essay on eleven by sandra cisneros

A Summary and Analysis of Sandra Cisneros’ ‘Eleven’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Eleven’ is a short story by the American writer Sandra Cisneros (born 1954). In the story, a girl’s eleventh birthday is ruined when her teacher forces her to take responsibility for somebody else’s sweater. The narrator bursts into tears in front of her classmates and laments the fact that she isn’t older.

Plot summary

The narrator of the story is Rachel, a girl celebrating her eleventh birthday. She says that when you turn eleven, you are still all your previous ages underneath, like an onion or a collection of Russian dolls : so when an eleven-year-old gets scared and goes to sit on her mother’s lap, she is reverting to her five-year-old self – who is still there, below her eleven-year-old surface.

Rachel recounts how on the day of her eleventh birthday, her schoolteacher, Mrs Price, came into class with an ugly red sweater which had been in the coatroom for some time. She asks whose it is, but nobody claims it. A girl name Sylvia, who Rachel suspects doesn’t like her, lies and tells Mrs Price that the sweater belongs to Rachel, and so the teacher gives the sweater to Rachel, who denies it, but Mrs Price doesn’t believe her.

The sweater sits on Rachel’s desk, and she tries to distance herself from the ugly sweater. But when the lesson comes to an end and Mrs Price sees Rachel trying to leave the sweater behind, she forces her to put it on, and Rachel does so, bursting into tears in front of the whole class.

Another girl, Phyllis, remembers the sweater is hers, and Rachel takes it off and hands it to her. But her birthday has already been ruined by the incident with the sweater, and she wants to forget it as quickly as possible.

Cisneros’ short story is about growing up, with her young narrator offering a precociously wise perspective on the arbitrary nature of birthdays. As Rachel observes, when we turn eleven, we don’t become a new person overnight.

And to an extent, we continue to carry around a memory of our younger selves at all times: at one point, Rachel tells us that she points out to her mother, whenever ‘Mama’ feels like crying, that she is becoming her three-year-old self again.

The incident with the ugly red sweater, which is the most important symbol in ‘Eleven’, proves Rachel’s observation correct. The unhappy encroachment of this foreign body into her happy day is all it takes to reduce her to her three-year-old self, with her ‘little animal noises’ and ‘spit’ coming out of her mouth recalling infancy and toddler tantrums rather than the more mature behaviour of the average eleven-year-old.

But the symbolism of the red sweater is more interesting than this suggests. It is at once a catalyst for sending Rachel back into her former three-year-old state and a symbol of coming-of-age, a kind of scarlet reminder of sin and corruption which quickly intrudes on the innocent paradise of childhood and leads us, to borrow William Blake’s terms , to exchange innocence for experience.

Nothing is quite the same after that. Rachel’s eleventh birthday will prove to be an important and memorable day in her development, but not for the reasons she was expecting.

And this is why the colour of the sweater matters so much. Red suggests corruption and sin, and perhaps even (given the bodily connotations of the garment) flesh, blood, and the onset of adolescence which will mark Rachel’s ensuing birthdays.

It is telling that she focuses on the ‘itchy’ nature of the sweater and the ‘germs’ within it as she is forced to put it on: against her will, her body is invaded by foreign elements which make her feel dirty and even violated. (In this connection, even the word for the garment, sweat er, takes on a more disgusting significance.)

It is also significant that Rachel likens the sweater, with its stretched-out arms (outstretched as if for an unwanted hug? it will, after all, offer a grim parody of an embrace when she is forced to don it), to a ‘jump-rope’. Here the childhood connotations of play and games (skipping in a carefree manner) collides with the darker associations of ‘rope’, as a tool for restraint and control.

And this, of course, is also relevant given the portrayal of the teacher-pupil relationship in ‘Eleven’. Mrs Price, whose very name suggests punishment as well as cold materialism (paying the price for one’s actions, but also knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing?), asserts her power over Rachel by forcing her to claim the sweater, even after Rachel has stated that it isn’t hers.

She is merely keen to get rid of a sweaty old garment that has been in her coatroom for too long, and is willing to pass it on to Rachel, even though she knows it doesn’t belong to her. Rachel is growing up but she is still under the control of the adults in her life.

