Vocabulary - The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 5 - 9

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean in the space provided.

9. If you knew Stradlater, you'd have been worried, too. . . . He was unscrupulous.

10. It partly scared me and it partly fascinated me.

11. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist if you want to know the truth.

12. My grandmother'd just sent me a wad about a week before. I have this grandmother that's quite lavish with her dough.

13. It's not a paradise or anything, but it's as good as most schools. Some of the faculty are pretty conscientious.

14. Well, a bunch of us wanted old Ernie to be president of the class. I mean he was the unanimous choice.

15. . . . I don't want to stay at any hotels on the East Side where I might run into some acquaintances of mine. I'm traveling incognito.

Part II: Determining the Meaning: Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.

_____ 9. unscrupulous A. Attentive to duty; diligent
____ 10. fascinated B. In disguise
_____11. pacifist C. Having no moral code; unprincipled
_____12. lavish D. Generous or liberal in giving or spending
_____13. conscientious E. Held the attention of; captivated
_____14. unanimous F. One who opposes the use of force under any circumstances
_____15. incognito G. Showing or based on total agreement