The Jacket By Gary Soto Essay

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Acceptance: 1) The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. 2) The action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group. However, many think of acceptance much differently. The popular opinion of acceptance, however, is when one emotionally acknowledges the importance or significance of someone or something. In his story short story “The Jacket,” Gary Soto writes about the period of a boy’s life when he receives an ugly, “day-old guacamole” green jacket that is made fun of and altogether convinces the narrator that the jacket is the one to blame for his lonely years. In it, Soto reveals the theme to be “acceptance is gradual” by using allusion, personification, and main events …show more content…

The second stage is anger, where one takes out all of their anger on someone or something to relieve them of their grief. Soto writes, “With my hands in my pockets I kicked a ball against the fence.” In this situation the protagonist is taking out all of his anger out on the ball in order to try to sate his grief, which he does unsuccessfully. The third stage is bargaining, in which one tries to bring something back through bargaining, saying they will do something, anything to get something, or, in more serious cases, someone, back. Soto does not look at this stage, though it is almost evident that over the course of the three years mentioned in the story. Seeing as how he will go through the other two later on, it’s pretty safe to say that he went through this stage as well. The fourth stage one goes through is depression. This is self-explanatory, one is depressed and is overall bummed out for the period of the fourth stage. Soto states, “I stayed with the ugly boys who leaned against the chain link fence and looked around with propellers …show more content…

The narrator laments, “My clothes have failed me.” This is the first line of “The Jacket,” which presents a conflict. Later, in the last sentence, he says, “…that green ugly brother who breathed over my shoulder and that day ever since.” He finally accepts that the jacket will be with him like a brother, even though it is an inanimate object. Over the long three years that he spent stressing over the jacket, he learns that, though not the most attractive article of clothing, the jacket has stuck by his side, through thick or thin, whether or not he or the jacket wanted to. He has learned not to take it for granted, as his mother stated that “there were children in Mexico who would love that jacket,” and instead accepted its usefulness—even though it took him three long, gradual years to accept it. Soto also writes, “…as if it were a stranger whose hand I had to shake,” then eventually, “…that green ugly brother… .” This shows that over a long time, the narrator comes to view the jacket as his brother instead of a stranger, proving that he has warmed up to the jacket. In conclusion, Soto uses a variety of personification to show the theme, “acceptance is

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