Sandra Cisneros’ Eleven is a powerful piece about the struggle of a young girl named Rachel on her eleventh birthday. The story portrays the fight to overcome her age and young maturity to be understood. However, she cannot conquer the stereotypes associated with her age. There is a hideous red sweater that no one in the class wants to claim; Rachel is then pinned with being the owner of the sweater. When she attempts to announce her innocence, the teacher immediately assumes she is not telling the truth. Her age is postulated to be a deterrent of her ability to tell the truth. Rachel does not feel eleven; rather, she is consumed with confusing emotions toward growing to maturity and the responsibilities that come of it. Eleven discusses the theme of growing up and what one must overcome through that process.
The experience of a year of one’s life sticks with them forever. The years that have passed will always be a part of who you are, for “…when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one” (Cisneros 609). Because each year fits inside the next year, Rachel experiences emotions that were present earlier on in her life. For example, when the teacher completely rejects Rachel’s claims of innocence, she suddenly feels “…sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes” (Cisneros 610). Rachel, however, has to fight off this desire to cry by trying to “…remember today I am eleven, eleven” (Cisneros 610). Her will to fight off this urge os not strong enough to prevent the tears. Rachel shows the difficulty in fighting off previous tendencies in life. With growing up come many challenges in fighting off actions accepted in yo...
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...a few different stages involved in growing up. One of which was to have to shun away from her way of acting in previous years of life. She had to fight off the desires to act like a child in certain scenarios. Perceptions of adults based off a child’s age are another challenge of growing up. She was thought of as a liar for the assumed qualities children possess, facing head on the untruthful stereotype she was placed in because of her age. All of this contributed to another facet of growing up; she wanted to be much older so that her statements would not be considered as lies. Growing up brings forth many trials and tribulations, many of which Rachel faced during her day at school.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. "Eleven." Literature and the Language Arts - Discovering Literature. Ed. Laurie Skiba. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MI: EMC Publishing, LLC, 2007. 19-22.
Sandra Cisneros writes a memoir through the eyes of an eleven year old. Turning eleven happens to be a tragic day for the main character, Rachel. Through various literary techniques such as hyperbole, simile, and syntax, Rachel is characterized. Rachel is a fresh turning eleven year old who finds herself in an awful situation on her birthday. Forced to wear a raggedy old sweater that doesn’t belong to her, she makes it defiantly clear her feelings towards the clothing item, and we see this through use of hyperboles. Rachel describes the sweater as ugly and too “stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope.” This extreme exaggeration demonstrates the fire within Rachel. She is a defiant and pouty little girl who out of stubbornness has to defy the sweater in her mind. “It’s maybe a thousand years old”, she says to herself in act to degrade the filthy red sweater even more. The sweater to Rachel has become an eternal battle of ages. She is torn on whether or not to stand up and act bigger th...
The author of the short story eleven Sandra Cisneros was most likely influenced to write the story by the thought of growing up throughout life without really deciphering every exact moment in your life, such as being confident and calm. In the short story eleven, the protagonist Rachel is a young girl who has recently turned eleven. From the beginning Rachel talks about age as a sort of phase or moment in your life. Rachel tries to even explain that people are sort of a result of their past experiences.
Growing up is an extremely complicated and deep subject for just about everyone. The story “Marigolds” displays this throughout its plot. “Marigolds” tells about a young girl living in a rough situation, and how she breaks from her innocence and begins to understand reality. There are extremely different emotions that go along with innocence and maturity. Hearing Lizabeth's reactions and thought about her journey through growing up shows how maturation is a both beautiful and ugly.
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In “Eleven”, written by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros uses literary techniques such as diction and imagery to characterize Rachel’s character during her transition from age ten to age 11. These literary techniques help to describe how Rachel feels in certain situations while also explaining her qualities and traits. Through the use of these literary techniques Cisneros also collaborated on Rachel’s feelings when she was other ages and how she felt at that time during her life.
At the age of 9, a little girl is counting down the days until her next birthday because double digits are a big deal. Now she is 12 and is still counting the days until she can call herself a teenager. For years people cannot wait to be another year older… until they actually become older. As people grow up they accept that maturing means taking on responsibilities and adulthood. Having sleepovers and play-dates, taking naps, and climbing the monkey bars becomes taboo. The simplistic life of a child quickly changes into the dull reality of school and work. People will spend years wishing they were older; but when the time comes, they hope to go back to their innocence. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger writes a stream of consciousness
Displaying one's emotions in public is often not planned nor wanted especially when it comes to crying due to humiliation and shame. In the short story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, literary terms such as simile, diction, and repetition are utilized in characterizing emotional “eleven” year old Rachel. The figurative language used, support the images that were intended for the reader to perceive. Diction and repetition help guide the audience with a certain point of view towards the characters. Not only does Cisneros exploit these literary terms to explain and characterize Rachel's feelings but to exhibit how one may not always have the courage, personal strength, or maturity to handle certain situations.
Sandra Cisneros uses the literary technique, simile to characterize Rachel. A simile is a comparisons between two things, cohesively used by like or as. Rachel wakes up to her eleventh birthday and a clueless red sweater from Mrs. Price’s coatroom. The author compares growth and aging to “an onion or the rings inside a tree trunk or little wooden dolls.” She urges that this is finally when one understands themselves to be as old as the things they’ve done in the past. The diction of Sandra Cisneros’ writing in the short story builds the idea and main focus of how she characterizes ignorant and forgetful people like Rachel. The simile in the short story is written in a stylistic and persuasive manner to show how people don’t
story but also to show Rachel’s feelings throughout the story. As Rachel talks about her
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In the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros, a young girl named Rachel is characterized. Through a specific incident, Cisneros shows how Rachel does not act as old as eleven ideally should. Through repetition and metaphor, Cisneros alludes to Rachel?s personality and childish views.
The short story Eleven by Sandra Cisneros, focuses around the main character Rachel as an insecure developing girl who lacks the experience to handle everyday encounters. Rachel, an eleven year old girl truly encapsulates the thoughts that are present within an adolescent. The lack of confidence in herself, excessive fear of being judged, and ideas of growing up are ideals that are relevant within each and every one of us. The reader is able to relate to Rachel because her feelings and experiences that are described by the author are similar to what most people have been through and are currently experiencing. The characterization of Rachel is expressed through the author’s usage of point of view, imagery, and repetition.
Marita Bonner starts her short essay by describing the joys and innocence of youth. She depicts the carefree fancies of a cheerful and intelligent child. She compares the feelings of such abandonment and gaiety to that of a kitten in a field of catnip. Where the future is opened to endless opportunities and filled with all the dream and promises that only a youth can know. There are so many things in the world to see, learn, and experience that your mind in split into many directions of interest. This is a memorable time in life filled with bliss and lack of hardships.
Roberts, Edgar V., Jacobs, Henry E. “Literature.” The Lesson. 470-475. Toni Cade Bambara. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 2001
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/sec2.3