In “Eleven,” when Mrs.Price gave Rachel the sweater and she said she remembered Rachel wearing it she probably confused her with someone else. She also might find it hard to believe that it is Rachel's because Rachel is so persistent on getting rid of the sweater that Mrs.Price might think she is trying to leave the sweater at school. Mrs.Price comes to the conclusion that the sweater is Rachel's because everyone said that the sweater wasn't theirs and then Sylvia Saldivar said that it was Rachel's and since that is the only person that someone has said who owns it Mrs.Price gave it to Rachel.
Of course, Rachel being 11 years old, she does not have a broad mindset which is the cause of her simplistic phrases that include repetition that help reflect her true age. “Not mine, not mine, not mine” repeating that the “ugly sweater” was not hers but clearly not being understood, Rachel must repeat this phrase -only in her head- just like any child would when not being listened to. Not only does this phrase inform the reader of Rachel’s weakness to stand up for herself but also of how she is accustomed to not being listened which has her thinking that she must repeat herself. Finding comfort in not only burying her face but in the thought of “mama's cake” and “everybody singing happy birthday”, she demonstrates that she feels smaller physically and emotionally so she continues this saying in her head to get her through her moment of the “sick feeling”. After constant wishing of being “102”, or “invisible” Rachel finally decides that it is too late for “mamas cake, “candles, presents and everybody will sing happy birthday” because she no longer feels “ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, one” she no longer needs closure of her
The author’s use of Rachel’s perspective is important because it establishes a connection between the reader and the character. Noting that Rachel is eleven years old justifies her childish point of view that is expressed all throughout the piece. The entire story focuses around Rachel’s teacher trying to give Rachel back a sweater. Since Rachel’s considers the sweater ugly, she believes that she will be made of for it. For example, when Mrs. Price put the
Della and her husband Mr. James Dillingham Young are a young couple who sacrificed the things that is very important to them just to make each other happy. On the day before Christmas, Della wants to buy her husband a gift but she only has one dollar and eighty-seven cents, so, she decided to have her hair cut and sell it for twenty dollars. After selling her hair, she went to the store and get a platinum fob chain for Jim’s gift she thought that it was a perfect for Jim’s gold watch. It is Christmas Eve and Della is waiting for Jim to come home. Jim came home and surprised to see Della’s short hair then he gave his gift for Della and it was a comb for supposed to be for her hair after Jim gave her presents to Della, she was so surprised to
Chapter 13: Many political viewpoints or thoughts that an author sponsors are widely found or implied in his or her literary works. For example, in Isabel Allende’s The House of Spirits, Allende’s views upon women’s rights are heavily implied. This occurs as Clara liberates the female peasants in a way to allow them to lead a prayer and practice religion, an activity frowned upon by the land and power controlling men at the time of the story, With this, an active reader can correlate the events in the story and apply them to the author’s political viewpoints regarding women's rights.
The diction that Cisneros uses is descriptive. Her words help explain Rachel’s feelings more in depth. In the opening line of “Eleven” it states, “what they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is 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.” From this quote Cisneros paints a picture of how Rachel feels about turning eleven. She shows an idea of how Rachel will be acting throughout most of the story. Not only does Cisneros use that lin...
Minerva Mirabal was the most heroic of the Mirabal sisters. Rafael Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic for 30 years; he was oppressive, creepy, and a little insane. The Mirabal sisters were killed because they tried to rebel against him. Minerva is heroic. Because she was the first of her sisters to join the rebellion, she went to law school, and she slapped the dictator with a slap.
Rachel is the oldest daughter in the Price family, she is fifteen when the family first arrives. Rachel is a beautiful girl, and pretty much all she cares about is how she looks. As soon as she stepped foot in the Congo,
Sarah Penn is a crazy mother that wants a proper house instead a nasty, smelly barn filled with ugly cows. Sarah only wants the house that she deserves, the house that she's wanted for forty years. After finding out that her son knew about the building of the barn for three months, Sarah freaks out and turns to cleaning the dishes. Sarah pushes her daughter out of the way to clean
Esperanza, a strong- willed girl who dreams big despite her surroundings and restrictions, is the main character in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza represents the females of her poor and impoverished neighborhood who wish to change and better themselves. She desires both sexuality and autonomy of marriage, hoping to break the typical life cycle of woman in her family and neighborhood. Throughout the novel, she goes through many different changes in search of identity and maturity, seeking self-reliance and interdependence, through insecure ideas such as owning her own house, instead of seeking comfort and in one’s self. Esperanza matures as she begins to see the difference. She evolves from an insecure girl to a mature young lady through her difficult life experiences and the people she comes across. It is through personal encounters and experiences that Esperanza begins to become sexually aware and acceptance her place and self-definition in her community.
The story begins with Mrs. Washington hurling herself into the closet and flinging out clothes that she had purchased for her husband, only after going through his pockets. Unfortunately she does not find what she was
Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody" (Bambara 604)—offers an indication as to why she is so hard-pressed to concede her substandard socioeconomic standing in the larger scheme of things. Sylvia is forced to finally address the true state of her place in society, however, when she observes firsthand the stark contrast between the rich and the poor at a fancy toy store in Manhattan. Initially furious about the blinding disparity, her emotionally charged reaction ultimately culminates in her acceptance of the real state of things, and this acceptance in turn cultivates her resolve to take action against the socioeconomic inequality that verily afflicts her, ensuring that "ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (606). "The Lesson" posits that far from being insurmountable, economic and social injustice can be risen above, but it is necessary that we first acknowledge the role that it plays in our lives, and then determine to take action against it; indifference, and the inaction that it breeds, can only serve to perpetuate such injustices.
He pulled the scarf off and wound it around Armin's neck to help stop his trembling. The soft, dark blue fabric helped defend against the biting cold. Armin blushed, holding onto the scarf with one hand. However his blush went unnoticed, due to the freezing weather, his cheeks were already rosy red. Jean stuffed his hands into his coat pockets before continuing, "you don't have to tell me who did it, if you don't want to. But I atleast deserve to know what happened in Mr. Smith's office, don't you think?"
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...
to the Pet cemetary. Louis answers her honestly and later Rachel and him have an
Sommers had to forgo the lifestyle she was accustomed to when she got married and had children. In paragraph four, the author states “the neighbors sometimes talked of certain ‘better days’ that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers”; before getting married, Mrs. Sommers had lived much more comfortably. Now that she is a mother and has a seemingly absent husband, her desperation to return to her former life and feel like her old self has greatly increased. The money gives her a “feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years”, and the feeling of having wealth again gives her a sense of freedom that she has not experienced for a long time. When she buys the stockings, she sees them as “lost in the depths of her shabby old shopping-bag”; to her, the stockings symbolize a small object of wealth and her old life lost in the responsibilities and poverty of her new life. Mrs. Sommers does not attempt to justify her actions; as stated in the story, “she seemed for the time to be taking a rest from that laborious and fatiguing function…and freed her of responsibility.” At the end of the story, the author states that Mrs. Sommers had a “powerful longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere, but go on and on with her forever.” The cable car is transporting her back to her responsibilities, and she knows that once she returns home, her former lifestyle will fade once again and she will be left to deal with her present