Eleven By Sandra Cisneros Essay

In the novel “Eleven”, by Sandra Cisneros, she writes a powerful piece about Rachel’s eleventh birthday and the struggle she had to go through on her important day. As most see their birthday to be a joyful experience, Rachel fights for her maturity and age to be shown and understood but fails. When she turns eleven she felt as if all the other ages did not go away such as the layers of an onion. Each year a new layer is added and while she displays her immaturity from her younger ages she still finds a way to show her growth as she gets older. Rachel’s reactions demonstrate her multiple “years” of her eleven year old self throughout the text. Throughout the story, Cisneros use strong language that portrays Rachel’s emotions about her eleventh birthday. Another example of
For example, when she states, “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not…not mine…I finally say in a little voice when I was four.” (2) This shows her immaturity level and her experiencing her younger years within her elven year old self. By not being able to stand up for herself and tell her teacher the jacket was not hers, Rachel went into a shell just like any other four year old would. Hiding in her shell would make her block out the humiliation she is experiencing and make her feel safe again like when she was little and would feel the need to “sit on mama’s lap.”
Lastly, when Rachel states, “This is when I wish I wasn’t eleven because all the years inside of me… are pushing at the back of my eyes…” (3) Rachel is embarrassed that her teacher is forcing her to put on the sweater. Instead of telling her teacher the sweater was not hers, she wants to break down and cry like her younger self would. By crying, it shows her three year old side of her because she is not mentally and emotionally capable to express her feelings in a mature