fair He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up. Jack stood there, streaming with sweat, streaked with brown earth, stained by all the vicissitudes of a day's hunting. Jack nodded, as much for the sake of agreeing as anything, and by tacit consent they left the shelter and went toward the bathing pool. Only when Jack himself roused a gaudy bird from a primitive nest of sticks was the silence shattered and echoes set ringing by a harsh cry that seemed to come out of the abyss of ages. Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail.

8 Multiple Choice Exercise: Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 1. The district attorney s argument initially convinced the jury, but the defense attorney revealed the weakness of the prosecutor s logic. (A) obscure (B) incredulous (C) furtive (D) opaque (E) specious 2. The of Hitler s crimes was not fully realized until after the end of the war. (A) indignation (B) enormity (C) summit (D) enmity (E) apprehension 3. Although the child was concerning the existence of Santa Claus, any mention of the boogeyman could easily arouse. (A) obscure..indignation (B) eccentric.. vicissitude (C) opaque.. enmity (D) inimical.. compulsion (E) incredulous..apprehension 4. The voice of the substitute teacher could cause bleeding of the ear drums. (A) furtive (B) opaque (C) strident (D) tacit (E) inscrutable 5. The highway patrolman s sunglasses prevented the young lady from discerning his expression, thereby making his intentions. (A) decorous..specious (B) furtive.. eccentric (C) inimical.. obscure (D) tacit.. incredulous (E) opaque.. inscrutable Synonyms and Antonyms from Lord of the Flies (1 ) Classify each of the following pairs of words as synonyms or antonyms. 1. specious valid 2. enmity antagonism 3. incredulous convinced 4. furtive open 5. inimical favorable 6. compulsion choice 7. vicissitude hardship 8. inscrutable straightforward 9. tacit explicit 10. immure release

What does Golding mean when he describes Ralph as having a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil (10, bottom)?

What does Golding mean when he describes Ralph as having a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil (10, bottom)? Lord of the Flies - Study Questions Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell How does Golding use personification in the beginning of the novel? (7) How are the two boys in the opening described physically? What