In this connection, even the subject of the class in which this incident takes place takes on significance: it is in the maths class, dominated not by creativity or artistic expression but cold, hard equations and graphs. The regimented nature of the school day (that school bell) is reinforced by the joyless and constrained nature of the class in which Rachel is made to share her desk with the red abomination that is the sweater.

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Sandra Cisneros’ Eleven: Summary & Analysis

• Sandra Cisneros’ Eleven: Summary &…

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, uses many literary devices to characterize a complex eleven-year-old. Rachel, the ingenious 1st person narrator, relates the details of her humiliating eleventh birthday.

Although her diction reflects her age, Rachel conveys the difficulty of growing up with adult precision. She is embarrassed and feels helpless, but knows she will soon be home with her parents, and her terrible day will drift away. Rachel’s age is given away not only by the title but by her word choice.

She employs numerous similes, describing crying like uncontrollable hiccups, drinking milk too fast, and little animal noises. Her confidence rattles like “pennies in a tin Band-Aid Box,” and she is always on the edge of lapsing into another session of tears. However, Rachel’s diction does not simply betray her age.

Descriptions like “smells like cottage cheese” are insights into her true personality. She is passionate and curious, almost to a fault. Because she describes things like runaway balloons, she is a believable eleven-year-old.

First-person narration reveals though Rachel’s thoughts are those of a typical eleven-year-old her descriptive ability is more mature. Rachel has an uncanny ability to convey her feelings. However, because she is an ingenious narrator, she sometimes misses the deeper significance of her feelings. Although she twice mentions she is looking forward to cake, her birthday song, and normal birthday things, she does not mention she also needs the comfort of her parents.

On the other hand, unlike most older, or mature, people, she understands enough about life experience to know she does not have enough. Twice she mentions she would like to have the experience of someone who is one hundred and two.

At eleven Rachel realizes that with experience comes confidence, personal strength, and most important to her, knowing what to do in hostile situations. As amazing as those thoughts are, Rachel’s most impressive thought is about age. She understands that people display the characteristics of the ages they have passed.

She understands that although she is eleven, she can still be scared like she is five, or cry like she is three. What she does not grasp is that people can display characteristics beyond their years. Rachel displays that advanced maturity in her thoughts. The only dialogue in the story is between Rachel and her teacher, Mrs. Price.

Every conversation is the same, Mrs. Price does not listen to Rachel and dominates their conversations. Rachel associates being right with being older, so she lets Mrs. Price have her way. Mrs. Price is so dominating Rachel can respond with what she calls her four-year-old voice. She stumbles for a reply, eventually saying only, “Not mine, not mine.”

Rachel is helpless and feels sick inside as she is forced to wear that sweater. So much emphasis is given to what Rachel is thinking, but the dialogue can show her outward personality. Rachel is non-confrontational, timid, and shy. Rachel desperately wants her terrible day to be over.

She wants to be one-hundred and two because then days like this one would be far behind. After she is brought to tears and reluctantly she puts on the sweater and even though she did not have to wear the sweater long, she is changed. She realizes facing challenges is at the foundation of experience. Her old self floats away like a balloon.

Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven” uses point of view, diction, dialogue, and symbolism to characterize an eleven-year-old’s coming of age. The unique characteristics of an eleven- year old have allowed her to make important discoveries about growing up. Rachel survives her humiliation and becomes smart eleven.

She feels smart eleven, and almost a year sooner than usual. Rachel realizes that people are the sum of their experience. She desperately wants to be one hundred and two but realizes that her experience adds up to eleven.

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Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2024 | Creative Commons 4.0

15 Comments

 Psychological lens of the story eleven

I need help with the objective summary.

I need help on her personality traits

Thank you to everyone in the comments for all the help

I love this book but is it really about a girl or is it about you?

The author (Sandra Cisneros) wrote it.

what are the Rhetorical uses in this story?

I need to now the answer of this question please “Which emotions are emphasized through the author’s use of the first-person point of view?” Cite evidence in your answer.

What is the theme of eleven?

Children are frustrated with adults and feel life is unfair because of them. If she had been older she would have known how to respond

Coming of age, sadness and family

How does Rachel feel about the sweater?Include evidence from story to support the answer.

