By Sandra Cisneros
SHORT STORYby Sandra CisnerosCumpleaños de Lala y Tudi (Lala and Tudi’s Birthday Party) by Carmen Lomas Garza.Oil on canvas. 36" x 48".What can you learn aboutsomeone’s character fromhow he or she acts in anembarrassing situation?244 Unit 1 Collection 3QuickWriteWhat is your definition of an “embarrassing moment”?Describe a situation at school that might embarrass astudent your age.
SKILLS FOCUS Literary Skills Understandcharacterization. Reading Skills Make inferences.Reader/WriterNotebookUse your RWN to complete theactivities for this selection.VocabularyCharacterization The way a writer reveals a character’s personality is called characterization. A writer may directly tell you that acharacter is shy or sad or may make it obvious by revealing a character’s shy actions or sad thoughts. As you read “Eleven,” notice howRachel’s character is revealed through her actions and thoughts.Making Inferences Writers seldom explain everything. Youmust figure out some things by making inferences: combiningclues in the text with what you know to make an educated guess.Making inferences helps you uncover the story’s full meaning.rattling (RAT lihng) v. used as adj: shaking andhitting together. Rachel felt all the years of herlife rattling inside her like coins in a metal box.raggedy (RAG uh dee) adj.: torn and in badcondition. The sweater was worn andraggedy.itchy (IHCH ee) adj.: causing a feeling onthe skin that makes you want to rub orscratch. The red sweater was made of anitchy, uncomfortable material.invisible (ihn VIHZ uh buhl) adj.: not able tobe seen. Rachel wished that she could beinvisible and disappear.Into Action Use a chart like this one to make at least two inferences about characters and events in “Eleven.” An example is provided for you. Add rows to make inferences based on other details.It Says . . .(in thestory)I Say . . .(what you know)And So . . .(inference)It’s Rachel’s Birthdays are usuallyRachel must be excitedbirthday.happy days that people about her birthday.look forward to.TechFocus As you read, imagine how Rachel would tell her storyTein a video diary. What would she say? How would she say it?Figurative Language In “Eleven,”Rachel uses many interesting and vividcomparisons to describe how she feels onher birthday. When she says that growingolder is “like an onion or like the ringsinside a tree,” she is using similes, a kindof figurative language. A simile is a comparison of unlike things that uses a wordsuch as like, as, than, or resembles. Whichof the Vocabulary example sentencesabove contains a simile?Think as a Reader/WriterFind It in Your Reading Cisneros creates word pictures thatappeal to the senses: “My face all hot and spit coming out of mymouth because I can’t stop the little animal noises coming out ofme.” This image connects to sight, touch, and hearing. List othersensory details from this story in your Reader/Writer Notebook.Learn It OnlineStrengthen your vocabulary with Word Watch at:go.hrw.comL6-245GoPreparing to Read 245
Learn It OnlineGet more on the author’s life at:MEET THE WRITERgo.hrw.com L6-246Sandra Cisneros(1954–)Writing from ExperienceSandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, where she grew upspeaking both Spanish and English. Although she sometimeshad a hard time in school, she eventually became a teacherand a highly acclaimed writer. Today she lives in San Antonio,Texas. Her childhood experiences, her family, and her MexicanAmerican heritage all find a place in her writing.“Inside I’m Eleven”In much of her writing, Cisneros explores the feeling of beingshy and out-of-place. In this quotation, she describes what shesees when she looks back on her childhood:“When I think how I see myself, I would have tosay at age eleven. I know I’m older on the outside, but inside I’m eleven. I’m the girl in thepicture with the skinny arms and a crumpledshirt and crooked hair. I didn’t like schoolbecause all they saw was the outside of me.”What details convinceyou that Cisneros reallydoes remember whatbeing eleven is like?246 Unit 1 Collection 3GoPreview the SelectionOn the day this story takes place,Rachel, the story’s main character andnarrator, is turning eleven years old.Rachel’s birthday is complicated by adifficult circumstance at school.
