Where and when did I find it: I found this while I was rereading, Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. The word appeared near the beginning of the memoir, and foreshadowed events to come.
Full citation: Wiesel, Elie. (1958). Night. New York: Hill and Wang.
Level of familiarity: I'm pretty familiar with the word as it's used in the context of the novel. I am also familiar with the surrealist movement as an art form. Knowing the two, I am more able to picture what Wiesel wanted the reader to imagine.
What does it mean: It means having a disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream. Some of the backdrop of reality is present, but it's distorted.
Do I want to know this word well, and if so, why? Well, I think it's a good word to know, especially if you are teaching Wiesel's memoir. It's a word that could help students visualize the surroundings and the fear many people faced. It also relates to the theme of the memoir, individuality versus neutrality.
Should others know this word well, and if so, who and why or why not? Every time I think I am going to say that not everyone should know a word well, I almost always change my mind. Why would we not want to know a word? Maybe it's the English teacher in me, or just that I like learning. Perhaps that is the idea of asking the question in the first place.
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