eleven -reading comprehension - Prof Buffa - Milagros Colque

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ELEVEN 
by Sandra Cisneros 
Birthdays are usually occasions for joy, celebrated with 
presents and cake and acts of love. Each birthday marks 
the arrival of a new year in a person’s life. With the arrival 
of that special day, a person is an entire year older! 
 
“ELEVEN” IS A COMING OF AGE STORY 
 
“We all carry with us the years that come before, 
sometimes reverting to the child within us through our 
thoughts, actions, and/or emotions” (Covina District) 
Let’s arise some discussion … 
“When I think of how I see myself it would have 
to be at age eleven. I know I’m thirty-two on the 
outside, but inside I’m eleven. I’m the girl in the 
picture with skinny arms and a crumpled skirt 
and crooked hair. I didn’t like school because all 
they saw was the outside me.” 
Source: “Straw Into Gold: The Metamorphosis 
of the Everyday” by Sandra Cisneros 
 What does Cisneros mean when she says 
“all they saw was the outside me”? 
 
Before getting into the story … 
What sort of genre is this? 
 This a narrative 
 It belongs to the family of storying genres 
 
 
 (c) 
 
 
 (a) (b) (d) 
 
(a) Orientation 
(b) Complication 
(c) Peak of tension - Conflict 
(d) Resolution 
 
 
Let’s step into some of the ideas within the text 
 
 
This is a narrative and as we are in a language class context, 
there are some aspects we should take into account: 
 
 STAGE 1 – ORIENTATION 
 
In the stage ORIENTATION we get to know about the 
setting in time and place and also about the 
characters of the story. (WHEN -WHERE- WHO) 
Who’s the protagonist in the story? 
Who are the main characters? 
 What’s Rachel like? What does she look like? 
 Is there any evidence that tells the reader about the 
character’s thoughts, feelings, actions and descriptions 
of the character’s appearance? 
 What about the teacher, Mrs. Price? 
Shall we assign these qualities to the characters? 
Let’s find evidence in the text to prove this! 
 Rachel Mrs. Price 
 sensitive 
[…]and all of a sudden I'm crying in front of 
everybody. I wish I was invisible but I'm not. 
 insensitive 
"Rachel," Mrs. Price says. She says it like she's 
getting mad. "You put that sweater on right 
now and no more nonsense." 
 inarticulate 
"But it's not--“ 
"That's not, I don't , you’re not...Not mine,“ 
I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me 
when I was four. 
 persistent 
"Of course it's yours," Mrs. Price says. "I 
remember you wearing it once." 
 respectful 
“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”. 
 authoritative 
"Now Rachel, that's enough," […] 
"Rachel," Mrs. Price says. She says it like she's 
getting mad. "You put that sweater on right 
now and no more nonsense." 
"But it's not--" 
"Now!" Mrs. Price says. 
Secondary characters 
• Phyllis Lopez 
• Sylvia Saldivar 
 
Though they are not main characters, they play 
an important role in the story. Why? 
 
Where does the story take place? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 When? 
“The initial situation that is typically presented in the orientation will 
be disrupted by an event or events that upset the normal order of 
things. Some aspect of the characters’ life will be disturbed. This 
constitutes the complication” (Boccia, 2013) 
STAGE 2 – COMPLICATION 
 
“Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of 
eleven because if I was one hundred and two I'd have 
known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater 
on my desk.” 
The sweater 
 What’s it like? 
 What sort of vocabulary is used to describe it? 
 
“It's an ugly sweater with red plastic buttons and a collar and 
sleeves all stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope. It's 
maybe a thousand years old […]” 
“An ugly sweater like that, all raggedy and old” 
 
 What details in the story suggest that Rachel feels really 
strongly about the sweater. 
Let’s analyze the main events in the story 
 The events in the story are chronologically and logically organized! 
 
 Main events 
 
 Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead… 
 
1. The teacher asks whose the sweater was. 
2. Sylvia Saldivar asserts that the sweater belongs to Rachel. 
3. The teacher insists that an ugly, unclaimed sweater belongs to 
Rachel. 
4. ...? 
 
 
STAGE 3 - PEAK OF TENSION - CONFLICT 
Shall we think about a PEAK OF TENSION of the 
story? Is there any textual marker that helps to 
identify it? 
 
"Rachel," Mrs. Price says. She says it like she's 
getting mad. "You put that sweater on right now 
and no more nonsense." 
 "But it's not--" 
 "Now!" Mrs. Price says. 
 
STAGE 4 - RESOLUTION 
 
 In the resolution the conflict is typically resolved! 
 
“Today I'm eleven. There's cake Mama's making for 
tonight, and when Papa comes home from work 
we'll eat it. There'll be candles and presents and 
everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday 
to you, Rachel, only it's too late.” 
“I'm eleven today. I'm eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, 
six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was one 
hundred and two. I wish I was anything but eleven, 
because I want today to be far away already, far away 
like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny-
tiny you have to close your eyes to see it.” 
 
The conflict is resolved and the 
tension falls _ initial starting point in 
the story 
 
Use of Figurative Language! Why? 
 
The term figurative language covers a wide range of literary devices and 
techniques, a few of which include: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, etc! 
Source: https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/ 
 
Examples: 
 
Simile – use of like/as 
A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities 
between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance 
with the help of the words “like” or “as.” Therefore, it is a direct comparison. 
“[…]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 next one”. 
 
“Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies 
in a tin can.” 
 
Let’s find some other examples! 
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of 
successive sentences, phrases, or clauses. 
 
“What they don´t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is 
that when you´re eleven, you´re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and 
six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up 
on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don´t.” 
 
“Not mine, not mine, not mine, […]” 
 
Personification 
 
Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human 
attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. 
 
“It's been sitting in the coatroom for a month”. 
 
STYLE 
 
Simple, accessible – told from the point of view of a child 
 
Run-on sentences 
“Run-on sentences are sentences that contain too many ideas without 
proper punctuation. If you don't follow punctuation and syntax rules, a 
sentence can become a run-on.” 
(source: https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html) 
 
 
Example: 
 
“[…] face all hot, spit coming out of mouth, animal
noises, 
no more tears, shaking body.” 
 
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
 
Possible themes of the story… 
How would you relate them to the story? 
 BIRTHDAYS 
PROCESS OF MATURATION RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 
TEACHING AS A MEANS TO EXERCISE POWER 
 
Break time… 
 Let’s enjoy a good mate!!!