In Rachel’s Tears, Rachel Joy Scott dies in a school shooting at Columbine High School. The reason she is remembered after her death is because of the kind of person she was, and how she treated others before she died. The day April 20, 1999, to Rachel seemed like a normal day, but at the same time knew there was something off about it. Rachel loved to write about her struggles and experiences in her journals, and that day she Rachel did not write something but drew a rose and eyes with tears falling from them. A couple weeks after the school shooting Rachels parents were given back her bookbag and things she had with her the day she died. When they found her journal and found the picture they couldn’t believe what they had discovered. Rachel…
This graphic novel written by Lisa Chen consists of different chapters that provide insight on several periods of her life, that impact and shape her into the person she is today. The Lead Up is a chapter that recounts the events that occur before her stepmother and father divorce. The chapter depicts how these events had significantly affected her and how that has caused her to be the emotionally sensitive yet resilient and independent teenager she is today after experiencing these hardships. It is written after reading Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, to gain insight on the writing process.…
At the beginning,the author reveals Rachel’s mind state,in her persuasive thoughts that being eleven changes nothing on your emotions and attitudes at times. The author defines Rachel’s vision of birthday. However, the author mentions Rachel’s experiences on her eleventh birthday to strengthen the thesis that being eleven,does not quite delete the fact that you might still feel you are younger,and have some break outs at times.…
The audience of this book was intended for young adults who have or are going through a hard time or remember that challenges that are faced when growing up to adulthood during high school. The story relates challenges that are faced through a person’s life. Charlie, the protagonist of the novel, demonstrates this struggle when he explains, “I feel great! I really mean it. I have to remember this for the next time I’m having a terrible week. Have you ever done that? You feel really bad, and then it goes away, and you don’t know why. I try to remind myself when I feel great like this that there will be another terrible week coming someday…” (Chbosky 103). The theme of the book is the coming of age and the hardships that are faced in life. Charlie…
In the story “Eleven” the narrator Rachel acts more like a child. In the ninth paragraph, the author states, “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not…Not mine.” When Rachel speaks like this she is not forming her words properly like a tween would. She is talking like a two-year old that is whining. Additionally, the character Rachel stated “Not mine, not mine, not mine.” When Rachel says this, she is not stating what she wants to say, making herself sound childish. Rachel needs to speak her mind to the teacher, instead of saying “not mine” in her head. Finally, according to the text Rachel stated, “That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldivar.” Again, when Rachel calls people stupid and dumb since someone made a mistake she is…
I think this specific experience is important to the author because it is when she first realized that every year on her birthday she is one year older, but she still acts like every age she passed through. She thinks she is older, but mentally she is still that little kid she was before. It says, “I don't know why but all of a sudden I'm feeling sick inside, like the part of me that's three wants come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth really hard and try to remember today when I am eleven, eleven”( Cisneros 1). This shows that she is trying not to cry because she thinks that she cannot act like a little kid anymore who cries for everything. The lesson that she learned was that even though she is older, she doesn’t have to grow older mentally. I think she is facing an external and internal…
The message that the short story Eleven by Sandra Cisneros tells is that even though you get older you’re still all the same ages you were before. Rather you be five and have to sit on you’re moms lap because you’re scared or when you’re 10 and you might say something stupid. Sandra uses the element imagery quite a bit in her short story. “…When I put one arm through one sleeve of the sweater that smells like cottage cheese, and then the other arm through the other and stand there with my arms apart like if the sweater hurts me and it does, all itchy and full of germs that aren’t even mine.” This particular sentence really describes how awful the sweater must be, she says that one arm of the sleeve smells like cottage cheese and the other is itchy and full of germs that aren’t even hers. The mental image I got from that was a sweater that was a big, ugly, and smelly heap of a very itchy red sweater. Another element of voice Sandra uses is diction. “Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box.” This example of diction was one that would stick out the rest of the story. Instead of saying I wish I were older than 11, Sandra uses diction to emphasize how much she would love to be older than 11. All in all Sandra does an incredible job throughout the book in using elements of voice to portray Rachel, not only did she uses imagery and diction but she used detail, syntax, and tone. She very nicely described how all people will revert back to past ages. Overall, she uses many elements of voice to depict the message of this…
Unlike most eleven year olds, Rachel believes that she does not have enough life experience to be respected and she often mentions that, she wishes she “was one hundred and two” because then she would have the confidence and wisdom to know what to say to her teacher, Mrs. Price (Cisneros 1991). This illustrates that, the narrator is beyond her years and she knows that with age, she will be given more understanding of the world, but she doesn’t think that she is wise beyond her years. As a result, Rachel has no control in her environment and she is clearly disappointed by that. Rachel’s use of language, such as “because she sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’s hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t’ care” suggests that she’s a child (Cisneros 1991). That is to say that, the use of dialogue throughout, makes the story seem more personal, as the reader hears the teacher's words at the same time the character does. By emphasizing Rachel’s youth, the author repeats the process of counting down the years three separate times. Also, the narrator seems to mention home a lot, but she never returns home for her birthday. Rachel mentions, “Mama is making a cake for me tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you” which symbolizes that the narrator won’t regret being at home because she is respected by her parents and they listen to her very well, which is every child’s…
Rachel’s character by Sandra Cisneros in “Eleven” is a very clever girl compared to her age; however, some people or even her peers might disaccord with it. In this passage, the author reiterates Rachel’s age several times, although the repetition of her age does not give the reader an affection of her being wiser and much older than her age. To tackle the feeling of Rachel being a dumb girl, Cisneros use of language, Imagery, and narrative all collaborates to make Rachel a well defined character.…
The small girl Jeanette has seen a typical lifestyle and has faced a lot of controversies which gives a message that life comes with a lot of problems but it doesn’t mean to give up our hopes instead it means that the good time will definitely have to come , we just have to wait until everything gets good. Life itself is a name of situation which…
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.…
In the above quote she states the age of herself and her brother; in order to make known that she had no say at such a young age. She also gives vivid detail of what she went through and words it in a way to have the reader take each step with her. Her description of the weather, her relatives giving her family…
Have you ever listened to a young child talk? I mean really listened? They don’t sound like a teenager or an adult, do they? In Eleven, Sandra Cisneros uses different techniques to help Rachel’s age come out in her speech and thoughts. Diction, syntax and imagery help the reader to better interpret Rachel’s youthful thoughts and feelings.…
The happiest day of Alex’s childhood was when he received so many N64 games for his Nintendo 64. He said, “When I saw my games, I almost blacked out and died.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his statement. The saddest day of his childhood was when he was in preschool and his class would count up to the 100th day of school. On the 100th day, they were supposed to have a party. Well on the day of the party, his mom didn’t let him go to school and in stead he stayed at his great grandmother’s house, which in fact was his least favorite place to be. His first experience with death is finding out that his cousin passed away. Alex said, “I didn’t really know what I felt or how to feel. I really didn’t have a close relationship with my cousin and even though he was older than me, I feel as if…
2nd paragraph: repetition of numbers- a lot of time, ages, to symbolize and illustrate the work he was in and how really involved in it he was, this makes me think about the omission of names and the delay to mention the deceased’s first name, shows how non emotional or detached he was towards his family but more into work which once again shows the purpose being what should really matter in life, tieing into this would be the limited amount of quotations used in this piece but the one’s used were from his family foreshadowing…