Gary Soto’s The Jacket Essay

I'm pretty sure the message to this short story was about taking chances, not being ashamed about who you are or what you wear, I think this will help a lot of kids because it will show them that style isn't always everything…and it will show people that it's not the way you look but it's the way you make yourself look in

In his autobiographical narrative A Summer Life, Gary Soto vividly recreates the guilt felt by a six- year-old boy who steals an apple pie. Through Soto’s reminiscent he has taken us on a journey of his guilt, paranoia, and redemption through the usage of tone, allusions, and imagery.

We started walking to school, on the Monday of August 31st. It was nearing fall, I could tell, every step we took it felt like it was getting colder, and colder. The sky looked gray, and the sun wasn’t out. What a perfect Monday. And without a jacket, too. Issac for some reason started taking off his jacket, and almost whacked me with its sleeve.

When Doug came home after receiving the jacket from Mr. Ballard, he describes that “[the jacket] was the only thing [he] own[s] that hasn’t belonged to some other Swieteck before [him]” (274). This demonstrates that none of his other family members have had a flight jacket in the way that Doug has and haven’t acted like mature adults, thus the flight jacket symbolizing (Doug’s) adulthood.

In the book si cology there's a guy named si has three brothers Tommy Phil and Barney. si first talks about his childhood. When he was young he was terrible at lying he couldn't tell a lie to save his life. One day with his brother they climbed under a gate and his pants fell off and a sworn of bumble bees came and stung him on the butt his mom had to take out all the stingers. Later when hes 18 his parents tell him hes going to college he says he dosent want to go but they send him anyway. He says all hes gonna do is party and his mom said well have a good one. And that's exactly what he did he only went to enough classes so they wouldn't kick him out amazingly he passed. But he has to do another year.

Ashton Dexter is the epitome of the typical school bully. Even as a baby, his mother was afraid to change his diaper as he urinated every time he did not receive the food he demanded with his babble of words. When he attended school, his teachers assigned his seat at the very back of the classroom fearing his unapproachable presence. One bright, sunny day, a group of smiling students boarded the school bus and happily talked amongst each other about their day. Lastly to step in was Ashton Dexter, the most disliked student at Deer Ridge Elementary School. As the tyrant walked down the narrow aisle, the aroma of the school bus abruptly changed as the smiles of the students faded and dark, gray clouds blanketed the glowing sun. Despite his short

One can never forget the wardrobe once they entered the room and stood in front of it-his gray-blue peak lapel suit which always miraculously free from dust clean and neatly set,setting beside his dull black necktie which was the symbol of elegance and style,around with a comb which services for his short and very tailored haircut.And in his tiny drawer,startlingly,people find an old stopwatch which used to play a role in Olympics and produced by Tissot in 1997.Not like others who bothered to shave and always with a three-day-old bread,nothing grows in his chin.What

Young, rich boys were “often dressed to look like sailors”(Brooke 124). However, the less fortunate boys wore old clothes that might have belonged to their parents, grandparents or even great grandparents. They either wor old clothes or clothes that were handmade by their

Our family culture, and media, has advertised that we must wear sweaters when the temperature is cold to avoid illness. When the winter season arrives wearing sweaters is accepted within our hometowns. My peers will be astonished to see me wearing pants as a sweater. Our dormitory had a low temperature that evening, “I am cold,” I mentioned and I reached for my pair of jeans and wore them.

Other individual’s appearances are greatly influential during childhood. Ms. Hancock and Charlotte’s mother were both very extreme with their styles. Charlotte’s mother was obsessive about her professional, proper, and elegant dress code. She wore skirts and nylons, with her hair always in place and looked as if “a hairdresser had arrived at 6 a.m.” Both Charlotte’s mother and Ms. Hancock tried to look what was “youthful” in their opinions. People adopt their role model’s styles. For example, in high school, Charlotte was influenced by her mother, because she dressed “maturely”. On the other hand, Miss Hancock always dressed very flamboyant and uniquely. Her make-up and hair stood out from a crowd. She enjoyed wearing “peasant blouses encrusted

Skinny and frail, his visible rib cage protruded almost to the point at which the skin would tear. Ikal, youngest of all the old children, continued to reveal his knowledge,”Estoy muy entusiasmado con la escuela en la gran ciudad.” The final class leading up to his starting public school in Antigua, a big city only a few kilometers away, had finally arrived. Almost every kid was prepared with conversational spanish and black leather shoes, the necessities to attend school. The dull light illuminated only some of the crowded room, but it had never seemed brighter to the children. These children shared everything they had ever owned. The shine of the shoes reflected in the gleam of every pair of eyes. Every child had a beaming smile arced across

I was ready in a hurry. Even though their was only 45 minutes until school starts. After getting off the bus I was proud of my jacket. It was warm and fuzzy. Perfect for this kind of weather. I walked with style. During morning recess I felt like the king of the world. Then HE showed up, Frankie T. The playground terrorist. I wasn’t ready for a morning beat down. But, then something crazy happened. He complimented my new jacket.

Emil sighed and silently picked at the puffy sleeve of his hoodie. The platinum blond’s outfit was chosen with little thought or care, wanting his outward image to scream ‘angsty teenager’, something he hoped would turn people away from talking to him that day. Lukas, who was dressed with much more care- a nice button up paired with a pair of black slacks- compared to his little brother, practically had to carry Emil out of the house

It was the Fourth of July, and Dominic Santanelli was watching the ballgame. He had taken his shirt off twenty minutes prior when he came through the door of his third-floor walkup. The awful apartment had no cross breeze, and even if it did, the sweltering midday heat made the room hotter than the pizza oven at his favorite Italian restaurant. His button-down dress shirt from Sears, sweat stains on the collar, lay on the Formica kitchen table. His sleeveless white undershirt was half tucked into his slacks and his gray loafers were kicked off partway between the easy chair he was in and the television.

Kai was done dressing long before William had even started, and his patience was running low, not that he had much patience to begin with. He stormed towards the closet door and was ready to drag his friend out of it, but as he stepped closer to it, the door opened without him needing to break it down. William stepped out of the pea-sized closet, and Kai couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and stare. The young man’s pastel lavender hair was slightly combed over to the right and looked very professional, compared to his casual messy yet classy do. He was of course wearing a suit; it was dark grey with a lighter grey vest and paired with a bright magenta diamond-patterned tie, loosened slightly at the neck. Kai always thought that William was made for suits, or at least that the suits he wore were made for him as they always fit so well on his slim and tall body. He looked down at himself, and noticed his own outfit which consisted of a loose leather jacket, underneath was an army green V-neck that was tightened due to his attempt at washing his own clothes. He paired it with baggy holed up jeans and old shoes that William always threated to throw away because of how ugly they were. His outfit definitely portrayed the amount of effort he put in picking it out.