Read with a Purpose Read this story to discover how a misunderstandingat school affects the eleventh birthday of a girl named Rachel.by Sandra Cisneroshat they don’t understand aboutbirthdays and what they nevertell you is that when you’reeleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight,and seven, and six, and five, and four, andthree, and two, and one. And when youwake up on your eleventh birthday youexpect to feel eleven, but you don’t. Youopen your eyes and everything’s just likeyesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feeleleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten.And you are—underneath the year thatmakes you eleven.Like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’sstill ten. Or maybe some days you mightneed to sit on your mama’s lap becauseyou’re scared, and that’s the part of youthat’s five. And maybe one day when you’reall grown up maybe you will need to cry likeif you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what Itell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry.Maybe she’s feeling three.AWBecause the way you grow old is kindof like an onion or like the rings inside atree trunk or like my little wooden dollsthat fit one inside the other, each yearinside the next one. That’s how beingeleven years old is.BYou don’t feel eleven. Not right away.It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimeseven months before you say Eleven whenthey ask you. And you don’t feel smarteleven, not until you’re almost twelve. That’sthe way it is.Only today I wish I didn’t have onlyeleven years rattling inside me likepennies in a tin Band-Aid box. Today Iwish I was one hundred and two insteadof eleven because if I was one hundredand two I’ d have known what to say whenMrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk.I would’ve known how to tell her it wasn’tmine instead of just sitting there with thatlook on my face and nothing coming out ofmy mouth.CA Literary Focus Characterization What do you learnabout the narrator’s personality from the thoughts and feelings sheshares in this paragraph?C Read and Discuss Why does the narrator wish she were 102B Read and Discuss The author has given us a lot ofyears old?Vocabulary rattling (RAT lihng) v.: shaking and hittingtogether.information about what it means to be eleven. What point is shetrying to make?Eleven 247
“Whose is this?” Mrs. Price says, and shelike the part of me that’s three wants to comeholds the red sweater up in the air for all theout of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tightclass to see. “Whose? It’s been sitting in theand bite down on my teeth real hard and trycoatroom for a month.”to remember today I am eleven, eleven. Mama“Not mine,” says everybody. “Not me.”is making a cake for me for tonight, and when“It has to belong to somebody,” Mrs. PricePapa comes home everybody will sing Happykeeps saying, but nobody can remember. It’sbirthday, happy birthday to you.FBut when the sick feeling goes away andan ugly sweater with red plastic buttons andI open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sittinga collar and sleeves all stretched out like youthere like a big red mountain. I move the redcould use it for a jump-rope. It’s maybe asweater to the corner of my desk with mythousand years old and even if it belonged toruler. I move my pencil and books and eraserme I wouldn’t say so.as far from it as possible. IMaybe because I’meven move my chair a littleskinny, maybe because sheButwhentheto the right. Not mine, notdoesn’t like me, that stupidmine, not mine.Sylvia Saldívar says, “I thinksick feeling goesIn my head I’m thinkit belongs to Rachel.” An uglyawayandIopening how long till lunchtime,sweater like that, allmy eyes, thehow long till I can take theraggedy and old, but Mrs.red sweater and throw itPrice believes her. Mrs. Pricered sweater’s stillover the schoolyard fence, ortakes the sweater and puts itsittingtherelikealeave it hanging on a parkright on my desk, but whenbig red mountain.ing meter, or bunch it upI open my mouth nothinginto a little ball and toss it incomes out.D“That’s not, I don’t, you’rethe alley. Except when mathnot . . . Not mine,” I finally say in a little voiceperiod ends Mrs. Price says loud and in frontthat was maybe me when I was four.of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s enough,”E“Of course it’s yours,” Mrs. Price says. “Ibecause she sees I’ve shoved the red sweaterremember you wearing it once.” Because she’sto the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’solder and the teacher, she’s right and I’m not.hanging all over the edge like a waterfall,Not mine, not mine, not mine, but Mrs.but I don’t care.Price is already turning to page thirty-two,“Rachel,” Mrs. Price says. She says it likeand math problem number four. I don’t knowshe’s getting mad. “You put that sweater onwhy but all of a sudden I’m feeling sick inside,right now and no more nonsense.”D Reading Focus Making Inferences What details in theF Read and Discuss How do Rachel’s thoughts here supportstory suggest why Rachel feels so strongly about the sweater?the inference you made about her strong feelings?E Literary Focus Characterization What do the narra-Vocabulary raggedy (RAG uh dee) adj.: torn and in badtor’s self-description and speech in this and the previous paragraphtell you about her personality?condition.248 Unit 1 Collection 3
Portrait of a Girl by Rosa Ibarra.Analyzing VisualsViewing and Interpreting What characteristicsdoes this girl seem to share with Rachel?Eleven 249