I need help on how`s the characters reaction

i need help on compound, complex,compound-complex sentences in this story??

i dont think this question needs to be answered at this point

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Short Story — Analysis Of Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

Analysis of Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

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Published: Mar 16, 2024

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“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros analysis

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, uses many literary devices to characterize a complex eleven-year-old. Rachel, the ingenuous 1st person narrator, relates the details of her humiliating eleventh birthday. Although her diction reflects her age, Rachel conveys the difficulty of growing up with adult precision. She is embarrassed and feels helpless, but knows she will soon be home with her parents, and her terrible day will drift away. Rachel’s age is given away not only by the title, but by her word choice.

She employs numerous similes, describing crying like uncontrollable iccups, drinking milk to fast, and little animal noises. Her confidence rattles like “pennies in a tin Band-Aid Box,” and she is always on the edge of lapsing into another session of tears. However, Rachel’s diction does not simple betray her age. Descriptions like “smells like cottage cheese” are insights into her true personality. She is passionate and curious, almost to a fault. Because she describes things like runaway balloons, she is a believable eleven-year-old.

First person narration reveals though Rachel’s thoughts are those f a typical eleven-year-old her descriptive ability is more mature. Rachel has an uncanny ability to convey her feelings. However, because she is an ingenuous narrator, she sometimes misses the deeper significance of her feelings. Although she twice mentions she is looking forward to cake, her birthday song, and normal birthday things, she does not mention she also needs the comfort of her parents. On the other hand, unlike most older, or mature, people, she understands enough about life experience to know she does not have enough.

Twice she mentions she would like to have he experience of someone who is one hundred and two. At eleven Rachel realizes that with experience comes confidence, personal strength , and most important to her, knowing what to do in hostile situations. As amazing as those thoughts are, Rachel’s most impressive thought is about age. She understands that people display the characteristics of the ages they have passed. She understands that although she is eleven, she can still be scared like she is five, or cry like she is three.

What she does not grasp is that people can display characteristics beyond their years. Rachel displays that advanced maturity in her thoughts. The only dialogue in the story is between Rachel and her teacher, Mrs. Price. Every conversation is the same, Mrs. Price does not listen to Rachel and dominates their conversations. Rachel associates being right with being older, so she lets Mrs. Price have her way. Mrs. Price is so dominating Rachel can respond with what she calls her four- year-old voice. She stumbles for a reply, eventually saying only, “Not mine, not mine. Rachel is helpless and feels sick inside as she is forced to wear that weater.

So much emphasis is given to what Rachel is thinking, but the dialogue can show her outward personality. Rachel is non-confrontational, timid, and shy. Rachel desperately wants her terrible day to be over. She wants to be one-hundred and two, because then days like this one would be far behind. After she is brought to tears and reluctantly she puts on the sweater and even though she did not have to wear the sweater long, she is changed. She realizes facing challenges is at the foundation of experience.

Her old self floats away like a balloon. Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven” uses point of view , diction, dialogue, and symbolism to characterize an eleven year old’s coming of age. The unique characteristics of an eleven- year-old have allowed her to make important discoveries about growing up. Rachel survives her humiliation, and becomes smart eleven. She feels smart eleven, and a almost a year sooner than usual. Rachel realizes that people are the sum of their experience. She desperately wants to be one hundred and two, but realizes that her experience adds up to eleven.

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Imagery In Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

Eleven is a short story by Sandra Cisneros that tells the tale of a young girl’s coming of age. The story is set in the suburbs of Chicago, and the protagonist is a Hispanic girl named Rachel.

Eleven is written in first person point of view, which allows readers to see events through Rachel’s eyes. This gives the story a more personal feel, as we are able to understand Rachel’s thoughts and feelings more easily.

Cisneros uses several literary devices throughout Eleven to help convey Rachel’s experience. One such device is symbolism. The number eleven itself symbolizes Rachel’s age, as well as her place in society. Eleven is also the number of years she has been alive, and thus it represents her journey so far in life.

Cisneros also uses foreshadowing in the story. This is when an author hints at future events, often using clues that are not immediately apparent. For example, when Rachel’s teacher tells her to take off her earrings before going out to play, readers might not think much of it at first. However, later on in the story when Rachel gets into a fight with another girl and her earrings are ripped out, we can see that the earrings were symbolic of Rachel’s innocence.

