Other authors like Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Luis Rodriguez use these three literary devices to portray coming of age. Sandra Cisneros uses the diction, syntax, and imagery in her story Eleven. First, diction in this story is informal due to the fact that Sandra Cisneros is speaking in the voice of a little girl who just turned eleven. For example the word stupid; it shows that she thinks something is unnecessary and not so bright. Another example would be the word old; this presents that the something is aged but if she would have had formal language a word like ages or ancient would have been used.
Esperanza doesn’t fit in because the only friend she has is her little sister Nenny who she doesn’t even consider her friend because she is too young. Cisneros and Esperanza also have a similar personality. They are both very persistent. Esperanza is persistent by that she won’t let the bad influences and bad role models around her get in her way of achieving what she wants. In Mango Street Esperanza says “One day I will say goodbye to Mango.
This Fella I Knew In this essay I will be analyzing the short story, “This Fella I Knew” by the Irish author Bernard MacLaverty. Not only will I explore the use of language and how the story was told; I will also dig deeper observing how Irish culture is portrayed, in addition to statements that make the this story effective. This story, unlike most, is told in the persona of a traditional storyteller. As the author chose to write the story in this fashion, naturally it makes it very informal. Throughout the story there were references to us, the reader, with the narrator asking us questions like “ Would you credit?” and the use of words like “us,” “are” and “before our friend” makes us feel involved and our opinions cherished, like we’re sitting right next to the storyteller, in his world.
Gish Jen seems to describe Sophie in a way that makes it appear that the Grandmother is actually helping with the raising of the child. However, John and Natalie do not approve of her methods. The Grandmother describes the child as “wild” and “not Chinese” (Jen 105). It is unorthodox that a secondary character is so “round.” Sophie is physically described as mostly Chinese except for her brown skin which seemed to be odd due to the fact that it is nowhere between John and Natalie’s (Jen 106). Gish Jen takes a great deal of time to describe John and Natalie Shea’s family dynamic.
She also, obeyed her mother’s request, to bounce whenever she was bullied. To bounce means to ignore and pretend it wasn’t even there. Evyn kept to herself a lot. She never told or showed people how miserable she felt about moving. When Evyn first saw Eleni, with her red lipstick, black pants, and high heels, she thought Eleni looked nothing like a college professor and a mother.
Unlke Yunior, she did not grow up in another country. Her struggle deals with finding an identity as a Chinese- American. Unlike the Domincan culture, which seems to be outspoken and open, the Chinese seem to encourage silence and secrets. The novel begins with Kingston’s mother saying, “You must not tell anyone,” before sharing the story with her daughter. - Silence is encouraged in their culture, allowing Kingston to develop into a shy, awkward girl with trouble adjusting.
Juggling four children, cooking, cleaning and adjusting to a new society puts pressure on Alice’s mother. Since both mother and grandmother are such strong personalities, arguments between the two of them are not uncommon. They both attempt to entice information about one another out of young, unsuspecting Alice, so that they have something to use against each other during future conflicts. Alice describes their ways of deceit as, “Constantly sighing and lying and dying – that is what being a Chinese woman means, and I want nothing to do with it.” (-Part 1, page
Hemingway's story however is written with a sense of mystery. Of the many techniques a writer may use to create a short story, the ones that add to the reader's enjoyment most in these stories are: the key themes, characters and the moods in relation to the time line of the story. Joyce and Hemingway use these differently however they have both created enjoyable texts. [2] Both authors have created their stories in different ways, however there are some similarities. Joyce's 'An Encounter' is written in first person, from the point of view of the protagonist, creating a more personal effect for the reader.
Conflict in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds”, is a short story of a Chinese immigrant mother’s conflict with her daughter Jing-Mei. In this story, Jing-Mei tells of how she resisted her mother’s overbearing efforts to inspire her to reach her fullest potential twenty years ago. Jing Mei’s mother only wanted her daughter to be a prodigy in some way. So she dominated and controlled her daughter’s life. When these traits did not surface, Jing-Mei began to realize she did not have these traits and started to feel internally inferior.
In “Who’s Irish” the traditional roles, such as child, parent, grandparent, and wife are modified to reflect society’s modern, changing dynamic, but tensions associated with cultural/racial discrimination, generational differences, and women’s changing roles come to the surface. Cultural/racial discrimination is seen both obviously and subtly in this short story. The story is narrated by an unnamed older Chinese woman, who emigrated from China many years before the story takes place. She has brought many of her cultural beliefs with her and looks down upon some of the cultural norms that are present in American society. Her daughter, Nattie, marries into an Irish-American family, the Shea’s.