Sandra Cisneros Eleven

Rachel Price is a character within the novel who is very self-centered, arrogant, selfish, racist, and independent. Although some of these characteristics go along with each other, others seem to contradict each other. Rachel’s selfishness shows through in many parts of the book. She is typically only focused on her successes and issues, without much regard to anyone else.

“Not my clothes, there wasn’t time, and not the Bible-it didn’t seem worth saving at that moment, so help me God. It had to be my mirror”(299). While the other sisters, focus on the destruction the ants and conditions of their family, Rachel first words are dedicated to her concerns for her mirror. By focusing on the mirror and not her family’s whereabouts, she emphasizes her narrow vision which is selfish and supports her obsession with herself and with materialism. The choice of the mirror is on the surface a reflection of her vanity, but could also be considered an attempt to hang onto the image she has of herself, a need to preserve some aspect of the privileged teen that she wants to be. Similarly, America, at the time, spent a great deal of time devoted to their image and ensuring it stood up to that of European countries. In addition to focusing on herself, Rachel also focuses on physical appearance of others. When observing the villagers she says, “Children dressed up in the ragbags of Baptist charity or else nothing at all. Color coordination is not a strong point. Grown men and women seem to think a red plaid and a pink floral print are complementary colors. The women wear a sarong made of one fabric, with another big square of a different fabric wrapped over the top of it. Never jeans or trousers-not on your life. Bosoms may wave in the breeze, mind you, but legs must be strictly hidden, top secret”(43). Rachel often focuses her details on the physical appearances of

In “Eleven”, written by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros uses literary techniques such as diction and imagery to characterize Rachel’s character during her transition from age ten to age 11. These literary techniques help to describe how Rachel feels in certain situations while also explaining her qualities and traits. Through the use of these literary techniques Cisneros also collaborated on Rachel’s feelings when she was other ages and how she felt at that time during her life.

In the story “Eleven” Sandra Cisneros uses diction and imagery to develop Rachel as shy in order to argue that everybody has value even though some of us are not heard. The last sentence of the 5th paragraph states, “ I would’ve known how to tell her it wasn’t mine instead of just sitting there with that look on my face and nothing coming out of my mouth.” This sentence shows us how taciturn she is because she wants to speak, but she just doesn’t know how to say that it wasn’t hers. The text uses imagery to lead us to believe she is shy because it creates a negative picture of a girl just sitting there with her mouth awkwardly open looking like she wants to say something but nothing is coming out. It illustrates to the audience how shy she

This inner defiance gives evidence to Rachel’s determination and individuality. The sweater now represents a sort of barrier and if she submits herself to it, she fears the world of ages and maturity.

I never had that. My life was the store". This quote demonstrates that Rachel wanted a change and was ready to do whatever it took to get it. Rachel experiences at school were awful due to the fact that she was Jewish and her father owned a business. During this time period she stood out from other people and no one wanted to be her friend except for a white girl named Frances.

The most important lesson for Rachel that comes out of this situation is that after wearing the disgusted sweater she has become even older, and it was tied to the experience instead of the birthday itself. She understands that it is the challenge she needs to grow up faster as she will receive additional benefits of behaving the way she wants and resisting to the outside irritators. As for the literature techniques, the author applies language, diction and symbolism to reveal the issues of experience, aging, knowledge, power, authority and freedom. The discovering is gaining age are conveyed with the help of the memories of eleven-year-old girl on her birthday. Rachel resists her humiliation from Mrs. Pierce, and that is the exact moment when her “smart eleven” comes as well[2].

The complexity of Rachel’s character differs within the play. On the one hand, Rachel is portrayed in a male disguise showing she has independence as she has taken matters into her own hands, her successful manipulation through disguise perhaps demonstrating her intelligence and how easily women can dupe men. This could also suggest that she is not acting according to the social ‘norms’ for women in the 60s demonstrating that she doesn’t fear people’s views of her although she is a woman. She demonstrates her strength and independence as she takes matters into her own hands ‘I’ll take two hundred in cash’ and acts in a violent way ‘Rachel slaps Francis’, portraying the growing power of women. On the other hand, Bean could have done this to project the message that women cannot hold any power without the help of a man. Although she has decided to solve her problem herself, she has had to dress up as a man to do so, thus showing that women’s roles are often tokenistic. The motive behind her plan was also for a man illustrating the length a women will go for a man. Had Rachel not dressed up as a man maybe she would not have gotten so far, her success in doing so

“That’s what it felt like this morning, because it’s their territory now, it’s Tom and Anna’s and Scott and Megan’s. I’m the outsider, I don’t belong here, and yet everything is so familiar to me” (65). I selected this quote because it indicates Rachel’s feeling of isolation from what she was once a part of. “I’m not beautiful, and I can’t have kids, so what does that make me? Worthless” (79).

In a vignette named ‘Eleven’ written by Sandra Cisneros, the protagonist Rachel just turned 11 and the whole day she feels anything but 11. Sandra effectively and convincingly narrates in a voice, all too similar to that of a child, using stylistic techniques such as word choice, sentence structure, and imagery. In the first page, Rachel uses imagery in the form of a simile to describe what it means to be Eleven. Rachel claims it is just like a matryoshka doll “Because the way you grow old is...like my little wooden doll that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one.”

When Mrs. Price begins to become angry, she demands Rachel to "put that sweater on right now" (Cisneros 2). One must do what the instructor asks of them, and this is another reason for her showing signs of being vulnerable. Rachel clearly feels powerless in the presence of her

Rachel took her arm away from his but still walked close to him. Then he had cried out "Rachel! Do you not love me? Is not my love for you as sacred as anything in all of life itself?" Rachel was quiet. They passed a street lamp. Her face was pale and beautiful. He had made a movement to grab her arm and she had moved a little farther from him. "No," she had replied. He then said "Some time--when I am more worthy?" he had asked in low voice, but she did not hear him, she did not even say goodnight and went into her house.

She is a snobby, whining girl with incorrect vocabulary. We get this feel of Rachel from the style in which her point of view is written. For example she said “executrate’” instead of ‘execute’, “autography” instead of autobiography, and “precipitation” instead of ‘participation’. When Rachel goes back into the house to try to salvage one ‘important’ thing, she says; "Not my clothes, there wasn’t time, and not the Bible-it didn’t seem worth saving at that moment, so help me God. It had to be my mirror.” We as readers conclude that Rachel is a girl who cares more about her appearance, than she does for her education; she revolves around herself and is ignorant of the rest of the world. However, readers acknowledge that Rachel is the only character in the novel to truly understand that the Price family did not belong in the Congo. She asserts from the very beginning that her father wouldn't succeed in changing the natives, instead acknowledging that the Congo would change the family instead.

In the passage, it states “I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler” and “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not…… Not mine I said in a little voice’’. In addition, Rachel’s actions show she is being immature which is a negative action. Moreover, Rachel does not want this sweater the teacher thinks its hers but it’s no, so she acts up toward the red sweater

In the short story, “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, a young child named Rachel experienced her eleventh birthday in a classroom. As the story progresses there is a change in the tone- from nonchalant to sadness to anger. Cisneros uses various forms of figurative language throughout “Eleven”, such as repetition, metaphors and similes, and symbolism.