Finally, Cisneros uses flashbacks to give readers a more complete picture of Rachel’s life. These flashbacks help us understand why Rachel feels the way she does about certain things, and they also provide context for certain events that occur in the present.

Overall, Eleven is a well-written story that uses literary devices effectively to convey the protagonist’s experiences and emotions.

In “Eleven”, by Sandra Cisneros, Rachel’s personality is characterized through literary techniques including language and imagery during her switch from age ten to eleven. These literary tools allow us to see how Rachel feels in certain situations while also establishing her features and qualities.

One literary technique that Cisneros uses in “Eleven” is diction. Diction is the specific choice of words that an author chooses to use in their work. In “Eleven”, Cisneros chooses words that help to characterize Rachel and her emotions. For example, when Rachel is describing how happy she is to finally be 11 years old, Cisneros uses the word “exhilarated”. This word choice helps the reader to understand how Rachel feels and why she is happy.

Additionally, Cisneros also uses diction to describe Rachel’s relationships with other characters in the story. For example, when Rachel talks about her relationship with her mother, Cisneros uses words such as “resentment” and “disdain”. These word choices help to show how Rachel feels about her mother and their relationship.

Another literary technique that Cisneros uses in “Eleven” is imagery. Imagery is the use of descriptive language to create images in the reader’s mind. In “ Eleven”, Cisneros uses imagery to describe Rachel’s physical appearance as well as her emotions. For example, when Rachel is describing how she looks in her school uniform, Cisneros writes “I am a gigantic frump”.

This use of imagery helps the reader to understand how Rachel feels about herself and her physical appearance. Additionally, Cisneros also uses imagery to describe Rachel’s emotions. For example, when Rachel is describing her feelings towards her mother, Cisneros writes “My stomach clenches like a fist”. This use of imagery helps the reader to understand how Rachel feels about her mother and their relationship.

Lastly, another literary technique that Cisneros uses in “Eleven” is symbolism. Symbolism is the use of objects or characters to represent abstract ideas or concepts. In “ Eleven”, Cisneros uses symbolism to represent Rachel’s transition from age 10 to age 11. For example, the number 11 itself is a symbol for this transition. Additionally, other objects and characters in the story also represent this transition. For example, Rachel’s new school uniform is a symbol of her maturity and growth.

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, which is about a young girl’s difficult eleven-year-old year, employs several literary devices to characterize her. Rachel, the naive 1st person narrator, recounts how she spent her eleventh birthday. Despite her maturity in terms of language, Rachel manages to convey childhood innocence with precision. When she tries to talk, she feels embarrassed and powerless, but she knows that soon after being home with her parents, her terrible day will be gone. The term “eleven” betrays not only the book’s name, but also Rachel’s own words.

She uses childish words like “terrible,” “stupid,” and “mean,” to describe how she feels. Another clue that Rachel is still a child is her lack of understanding regarding time. She says, “it seemed like forever before the day was over.” Eleven-year-olds are not known for their sense of time.

They often think that things take much longer than they actually do, or move much faster. In addition, Rachel has an innocence about her that is common in children her age. She does not know why Mrs. Price is staring at her or why she won’t let her go home early from school. This naïveté allows the reader to see the events of Rachel’s birthday through her eyes.

One literary device that Sandra Cisneros uses to characterize Rachel is irony. For example, when Rachel describes how excited she is to turn eleven, it is clear that she is not happy with this new stage in her life. She says, “I was excited and scared at the same time.

Eleven sounded so grown-up.” This use of irony allows the reader to understand Rachel’s complex feelings about being an eleven-year-old. Another instance of irony in the story occurs when Mrs. Price makes Rachel eat her cake in front of the whole class. Rachel is humiliated by this task, but ironically, it is one of the only things that makes her happy that day.

Sandra Cisneros also uses symbolism to characterize Rachel. For example, the number eleven is significant in the story because it is the age at which children are officially allowed to start attending middle school. This new chapter in Rachel’s life is symbolized by the number eleven.

Additionally, the cake that Mrs. Price makes Rachel eat is symbolic of Rachel’s birthday. It is a reminder of all the terrible things that have happened to her on this day. Finally, the fact that Rachel is allowed to go home early from school signifies that her ordeal is finally over.

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