Use context clues to determine the meaning of nonsense as it is used in paragraph 15 of “Eleven.” Write your definition here and identify clues that helped you figure out its meaning. Then check the meaning in a dictionary.
To determine the meaning of "nonsense" as used in paragraph 15 of "Eleven," we can rely on context clues within the surrounding text.
First, let's look at the sentence in which "nonsense" appears: "How does it happen that grown-ups get to lay out these rules, I wonder? Well, loud is good, soft is bad, and too bad sucker if you can't tell the difference, which is just to say, if you're a kid, then grown-ups can get you to do anything, anything at all, and kids haven't anything to do with it because grown-ups know everything, which is only about half true because they don't know half about kids, and grown-ups never think anything is important."
From this sentence, we can infer that "nonsense" is something that grown-ups say or impose on children. The sentence talks about how grown-ups make rules that might not make sense to kids, emphasizing that kids have no say in the matter. It suggests that grown-ups think they know everything, but in reality, they don't understand children fully. Therefore, "nonsense" in this context seems to refer to arbitrary or confusing rules or statements imposed by adults.
To verify our understanding, let's consult a dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, "nonsense" means "words or language that has no meaning or makes no sense." This aligns with our initial understanding derived from the context clues in the paragraph.
In summary, we deduced the meaning of "nonsense" in paragraph 15 of "Eleven" based on the contextual clues provided: as arbitrary or confusing rules or statements imposed by adults on children.