Esay

She understands that although she is eleven, she can still be scared like she is five, or cry like she is three. What she does not grasp is that people can display characteristics beyond their years. Rachel displays advanced maturity in her thoughts. The only dialogue in the story is between Rachel and her teacher, Mrs. Price. Every conversation is the same, Mrs. Price does not listen to Rachel and dominates their conversations. Rachel associates being right with being older, so she lets Mrs. Price have her way. Mrs. Price is so dominating Rachel can respond with what she calls her four-year-old voice. She stumbles for a reply, eventually saying only, “Not mine, not mine. Rachel is helpless and feels sick inside as she is forced to wear that sweater. So much emphasis is given to what Rachel is thinking, but the dialogue can show her outward personality. Rachel is non-confrontational, timid, and shy. Rachel desperately wants her terrible day to be over. She wants to be one-hundred and two because then days like this one would be far behind. After she is brought to tears and reluctantly she puts on the sweater and even though she did not have to wear the sweater long, she is changed. She realizes facing challenges is at the foundation of experience. Her old self floats away like a balloon. Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven” uses point of view, diction, dialogue, and symbolism to characterize an eleven-year-old’s coming of age. The unique characteristics of an eleven-year-old have allowed her to make important discoveries about growing up. Rachel survives her humiliation and becomes smart eleven. She feels smart eleven, and almost a year sooner than usual. Rachel realizes that people are the sum of their experience. She desperately wants to be one hundred and two but realizes that her experience adds up to eleven.