Coming of Age Essay: Esperanza Rising
Steers 1
Tyler Steers
Period E/Moberly
9H English
3-23-10
20___ An effective introduction that ends with a thesis in T/P/R2-3/No I format
50___ Well organized body paragraphs that fully develop thesis and are rich with well-integrated quotes
20___ 5-vocab words from this unit are properly used. Words are highlighted in bold.
10___ Properly formatted works cited page
Coming of Age Essay Final Draft Most kids seem to think that going to school and getting an education is boring and even a waste of time but that was not the case for these two girls. Francie Nolan and Esperanza Cordero are two very different characters that come from very different backgrounds. However, for both of them, education played a pivotal role as they matured. It helped them escape reality, and opened the door for a better life. For Francie Nolan education was something that was always stressed in her family. Her mother Katie made her and Neeley read either the encyclopedia or some of the works of Shakespeare, every night before they went to bed. This greatly expanded their knowledge and vocabulary. Also, since she started them doing this at a young age what they read would help shape their mind and the lessons and things they might have learned would stay with them forever. Some things she read like A Midsummer Night’s Dream have very vivid descriptions of setting and very intriguing characters. I think that after Francie reads these novels she tries to come up with her own descriptions for Brooklyn, “Prairie was lovely and Shenandoah had a beautiful sound but you couldn’t fit these words into Brooklyn. Serene was the only word. Especially on a Saturday afternoon in the summer.”(Smith 1) These words show how Francie describes her city and the words she uses are far more advanced than what any other child her age would be
Steers 2 saying. Therefore, this shows the positive effect that reading Shakespeare has had on her. Besides the books she is forced to
Tyler Steers
Period E/Moberly
9H English
3-23-10
20___ An effective introduction that ends with a thesis in T/P/R2-3/No I format
50___ Well organized body paragraphs that fully develop thesis and are rich with well-integrated quotes
20___ 5-vocab words from this unit are properly used. Words are highlighted in bold.
10___ Properly formatted works cited page
Coming of Age Essay Final Draft Most kids seem to think that going to school and getting an education is boring and even a waste of time but that was not the case for these two girls. Francie Nolan and Esperanza Cordero are two very different characters that come from very different backgrounds. However, for both of them, education played a pivotal role as they matured. It helped them escape reality, and opened the door for a better life. For Francie Nolan education was something that was always stressed in her family. Her mother Katie made her and Neeley read either the encyclopedia or some of the works of Shakespeare, every night before they went to bed. This greatly expanded their knowledge and vocabulary. Also, since she started them doing this at a young age what they read would help shape their mind and the lessons and things they might have learned would stay with them forever. Some things she read like A Midsummer Night’s Dream have very vivid descriptions of setting and very intriguing characters. I think that after Francie reads these novels she tries to come up with her own descriptions for Brooklyn, “Prairie was lovely and Shenandoah had a beautiful sound but you couldn’t fit these words into Brooklyn. Serene was the only word. Especially on a Saturday afternoon in the summer.”(Smith 1) These words show how Francie describes her city and the words she uses are far more advanced than what any other child her age would be
Steers 2 saying. Therefore, this shows the positive effect that reading Shakespeare has had on her. Besides the books she is forced to
Cited: Page • Smith, Betty. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. New York: HarperPerennial, 2006. Print. • Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1994. Print.