“But it’s not—”“Now!” 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 backof my eyes when I put one arm throughone sleeve of the sweater that smells likecottage cheese, and then the other armthrough the other and stand there withmy arms apart like if the sweater hurts meand it does, all itchy and full of germs thataren’t even mine.That’s when everything I’ve been holding in since this morning, since when Mrs.Price put the sweater on my desk, finally letsgo, and all of a sudden I’m crying in front ofeverybody. I wish I was invisible but I’m not.I’m eleven and it’s my birthday today and I’mcrying like I’m three in front of everybody. Iput my head down on the desk and bury myface in my stupid clown-sweater arms. Myface all hot and spit coming out of my mouthbecause I can’t stop the little animal noisesfrom coming out of me, until there aren’t anymore tears left in my eyes, and it’s just mybody shaking like when you have the hiccups and my whole head hurts like when youdrink milk too fast.But the worst part is right before the bellrings for lunch. That stupid Phyllis Lopez,who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldívar,says she remembers the red sweater is hers!I take it off right away and give it to her, onlyMrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay. GToday I’m eleven. There’s a cake Mama’smaking for tonight, and when Papa comeshome from work we’ll eat it. There’ll becandles and presents and everybody willsing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you,Rachel, only it’s too late.HI’m eleven today. I’m eleven, ten, nine,eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, andone, but I wish I was one hundred and two.I wish I was anything but eleven, because Iwant today to be far away already, far awaylike a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in thesky, so tiny-tiny you have to close youreyes to see it.IG Read and Discuss How does this situation connect with theI Read and Discuss How has this birthday ended up forinference you made about Rachel’s feelings?Rachel?H Reading Focus Making Inferences What does RachelVocabulary itchy (IHCH ee) adj.: causing a feeling on theskin that makes you want to rub or scratch.invisible (ihn VIHZ uh buhl) adj.: not able to be seen.mean by “it’s too late”? Make an inference from clues in the storyand your thoughts about how you might feel in a similar situation.250 Unit 1 Collection 3
SKILLS FOCUS Literary Skills Analyze characterization;analyze character and conflict. Reading Skills Makeinferences. Writing Skills Write to describe.ElevenRespond and Think CriticallyQuick Check1. What does Mrs. Price put on Rachel’s desk?2. What mistake has Mrs. Price made?Read with a Purpose3. What happens to Rachel that upsets her somuch in class? How does this event affect herfeelings about her eleventh birthday?6. Infer/Connect What assumptions does Mrs.Price seem to make about Rachel? Why didn’tRachel just refuse to put on the sweater? Ifyou were Rachel, what would you have done?7. Make Judgments Explain whether you thinkRachel makes her situation worse by how sheacts over the sweater.8. Analyze/Infer At the end of the story, Rachelsays that “everybody will sing Happy birthday,. . . only it’s too late.” What is “too late”? Whatcan you infer about Rachel and about howthe situation has affected her?Reading Skills: Making Inferences4. How do you think Rachel gets along with theother students? How does she feel about herself? Use the It Says/I Say/And So strategy tomake inferences about both questions. (Lookfor other details to add under “It Says.”)It Says . . .In the storyI Say . . .What youknowAnd So . . .InferenceLiterary Skills: Characterization9. Analyze What character traits does Rachelhave? What methods of characterization doesthe author use to show these traits?Literary Skills Review: Conflict10. Analyze Think about Rachel’s struggle in thisstory. What is the external conflict for Rachel?In what way is this also an internal conflict?Rachel callsSylvia “stupid.”Rachelcalls herself“skinny.”Think as a Reader/WriterUse It in Your Writing Using vivid sensorydetails, as Cisneros does, write a paragraphdescribing an imaginary embarrassing situation atschool. Use your QuickWrite notes for ideas.Literary Analysis5. Interpret By the end of the story, Rachel iswishing she were 102—or anything but 11.What point is the author making about age?What does this have to do with the story?Did Rachel do “the right thing”in an embarrassing situation?Did anyone? What could eachcharacter have done differently?Applying Your Skills 251
ElevenVocabulary DevelopmentVocabulary Skills: ConnotationsA word’s connotations are the feelings and ideasthat we associate, or connect, with the word.For example, Rachel calls the red sweater “ugly.”Someone who didn’t hate the sweater might justsay it was “plain” or “unattractive.” Ugly is a strongword that has very negative connotations.Your TurnThink about raggedy, anotherword that Rachel uses to describethe sweater. Here are some wordsthat mean more or less the samething as raggedy. old tattered worn outrattlingraggedyitchyinvisible torn shabby scruffyNone of the words has a truly positive connotation when applied to a sweater, but some of thewords are more negative than others. Put thewords in order, starting with the one whose connotations seem the least negative and endingwith the one whose connotations seem the mostnegative. Include raggedy in the list.For each remaining Vocabulary word (rattling,itchy, invisible), identify three or four synonyms—words with a similar meaning. Then, list thewords in order of their connotations, from leastnegative to most negative. Use a thesaurus or adictionary to help you find synonyms for eachVocabulary word.252 Unit 1 Collection 3Figurative Language Read this similefrom “Eleven”:“But when the sick feeling goesaway and I open my eyes, the redsweater’s still sitting there like abig red mountain.”Remember that a simile is a comparisonof unlike things that uses a comparingword such as like, as, than, or resembles.A metaphor is another example of figurative language, but unlike a simile, itcompares unlike things without usingany comparison words. A metaphor saysthat something is something else: Theugly red sweater is a mountain, castingits shadow of disappointment over mybirthday. Come up with four of your ownfigurative descriptions of the sweaterin “Eleven.” Write two of them as similesand two as metaphors.Academic VocabularyTalk About . . .With a partner, discuss the circumstance that makes Rachel feel likeher birthday is ruined. What makes itobvious that Mrs. Price has a particularview of Rachel? Use the underlinedAcademic Vocabulary words inyour discussion.
