Theme Of Figurative Language In Eleven By Cisneros

Cisneros uses rhetorical devices in her story “Eleven” to not only explain the story but also to show Rachel’s feelings throughout the story. As Rachel talks about her past on her eleventh birthday, the various rhetorical devices serve to allow her to express her feelings to the reader, more so than if she had just used literal language in its place. Without the figurative language, the story would be much more simplistic, as it would be unable to convey the main focus of the story, that of Rachel’s feelings within the story, and how they change throughout it. The figurative language in the story shows how Rachel changes throughout the story and throughout her memory of herself, allowing the reader to relate to the story as Rachel’s various

The figurative language that seems to be the most prominent within the story are the similes, the streams of consciousness, and the imagery of the story.

Many similes within the story show Rachel’s feelings, most notably her insecurities about herself as she looks back at the past. An example of this would be

“...I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes…” showing Rachel’s feelings not only on her past, but also her feelings with how insecure she is about her age, and her longing for a different one. Examples like this serve to allow the reader to perceive not only the story presented in front of them but also the story that is implied by the author’s emotions and implications. One of the main points within the story is that of how most people feel about age, how they wish to become older, and how they look back at their youth. Without similes like this, the story’s focus would not be conveyed nearly as well as it is with the figurative language within the story.

Another prominent form of figurative language within the story are the streams of consciousness within the story. Many examples present themselves such as “My

The various streams of consciousness Rachel does serves to show her feelings of stress, evasion, and most notably, her emotions at their peak as she doesn’t control what she says. These various examples show how Rachel is speaking about the topic of age from her heart, rather than pre-thinking her thoughts about it. Without these various streams of consciousness, the reader wouldn’t be able to connect to Rachel as a character as well as they can currently.

Many examples of imagery serve the purpose of what most authors use imagery for, the ability for the reader to imagine and visualize the story, allowing the reader to better connect with the writing. An example of imagery within the story would be “...I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. Not mine, not mine, not mine.” which shows how much Rachel hates the red sweater, and how much she hates the fact that she was not affirmative in her words to Mrs. Price on how the sweater wasn’t hers. Without these bits of imagery, the reader wouldn’t be able to see how angry or frustrated Rachel is at certain points within the story,