Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
Final Essay & Presentation
‘Eleven’ by Sandra Cisneros and ‘Mud’ by Maria Irene Fornes
Thesis
Date
2300 words
Temidayo Ajayi
University name
Final Essay & Presentation
A short story ‘Eleven’ by Sandra Cisneros dwells upon the memories of an eleven-year-old girl that spends her birthday at school and gets into a discomforting situation with her teacher because of her lack of confidence. In spite of the multiple colloquial phrases and childish expressions, this is a very philosophical piece of writing. It touches upon such global and adult issues as experience, freedom, aging, life and death, knowledge and restrictions. The symbolism is very sophisticated here – under the veiled mask of a simple classroom occasion the writer sets multiple questions. Do people gather enough experience with age? What secret knowledge and power is revealed after each birthday? Can a simple life situation drive one at an older age more efficiently than real calendar time does? The complexity of an eleven-year-old girl (who is almost a teenager, by the way) is derived from the first-person style of narration. The author tries to hide her real wisdom and age through the expressions like “little animal noises” but it still seems not convincing because so many serious questions are being asked in each paragraph of the story. She is very capable in understanding her own emotions and thoughts – an ability that is not very typical for such a young age is eleven. Her descriptions of the surrounding world are very clear and comprehensive; the usage of metaphors is quite mature in spite of the phrasing.
One of the strong sides of this literary piece is the extremely high emotionality and the ability to look inside the mind of a person with complete sincerity and transparency of the thoughts. The reader can easily attain additional information about the true personality of Rachel. The main heroine – she is very emotional,
‘Eleven’ by Sandra Cisneros and ‘Mud’ by Maria Irene Fornes
Thesis
Date
2300 words
Temidayo Ajayi
University name
Final Essay & Presentation
A short story ‘Eleven’ by Sandra Cisneros dwells upon the memories of an eleven-year-old girl that spends her birthday at school and gets into a discomforting situation with her teacher because of her lack of confidence. In spite of the multiple colloquial phrases and childish expressions, this is a very philosophical piece of writing. It touches upon such global and adult issues as experience, freedom, aging, life and death, knowledge and restrictions. The symbolism is very sophisticated here – under the veiled mask of a simple classroom occasion the writer sets multiple questions. Do people gather enough experience with age? What secret knowledge and power is revealed after each birthday? Can a simple life situation drive one at an older age more efficiently than real calendar time does? The complexity of an eleven-year-old girl (who is almost a teenager, by the way) is derived from the first-person style of narration. The author tries to hide her real wisdom and age through the expressions like “little animal noises” but it still seems not convincing because so many serious questions are being asked in each paragraph of the story. She is very capable in understanding her own emotions and thoughts – an ability that is not very typical for such a young age is eleven. Her descriptions of the surrounding world are very clear and comprehensive; the usage of metaphors is quite mature in spite of the phrasing.
One of the strong sides of this literary piece is the extremely high emotionality and the ability to look inside the mind of a person with complete sincerity and transparency of the thoughts. The reader can easily attain additional information about the true personality of Rachel. The main heroine – she is very emotional,
Bibliography: Cisneros S, Eleven, Health Communications Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL, January, 1, 1997. (anthology), pp. 150-161. Fornes M I, Mud, New York City: PAJ Publications, 1986, pp. 5-10. ----------------------- [1] S Cisneros, Eleven, Health Communications Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL, January, 1, 1997. (anthology), pp. 150-161. [2] M I Fornes, Mud, New York City: PAJ Publications, 1986, pp. 5-10.