Vocabulary

1. The action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.
5. The quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis.
7. A bird with iridescent black plumage, used metaphorically in the story to describe a character's voice.
9. A hindrance or obstruction in doing something, like the speech impediments used in the story.
10. To counteract or cancel the effect of something.
12. Something that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone.
13. An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.
14. To adjust or mark something so that it can be used in an accurate and precise way.
17. Feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected.
19. Showing a desire to resist authority, control, or convention.
20. The use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize people's stupidity or vices, especially in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

2. To crouch down in fear.
3. An imagined society that is dehumanizing and unpleasant, often under totalitarian rule.
4. Cruel and oppressive government or rule.
6. A disadvantage or restriction placed on someone to limit their abilities, often to enforce equality.
8. To make things equal in quantity, degree, or value.
11. A device that sends out signals or messages, often used in the story to limit people's thoughts.
15. A change or addition to a legal or statutory document, like the amendments to the U.S. Constitution mentioned in the story.
16. Restrictive or controlling, especially of freedoms or rights.
18. An electronic device that makes a buzzing sound, used in the story to disrupt people's thinking.