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Characterization And Symbols In 'La Bamba' By Gary Soto

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Perceive is to understand or to recognize something. In middle school, feeling self conscious is a normal feeling to have. When a student in school gets the sense that the was another perceives them in the wrong way they want to change themselves . The way one is perceived does not matter, they are wonderful the way they are. The student must know that they are amazing just being them. Not letting people change one due to how they perceive someone else is a useful skill for any child in middle school. In “La Bamba by Gary Soto uses characterization, symbols, as well as Conflict (man v. man/man v. self/ man v. nature) to support the overarching theme: One does not have to constantly worry about how people perceive themselves; one is amazing …show more content…

Manuel felt like he needed to impress the crowd, so he wanted his friend’s opinion about how he appeared, so he could modify his appearance. Manuel asked his friend Benny,“How do I look?” Soto uses this kind of characterization to present that Manuel is self-conscious about how he looked. Even when Manuel knew he was going to be supported no matter what he changed his appearance “But when Manuel did a fancy dance step, there was a burst of applause, and some girls screamed. Manuel tried another dance step.” Manuel changed from just standing still while singing to dancing while singing. He only did this to impress the girls that were in the crowd, he for the second time changed his appearance for others. By the end of the story in his heart Manuel surely knew that appearance isn’t what …show more content…

As a matter of fact in paragraph four it says,“Benny was going to play the trumpet in spite of the fat lip he had gotten while playing football.” Benny was still going to playing the trumpet although his lip may seem look odd. Benny knew that people were going to find his appearance not pleasing. Despite how others may think about him Benny kept wanting to play the trumpet for the talent show. This connects to the theme because he's not worried about how others will perceive him, he is still doing his act in the talent show despite the fact his appearance isn’t the prettiest. Manuel had a similar experience except his scenario was a little different. “He didn’t know what to do except bow to the audience, which applauded wildly, and scoot off the stage, on the verge of tears. This was worse than the homemade flashlight. At least no one laughed then, they just snickered.” Manuel pushed through the pain of the embarrassment, plus he was able to bow, then walk off the stage. Most would probably break down right there on stage. Manuel was able to cross over the whole appearance situation and persevere through all the following events. Manuel was able to persevere through all ,plus he was able to not worry about how people perceived

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