SKILLS FOCUS Literary Skills Analyze characterization.Vocabulary Skills Identify and understand connotative andfigurative use of language. Writing Skills Write narratives;write to describe; develop a character using description.Grammar Skills Identify and use adjective phrases correctly.Grammar LinkCHOICESAdjective Phrases: Adding Word PowerJust as one person working alone can accomplishonly so much, one word working alone has its limitations. The adjective large can tell you that a catis big, but what does large really mean? Adjectiveslike large or small don’t pack a lot of power. Theydon’t tell you how large or how small something is,or what it looks like. That’s why we need adjectivephrases. An adjective phrase is a group of wordsthat, like an adjective, describes (or modifies) anoun or a pronoun. Adjective phrases add powerto descriptions by answering questions like these.What kind?How many?Which one?How much?An adjective phrase can tell you much more aboutthe “large” cat:EXAMPLEa large cat with a fluffy striped tail aslong as my armYour TurnUse your imagination, and add more details tothe nouns below by joining an adjective phrase toeach of the adjectives in italics.1. lonely dog3. broken chair2. hungry shark4. tall treeWriting Application Go backto the work you did for the WritingFocus on page 251 and addadjective phrases to make yourdescription of an embarrassingmoment even more vivid.As you respond to the Choices, use these Academic Vocabularywords as appropriate: adapt, circumstance, gender, obvious.REVIEWWrite a Character SketchPartner Work With a partner, discuss howCisneros reveals Rachel’s personality. Considerobvious clues such as Rachel’s physical appearance, words, actions, and thoughts. Also consider how the story’s other characters respondto her. Use these details and your own ideas tomake an inference about Rachel. Then, eachof you should write your own short charactersketch of Rachel. Compare your sketch with theone your partner wrote. Did you agree in yourviews of Rachel? If not, what were your points ofdifference, and why?CONNECTDescribe a BirthdayWhat’s your idea of a memorable birthday? Based on your own experiences orjust on your imagination, describe your idea of thebest, worst, most unusual, or funniest birthday. Usespecific details as you describe this birthday.EXTENDCreate a Video DiaryTechFocus Work with a partner to adapt thisTestory as an entry in Rachel’s video diary. Writea script, and film the diary entry in one take. Besure to capture Rachel’s personality and voice.Learn It OnlineDescribe a birthday through a digital story. Find outhow online:go.hrw.comL6-253GoApplying Your Skills 253
Making Inferences Writers seldom explain everything. You must fi gure out some things by making inferences: combining clues in the text with what you know to make an educated guess. Making inferences
Sandra Cisneros (1954– ), the only daughter in a family of seven children, was born in Chicago. Her Mexican-American heritage, of which she is proud, is evident in many of her short stories. Cisneros has had a successful and varied career. In addition to being a poet a
Born the only sister into a family of six brothers, Sandra Cisneros "dreamed [herlself the sister in the 'Six Swansf" fairy tale. Cisneros elaborates: "She too was an only daughter in a family of six sons. The brothers had been changed into swans by an evil spell only the sister could break
Sandra Cisneros is a contemporary writer who is known for her vibrant writing style. Her work is easily recognizable because of her distinctive voice. In literature, a voice is a writer’s use of language in a way that allows readers to “hear” a personality in
growing up. Sandra Cisneros, speaking through Rachel, tells us that life, and growing up, is like the layers of an onion, or the rings of a tree, or like little dolls, stacked one inside the other. You’re eleven, but inside of
Sandra Cisneros is the only daughter in a family of six boys. Her family moved frequently between Chicago and Mexico City as her father took different jobs. Cisneros’ mother was her strongest positive female influence, as she encouraged Sandra to read an
The House on Mangoştreet Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street We didn't always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I cant remember. But what I remember most is mov
worms."—Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street "We pretended with our heads thrown back, our arms limp and useless, dangling like the dead."—Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street 3. Academic diction: use of scholarly words or terms, e.g. "Kennedy employs many rhetorical strategies in his
Sandra Cisneros (1954– ) remembers her Chicago childhood as solitary, even though her large Mexican American family lived in small apartments where the only room with any privacy was the bathroom. Cisneros describes her writing voice as a mix of her mother’s
