Read the speaker's contempt critically
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
The fictional landlord's derogatory descriptions of his tenants reveal contempt rather than offering a balanced account of their conduct. The script uses effeminate in the landlord's speech to disparage a male musician whose gestures the landlord regards as feminine. Calling a woman a slattern similarly exposes the landlord's insulting judgment of her untidy clothing. The reading group keeps these words inside an analysis of the character's prejudice, then compares his sweeping labels with scenes showing the tenants managing demanding work and helping one another.
A glossary labels the landlord's language derogatory so readers will not mistake his insults for neutral information about the tenants. The note on effeminate explains the gendered judgment without suggesting that the musician's gestures establish any deficiency in ability or character. The note on slattern identifies an insulting term directed at a woman judged untidy. When the group writes its own account, it names the observable clothing or gestures only when relevant and attributes the contemptuous interpretation to the speaker who expresses it.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.