Thirteen Reasons Why
Vocabulary
Hutchinson
English 11
Baker’s dozen
“Baker’s dozen,” I mumble. Then I feel
disgusted for even noticing it.
Inference
Baker’s dozen—a group of thirteen
Serrated
I watch her tear the slip across the serrated
plastic and drop it into a wastebasket.
Inference
Serrated—having notched, tooth like projections
Meanders
It leads through the front doors and
turns into a hallway, which meanders
between rows of lockers and
classrooms on both sides, finally
entering the always-open door to
first period.
Example/Explanation
Meanders—to follow a winding and turning
course
Contemplating
He’s always looking out windows, contemplating
something.
Inference
Contemplating—considering thoughtfully
Spindles
I hold my finger over the button, listening to the
soft hum in the speakers, the faint squeak of
the spindles winding the tape, waiting for her
voice to return.
Inference
Spindles—slender mechanical parts that revolve
Motivation
But this tape is not about your motivation, Alex.
Though that is coming up. This tape is about
how people change when they see your name
on a stupid list.
Inference
Motivation—the act of providing a reason to do
something
Repercussions
So, to back up a bit, this tape isn’t about why
you did what you did Alex. It’s about the
repercussions of what you did. More
specifically, it’s about the repercussions to me.
Inference
Repercussions—an indirect effect, influence or
result produced by an event or action
Erratically
Across the street, the neon sign of Restless
Video flickers erratically.
Synonym
Erratically—done in a way lacking consistency or
regularity
Mesmerized
I just watched those lips move up and down.
Mesmerized when she said things like
“slippery slope,” which, behind her lips,
exposed the underside of her tongue.
Inference
Mesmerized—hypnotized
Condescending
And when this guy saw me upset, did he
apologize? No. Instead, he got aggressive.
Then, in the most condescending way, he told
me to relax.
Inference
Condescending—dealing with a person in a way
that assumes one is superior to the other
person
Montage
Because when I close my eyes, everything
happens in a kind of montage. Laughing.
Trying hard not to spill our drinks. Waving our
hands while we talk.
Example
Montage—group of pictures sequenced and
superimposed to create a single impression
Decelerates
I hold myself steady as the bus decelerates and
pulls into the curb.
Example
Decelerates—slows down
Candid
But is that the only way you use this stuff?
Candid shots of the student body?
Inference
Candid—not posed or rehearsed
Initiative
Before coming here, I took the initiative to look
up the word “candid” in the dictionary.
Inference
Initiative-the power, ability or instinct to begin
or follow through energetically with a plan or
task
Spontaneous
So tell me, Tyler, those nights you stood outside
my window, was I spontaneous enough for
you? Did you catch me in all my natural,
unposed…
Synonym
Spontaneous—happening without any apparent
external cause
Nostalgia
We all know the sound a camera makes when it
snaps a picture. Even some digitals do it for
nostalgia’s sake.
Inference
Nostalgia—bittersweet longing for things,
persons, or situations of the past
Validate
I wanted someone to be afraid for me. I wanted
someone to validate my fears.
Inference
Validate—to confirm
Grotesque
They mark special occasions, write horrible
poetry, sketch things that are beautiful or
grotesque, or just rant.
Inference
Grotesque—characterized by distortion
Anthology
Here, Courtney, is your contribution to the
anthology of my life.
Inference
Anthology—collection of literary pieces such as
poems, short stories or plays
Compelled
Why do I feel so compelled to follow her map? I
don’t need to. I’m listening to the tapes,
every single one, front and back, and that
should be enough.
Inference
Compelled—forced
Stifle
I can’t stifle a laugh at my own lame joke.
Inference
Stifle—to cut off
Callousness
Like the person who grabbed my a** at Blue
Spot Liquor, what he was about to say was just
an aftereffect of someone else’s actions—
someone else’s callousness.
Inference
Callousness—state of being unfeeling
Decipher
Decipher a bunch of notes scribbled on the
board probably five minutes before class
started, then copy them down in your
notebook.
Inference
Decipher—to read or interpret (something
ambiguous, obscure or illegible)
Pessimist
I could leave the office a pessimist and take my
survey with me.
