21 - genial

Genial

Original Source:

"In other circumstances Mr. Clutter would have refused. His laws were laws, and one of them was: Nancy - and Kenyon, too - must be home by ten on week nights, by twelve on Saturdays. But weakened by the genial events of the evening, he had consented."

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print.

Definition*:

warmly and presently cheerful; cordial.

*All definitions are from the source found in THIS post.

Second Source:

"A person walking into a genial classroom know almost at once that it is a place dedicated to the celebration of learning and young minds; a cognitive greenhouse, so to speak, that honors and celebrates the capacities of each and every student. In a genial classroom, something new, in making novel connections, in confronting and overcoming challenges, in being surprised or delighted, intrigued or mystified, and indignant or outspoken the ideas and materials being presented."

"Quote by Thomas Armstrong: A person walking into a genial classroom knows...." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/722357-a-person-walking-into-a-genial-classroom-knows-almost-at>.

Commentary:
Genial, due to the sound of the word, made me think of the genie, a creature found in folklore. The genie that immediately popped into my head was the blue genie from Disney's Aladdin. Capote employs the word to describe the happy events of the night, the event being Mr. Clutter's daughter's performance in her school's production, which he states is the reason that he was lenient in his daughter's curfew rules for that time. Armstrong speaks of an ideal, cheerful classroom, where students are dedicated to their studying, enjoy learning, and are delighted to speak of new ideas and topics.