Rachel Leguin's She Unnames Them
In She Unnames Them, the narrator’s name is not mentioned, but it seems to be referring to Eve. To demonstrate, the narrator mentions that, “I resolutely put anxiety away, went to Adam, and said, “You and your father lent me this—gave it to me, actually” (LeGuin 1985). This signifies that the narrator is Eve. The narrator expresses a sense of unity towards animals, because she wants both her and animals to be treated equally. As a result, the narrator convinced the animals that names are not important, they are only used as identifiers. The narrator wants to feel close to animals because of their existence on Earth and their connection with nature, which symbolizes an ecofeminist position. According to Le Guin, “among the domestic animals,
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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
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