Inference
Pessimist—person with a tendency to take the
gloomiest possible view of a situation
Optimist
Or I could leave it as an optimist and hope for
the best.
Explanation
Optimist—person with a tendency to expect the
best possible view of a situation
Egging
I don’t know, without her as an audience egging
me on, I doubt I would have agreed to go out
with him that fast. But I was playing it up.
Giving her something to brag about at cheer
practice.
Inference
Egging—encouraging or inciting to action
Wary
I was a little wary of Marcus. A little suspicious.
Synonym
Wary—on one’s guard—watchful
Pathetic
I’m sorry if this sounds pathetic, but you know
it’s true. You’ve never gone there by yourself,
have you?
Inference
Pathetic—arousing pity
Melodramatically
I knew he was there, of course. He was
practically staring at me. And, eventually,
melodramatically, he cleared his throat.
Inference
Melodramatically—in an exaggerated emotional
way
Confront
While my original plan called for me to confront
you right then and there, I jumped to the
side—out of the doorway.
Inference
Confront– to come face to face with hostility
Prologue
For the rest of you listening, the note was
addressed to Zach by name. Maybe he sees it
now as a prologue to these tapes.
Inference
Prologue—an introductory passage in a book
Averting
The haircut. Averting your eyes in the halls. You
were careful, but still, there were signs.
Inference
Averting—turning away
Tinged
But everything they said—everything!—came
tinged with annoyance.
Inference
Tinged—affected by faintly
Subtlety
My first few attempts were a bit sad. Not much
depth or subtlety.
Inference
Subtlety—characterized by skill or ingenuity
Abstract
That’s what I love about poetry. The more
abstract the better. The stuff where you’re
not sure what the poet’s talking about.
Inference
Abstract—not easily understood
Orb
Who says “orb” instead of “ball” or “sphere?”
Definition
Orb—a sphere
Abrasive
I pull a napkin out of the holder and wipe the
abrasive paper across my eyes.
Inference
Abrasive—harsh, rough
Stellar
Normally, when a person has a stellar image,
another person’s waiting in the wings to tear
them apart.
Inference
Stellar—outstanding
Silhouette
The garage door began to lift and, in the glow of
the red taillights, the silhouette of a man
pushed the heavy door all the way up.
Inference
Silhouette—an outline of something that
appears dark against a light background
Surreal
But whatever the reason, it felt surreal. Two
people—me and him—one house. Yet he
drove away with no idea of his link to me, the
girl on the sidewalk.
Inference
Surreal—having an oddly dreamlike quality
Intrusive
The questions were personal, as if catching up
for the time we let pass. Yet the questions
never felt intrusive.
Inference
Intrusive—forced in without invitation
Potential
Everything seemed good, but I knew it had the
potential to be awful.
Inference
Potential—capable of being but not yet in
existence
Rationalize
And to him I say, Deny it! Go on, deny that I was
ever in that room. Deny that I know what you
did. Or not what you did, but what you didn’t
do. What you allowed to happen. Rationalize
why this isn’t the tape you’re making a return
appearance on.
Inference
Rationalize—devise self-satisfying but incorrect
reasons for one’s behavior
Stabilizing
I stood up, stabilizing myself with one hand on
the bed.
Inference
Stabilizing—making immobile
Preconditioned
I don’t know, maybe some people are just
preconditioned to think about it more than
others. Because every time something bad
happened, I thought about it.
Inference
Preconditioned—accustomed to in advance
Rager
A friend of my father’s was out of town and I
was watching his house for him, feeding his
dog, and keeping an eye on things because
there was supposed to be a rager a few doors
down….And there was. Maybe not as big as
the last party….
Example
Rager– a large, loud party
The snowball effect
How did you get to this point? I know you can’t
sum it all up. It’s the snowball effect…..It’s
one thing on top of another. It’s too much,
isn’t it?
Inference
The snowball effect—something that grows in
significance in larger and larger amounts as
time passes
Conspiracy
Not like a conspiracy or anything. But it feels
like I never know when something’s going to
pop out of the woodwork.
Inference
Conspiracy—a secret agreement by a group to
perform an evil act
Moonlighting
Teachers, especially a teacher moonlighting as a
counselor, tend to get left out of student
gossip.
Example
Moonlighting—working at a job in addition to
one’s fulltime job