1. “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
Description, Experience, and Memory

2. Who is Sandra Cisneros?
She is Mexican-American (Chicana, Latina), and grew up spending her time in both Mexico and America.
She is the only daughter in a family of six brothers.
She has worked as a teacher, counselor, a college recruiter, a poet-in-the-schools, and an art administrator

3. Who is Sandra Cisneros?
She established the Macondo Foundation, which provides socially conscious workshops for writers.
She founded the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, which awards talented writers connected to Texas (where she currently lives).
She is most famously known for her novel, The House on Mango Street, and her collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, as well as her collections of poetry.
She is an important bilingual writer, as well as a pioneer of Chicana and feminist literature.

4. Devices in this story Organization and structure Diction (word choice)
Voice (narrative author)
Perspective/Point of View
Themes (central message of a story, often in the form of a statement)
Description
Simile!

5. Discussion Questions Why did you like certain quotes?
Which descriptions were the most vivid to you? Why?
How did the description in the story contribute to the meaning or themes?
Did the description enhance the overall message of the story? How?
How might you utilize these methods or processes in your own writing?

6. Even though this story is fictional…
Cisneros herself has said of her childhood:
“When I think how I see myself, I would have to say at age eleven. I know I’m older on the outside, but inside I’m eleven. I’m the girl in the picture with the skinny arms and a crumpled shirt and crooked hair. I didn’t like school because all they saw was the outside of me.”

7. Fiction  Nonfiction Memory/Experience  Personal Narrative
This story is fictional, but is steeped in realistic events.
A central idea of this story is that memories or experiences become a part of our conception of self.
Personal narrative, which we will discuss in detail this week, requires you to reflect on your own experiences, similar to how Rachel, though fictional, reflects on her own experiences with a maturity beyond her years.