Eleven: Dissecting Age and Identity Development

Aging is a universal element within all of us humans -- throughout “growing up,” we learn new things, undergo minimal and life-changing experiences, in which we eventually form our own “character.” In the short story “Eleven,” by Sandra Cisneros, we enter the psyche of Rachel, an 11 year old right out of the oven. Throughout the story,

Rachel complains and expresses her feelings about being an 11 year old, yet still possessing qualities from younger ages. It becomes apparent that she is immensely self-conscious and has a very pessimistic view about how she reacts to unexpected situations that she is put in. This can be determined from her childish tone, constant repetition, seemingly reserved dialogue, and her stream of consciousness. There is a vast amount of

This is a very powerful comparison, as it supports her idea that you still have the “three year old” and even “five year old” inside of you, waiting dormant to just come out.

Another example would be “Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid Box (paragraph 5).” Once again, she stresses how aging is just like adding on and on. Rachel characterizes these things through the use of similes, and they add major impact to her feelings about her age and just growing up in general.

There are various moments where we enter the mind and inner consciousness of

Rachel. “I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs.Price put the red sweater on my desk (paragraph 5)” This shows that Rachel is desperate to become older in order to be more experienced. “Not mine, not mine, not mine (paragraph 12)....” is another