Capricious:adjective: subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic

Source: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/capricious

From: “The Shawl” by Louise Erdrich, page 5

“He became, for us, a thing to be avoided, outsmarted and exploited. We survived off him as if he were a capricious and dangerous line of work.”

Capricious is used to describe how the father of the protagonist behaves. The father’s excessive drinking has made him something to be feared by his own children because of his unpredictable behavior.

: any of various marine gastropods (family Cypraeidae) that are widely distributed in warm seas and have glossy and often brightly colored shells; also : the shell of a cowrie(Merriam-Webster)

I came across this word while reading You In America where the speaker says “His mother told you she loved your braids, asked if those were real cowries strung through them and what female writers you read.” Knowing what a cowrie is would help the reader visualize what the speaker looks like.

• : very serious or formal in manner, behavior, or expression

• : sad and serious

• : done or made sincerely

(Merriam-Webster)

I came across this word while reading You In America where the speaker says: “But you did not tell him because he would look solemn and hold your hand and tell you it was your burnished skin color that first attracted him.” This helps the reader understand that she did not tell him because she thought it would make him sad.

: weakly and effusively sentimental(Merriam-Webster)

I came across this word while reading “You In America” where the reader says: ” After your shift that day, he was waiting outside, leaning by a pole, asking you to go out with him because your name rhymed with hakuna matata and The Lion King was the only maudlin movie he’d ever liked.”

: showing or characterized by a patronizing or superior attitude toward others

I came across this word while reading You In America where the speaker says: “You wanted to feel disdain, to show it as you brought his order, because white people who liked Africa too much and who liked Africa too little were the same—condescending. ” This helps the reader understand that the speaker views the white people who spoke of Africa to have a sense of superiority or arrogance.

: a feeling of contempt for someone or something regarded as unworthy or inferior

I came across this word while reading “You In America” where the speaker says: “You wanted to feel disdain, to show it as you brought his order, because white people who liked Africa too much and who liked Africa too little were the same—condescending.” This shows that she naturally felt like she needed to feel contempt or offended by him due to her experience with other white people, but she didnt feel that way since he did not act the way she expected him to.

: the act of making atonement. (Merriam-Webster)

I came across this word while reading “You In America” where the speaker says: ” The people who never broke a profit from the mangoes and akara they hawked, whose houses—zinc sheets precariously held by nails—fell apart in the rainy season.” This shows that compared to her own home country, the people in America lived a life of comfort and did not realize the value of the things available to them.

: : to offer (something) for sale by calling out in the street (Merriam-Webster)

I came across this word while reading You In America where the speaker says: ” The people who never broke a profit from the mangoes and akara they hawked, whose houses—zinc sheets precariously held by nails—fell apart in the rainy season.” This shows that the speaker and most of her family and friends had poor living conditions and were not able to make a profit from their work.

: a usually poor town or section of a town consisting mostly of shanties.

I came across this word while reading “You In America.” The speaker says: ”  They trooped into the shantytown house in Lagos, standing beside the nail-studded zinc walls because chairs did not go round, to say good bye in loud voices and tell you with lowered voices what they wanted you to send them.” Knowing the meaning of this word lets the reader know that the speaker was from a low income family and grew up in poverty.