Eleven for period 3
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ELEVEN
by Sandra Cisneros
And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven.
Maybe she’s feeling three.
That’s how being eleven years old is.
That’s the way it is.
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.
It’s been sitting in the coatroom for a month.”
“Not me.”
It’s maybe a thousand years old and even if it belonged to me I wouldn’t say so.
Mrs. Price takes the sweater and puts it right on my desk, but when I open my mouth nothing comes out.
I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me when I was four.
Because she’s older and the teacher, she’s right and I’m not.
Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to
you.
Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s enough, ”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.
“You put that sweater on right now and no more nonsense.”
“But it’s not –“
Mrs. Price says.
This is when I wish I wasn’t eleven because all the years inside of me—ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one—are pushing at the back of my eyes 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.
My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth because I can’t stop the little animal noises from coming out of me until there aren’t any more tears left in my eyes, and it’s just my body shaking like when you have the hiccups, and my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast.
I take it off right away and give it to her, only Mrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay.
There’ll be candles and presents and everybody will sing Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you, Rachel, only it’s too late.
Because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny O in the sky, so tiny you have to close your eyes to see it.
Literary Techniques
These include:
- The use of similes ,"a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared" (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 683) , to show imagery:
The first simile in the short story is when the main character, Rachel, is comparing the way you grow up to:
("Eleven, 6)
Cisneros later compares years to pennies in a Band-Aid box, again referring to how the years "build up".
She says,
"...and I open my eyes, the red sweater's still sitting there like a big ("Eleven", 6)
The sweater has such an affect on Rachel that she moves it to the edge of her desk with a ruler and eventually brings her to tears.
The third simile is when Rachel pushes the sweater to the corner of her desk until
"it's hanging all over the edge like a waterfall" ("Eleven", 7)
Again, Cisneros compares two very unlike objects to create a vivid picture of the red sweater for her audience.
Rachel says:
"I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon" ("Eleven", 8)
This exemplifies the point that Rachel's eleventh birthday was horrible and she only wishes it would be over and forgotten about just like a lost balloon.
- The use of repetition in the story creates a rhythm for the reader and creates more emphasis.
As Rachel repeats how old she really is (by counting the years) this re-emphasizes her point of the "layering" of years and also creates the "rhythm" of the story.
These emphasize that Rachel is still a child; still eleven.
Overall, Sandra Cisneros uses many examples of simile and repetition in a very short story that helps to create a vivid picture of Rachel.
Themes and Discussion Questions
Themes:
Innocence- She understands that Mrs. Price has made a mistake, but she also knows that she cannot talk back to Mrs. Price and she loses her composure.
Family- This shows Rachel immense love for her family and the comfort they provide for her.
Discussions Questions:
- Why doesn't Rachel want to be eleven in the story?
- What are some of the life experiences you have had that are significant in the "rings" of your life?
- How did Sandra Cisneros write the story so that it seems as though it was written by Rachel herself?
Have you ever had an experience that could relate to Rachel's?
Themes and Discussion Questions
Themes:
Innocence- She understands that Mrs. Price has made a mistake, but she also knows that she cannot talk back to Mrs. Price and she loses her composure.
Family- This shows Rachel immense love for her family and the comfort they provide for her.
Discussions Questions:
- Why doesn't Rachel want to be eleven in the story?
- What are some of the life experiences you have had that are significant in the "rings" of your life?
- How did Sandra Cisneros write the story so that it seems as though it was written by Rachel herself?
- Have you ever had an experience that could relate to Rachel's?
(on transparency)
ELEVEN by Sandra Cisneros
1.
Can you recall what you were like when you were eleven years old?
Jot down on a page what you recall you looked like and felt like when you were 11 What was your relationship with your siblings and your parents?
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Read them and then arrange them in the order you think they appear in the story.
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No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
little voice that was maybe me when I was four.”
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
that stupid Sylvia Saldivar says, ‘I think it belongs to Rachel.’ ”
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
up in the air for all the class to see.”
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a. Mrs. Price says, and she holds the
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
red sweater up in the air for all the class to see.”
b. “It’s an ugly sweater with red plastic buttons and a
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
collar and sleeves all stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope.”
c. “Maybe because I’m skinny, maybe because she
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
doesn’t like me, that stupid Sylvia Saldivar says, ‘I think it belongs to Rachel.’ ”
d. “Mrs. Price takes the sweater and puts it right on
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
my desk….”
e. Not mine,’ I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me when I was four.”
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
f. ‘I
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
remember you wearing it once.’ “
g. ‘You put that sweater
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
on right now and no more nonsense.’ “
h. “That’s when everything I’ve been holding in since this morning, since when Mrs. Price put the sweater on my desk, finally lets go, and all of a sudden I’m crying in front of everybody.”
No paragraph-level conversations.
Start one.
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I tell class about Sandra Cisneros’ life history.
I read the story to the class and then discuss text explicit
facts and events.
Students analyze the story in pairs according to the circles and the table
provided.
Mapping Out the Story “Eleven”
Story Analysis
1. To analyze a short story, the reader needs to think of the following:
When?
(Time of the story) |
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Where?
(Place of the story) |
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Who?
(Characters: main & secondary) |
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What? (Plot: problem/conflict, rising action, crisis/climax, falling action, resolution) |
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Why? (Theme: what the idea behind the story is, why the author wrote this story) |
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How?
(Point of view: who tells the story and how) |
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2. Write out the events in the order they happen chronologically.
3. Write between 1 – 2 paragraphs.
4. Draw the metaphor Rachel uses in the story to describe what it is like to grow up.
Then explain what she means in your own words.
Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree
trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the
That’s how being eleven years old is.
5. Is there any connection between her biography and the story?
6. Write an essay of 100 words about a memorable event in your life.
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