In her essay, Eleven, Sandra Cisneros narrates the story of Rachel’s ruined eleventh birthday. Cisneros uses this to characterize Rachel as insecure about her age, shy and sensitive, especially when talking to adults, and intelligent, as shown in her description of the different ages people have within them and how they act can be attributed to them feeling a certain age. This is done through the use of figurative language, syntax, and diction.
Rachel’s insecurity in regards to her age can be seen in her incident with Mrs. Price, during which she says, “I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box”(Cisneros, 29-30). The simile comparing her age to pennies helps demonstrate that Rachel does not
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When she is questioned about the red sweater, Rachel is overcome with shyness and freezes, “I would’ve known how to tell her it wasn’t mine instead of just sitting there with that look in my face and nothing coming out of my mouth” (Cisneros, 34-36). She is also unable to say anything when Mrs.Price places the sweater on her desk other than “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not...Not mine”(Cisneros, 53). Even Though Rachel is a eleven year old, talking to her teacher, she is overcome with shyness. Furthermore, Rachel’s shyness leads to an outbreak of her sensitivity when she absolutely loses it when her teacher makes her wear the sweater, “I don’t know why but all of the sudden I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth real hard and try to remember today I am eleven” (Cisneros, 63-65). Her shyness can also be seen in her desire to be “far away already, far away like a runaway balloon”(Cisneros, 125). The simile demonstrates her shyness by showing that Rachel, like the balloon, desire to far away and would rather not interact with Mrs. Price and her classroom. The use of diction such as “invisible,””bury,” and “corner”(Cisneros, 101,104,82) helps reinforce the idea Rachel is shy and
There are just a few defining moments in one’s life, when one is not a child, but an adult. In Eugenia W. Collier’s short story “Marigolds”, the narrator Lizabeth recognizes the moments she no longer felt like a child in a heartwarming narrative. Throughout the story, Lizabeth has a difficult time adapting to her new role and has many turning points. Reflecting back on her transition to adulthood, Lizabeth states “... I remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning”(1) Lizabeth first feels the consequence of her actions one day while destroying her neighbor Miss Lottie’s yard in a childish raid.
Pre-Reading Notes Major Characters Nathan Price - Father of four daughters, One of the major masculine roles in the book, Nathan is married to Orleana. He moves his family to the Congo due to his work because he is a baptist minister. He was a veteran of World War II. He is the antagonist of the book, due to his actions that he exhibits throughout the book. He creates a type of tension within the book between the other characters, he is not very friendly with the people from the Congo.
It is often said that older kids can never seem to act their age .This is seen in the novel The Watsons go to Birmingham 1983, by Christopher Paul Curtis when the Watson’s are in Flint the author uses symbolism to show that growing up can sometimes be hard. Kenny uses coming of age as a symbolization that growing up can be hard. When kenny goes behind the couch to the pet hospital, “I only wanted to come out of the Pet hospital to eat and go to the bathroom.” (196).
The appeal of adulthood and independence reaches its apex in fervent children. However, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, poet of My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance, 1981, conveys the paternal perspective of viewing one’s own kin experiencing the “real” world through her daughter’s first relationship. The Family of Little Feet, written by Sarah Cisneros, illuminates the negativities of young girl’s eagerness to physically develop in hope of acquiring attention from possible suitors. While both pieces of literature possess varying perspectives of epiphanies, Gillan and Cisneros divulge the significance of cherishing one’s youth, as the realities of maturity divest children of their innocence.
Everyone has a birthday, that’s the way it is. Some might not know when theirs is, but they have one. Every year on the same day, you turn a new age, but don’t you still feel like you’re still that previous age? That is how Rachel feels in the short story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros uses figurative language, repetition and imagery to characterize Rachel as a young child who wishes to grow up and be stronger.
The tone of the story is important in making the story sound like it is being to through the eyes of an eleven year old girl, such phrases like “pennies rattling in a band-aid box” and “my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast.” All these are certain phrases that would be used in an eleven year old's life, bandaids for the bumps and scrapes, and the milk that your parents would make you drink. That is the tone Eleven sets, a young girl telling us her humiliating story while she is still a child. Sandra Cisneros does an excellent job at using literary devices to characterize Rachel in “Eleven”. By using imagery, simile, and tone we can see that Rachel is a empathetic, bashful, wise, but still naive in her own ways.
In the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, a woman named Lizabeth tells the story about her 14-year-old self maturing into the woman she is now while having to deal with the Great Depression. This story tells the events that occurred in Lizabeth’s childhood that causes her to mature, it takes place in a town that struggles with poverty. Although Lizabeth’s adolescence affects her actions when she would disrespect Miss Lottie and her garden, her adult perspective in the story reveals that she learned that one can’t have both compassion and innocence. An important aspect to the story is adolescence and how it plays an important role to how Lizabeth would act and treat others.
Based on her unconventional upbringing and the dissimilarity of her immediate family, Walls narrates the novel largely in chronological order, creating a layout of the exact moments that she became of age. At age three, Walls claims “‘Mom says I’m mature for my age…’” (Walls, ). Walls’s mother considers her “adult” enough to be responsible for her own meals, implanting a sense of maturity and deporting an aspect of immaturity from Jeanette's understanding. Parental interference with Jeannette’s “inner age” is also compounded upon by her father, Rex.
Mr.Mulholland was also seventeen”(Dahl 4). As you can see she likes
The book Ten written by Gretchen McNeil takes place on Henry Island. The only thing on this island is a vacation home owned by Jessica, one of the teens in the story. She plans on throwing a party on the island and she invites all of her friends. But what they don’t know is that she isn’t the one who actually sent out the invites. There are ten teens in the story, Meg, Minnie, T.J., Ben, Gunner, Kumiko, Nathan, Vivian, Kenny, and Lori.
Age: the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed. In the short story“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. Talks about Rachel the main character on here eleventh birthday. Cisneros uses this to her advantage to characterize using details, specific language, and figurative language to explain her day.
The teacher, Ms. Price picks up a sweater and asks the class if anyone is missing a sweater. A student says that it's Rachel's, and the teacher gives her the sweater without even thinking. Rachel thinks and speaks in a way that is very reminiscent of an eleven year old. There is a youthful, innocent tone in her voice, especially when she says “I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven” without actually thinking about the disadvantages of being that age. Throughout the day, she references home and how she longs to go home to celebrate with her family and eat cake.
The author then goes into a story about Rachel on her birthday in class, and a red sweater.
Revision of “On Turning Ten” Essay Growing up and living in the adult world requires responsibility, knowledge, and independence. A poem by Billy Collins, “On Turning Ten,” describes a young child as he attempts to grasp the concept of growing up and facing the harsh reality of adult life. The narrator uses a melancholy tone to argue that adult life is challenging, and the best way to cope with these challenges is to reminisce about young childhood memories. The young narrator is convinced that adult life will not be much fun.
Dialogue is used in a writing piece in order to move the plot, to develop or define the character, or just to deepen the conflict. All together, dialogue is used to help the reader infer the theme of the text. Sandra Cisneros expresses the theme throughout the novel with the use dialogue to develop the characters in The House on Mango Street which retells her life experiences that made her who she is today in vignettes just like No Speak English. In her other work of literature, Eleven she shows the same theme, with the addition of the theme that there is a certain amount of power held by age. In the texts Eleven and No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros, the use of dialogue helps reveal aspects of the characters in each piece in order to develop the theme of identity and belonging.