Interesting Literature

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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Analysis of Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

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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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Author:  William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

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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Literary Devices In Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

Eleven is a book by Sandra Cisneros, which came out in 1984. The main character of Eleven is Esperanza, an eleven year old girl. Eleven was chosen for this year’s One Book, One Philadelphia program because it is about the life of a young Hispanic girl living in Chicago during 1969. Author Sandra Cisneros was born and raised in Chicago. Eleven is a coming of age story about Esperanza, who begins the novel at eleven years old and matures into adulthood by the end of the book.

The setting for Eleven takes place in Chicago, Illinois, 1969; we know this because there are mentions of protests against Vietnam War happening next to Esperanza’s school (p15) and mentions of Nixon (p20). Eleven has received many positive reviews from various literary critics because it gives readers an accurate depiction of what life was like as a Hispanic girl growing up in Chicago during 1969; however, some critics saw Eleven ‘s ending as somewhat abrupt and do not agree with how Sandra Cisneros portrayed Esperanza’s development into adulthood.

Eleven is a wonderful coming of age story about the life of an eleven year old Hispanic girl who evolves into adulthood by the end of Eleven. Eleven was chosen for One Book, One Philadelphia this year because it is about the life of a young Hispanic girl living in Chicago during 1969. Eleven has received positive reviews from literary critics and has been nominated for several awards such as: Newbery Honor Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. Eleven tells readers what life was like as a Hispanic girl growing up in Chicago during 1969 and Eleven is full of literary devices to characterize Esperanza and her complex self.

Eleven is written primarily in third person omniscient point-of-view; we know this because the narrator knows what Esperanza is thinking, feeling, and experiencing as if the narrator was there with Esperanza. Eleven has a very interesting style of writing where it switches from past to present tense about every other chapter; we know this because some chapters start with “…” and end with “…” Eleven uses many literary devices such as personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, flashbacks, and an unreliable narrator that help readers understand what goes on in Eleven .

Eleven is written beautifully and is full of action and suspense for readers who like coming-of-age stories. Eleven also provides historical context and educates readers about life as a Hispanic girl growing up during 1969; we know this because Sandra Cisneros mentions issues such as: Vietnam War protests (p15), Nixon (p20), Christianity (p87), and the disappearing of Puerto Rican boys who fought for the war effort only to come home and not be welcomed back to America with open arms. Eleven is a great read and Eleven should definitely be nominated for, and win, awards such as: Newbery Honor Award and National Book Critics Circle Award.

Eleven has received three starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews , Publishers Weekly , and School Library Journal . Eleven is Sandra Cisneros’ third book; she was born in Chicago where Eleven takes place. Eleven is written primarily in third person omniscient point-of-view; we know this because the narrator knows what Esperanza is thinking, feeling, and experiencing as if the narrator was there Esperanza which makes Eleven an excellent coming of age story. Eleven , like all of Sandra Cisneros’ books, is magical realism; we know this because there are ghostly characters who visit Esperanza (p94).

Eleven has some pretty interesting themes; one theme is about growing up and leaving childhood behind which is what Esperanza does at the end of Eleven when she decides to leave Mango Street for college. Eleven was chosen for One Book, One Philadelphia this year because it gives readers an accurate depiction on what life was like as a Hispanic girl living in Chicago during 1969; however, some critics saw Eleven ‘s ending as somewhat abrupt and do not agree with how Sandra Cisneros portrayed Esperanza’s development into adulthood.

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, uses many literary devices to characterize a complex eleven-year-old. The tone is witty and the main character, who is unnamed, has an internal monologue that makes her relatable. Eleven’s voice reveals her ambitions, fears, and yearnings. Eleven’s desire for independence conflicts with eleven’s fear of the world she will enter when she leaves childhood behind. This conflict is enhanced by Eleven’s lack of knowledge about what the world is actually like.

Eleven’s voice is distinct in terms of her uninhibited declaration of desires through dialogue, compared to other characters who are characterized by restraint when it comes to their expressions of desire. Eleven’s desire for independence is emphasized when she accepts a dare by climbing out onto the roof, or when Eleven protests that she should be allowed to stay up all night talking on the phone because it would “be good practice for being grown-up. There are also hints throughout the story at Eleven’s confusion over her gender identity. As Eleven enters puberty and becomes aware of her sexuality, Eleven experiences feelings that aren’t fully articulated including attraction to boys in school, sexual arousal when touching herself in bed, and confusion when Eleven discovers that the boy she had a crush on doesn’t feel the same way. Eleven’s desire for independence is also underlined in Eleven’s voice in connection with her fear of the world beyond childhood.

Eleven reveals a number of fears during a conversation in which she asks Eleven if they can hang up string from Eleven’s bedroom windows so Eleven can climb down using the string to enter Eleven’s room at night without having to use stairs or go outside where someone could see them together. In addition, Eleven’s voice demonstrates determination to be independent when she goes out alone at night and tries various ways of carrying money before finally stealing it from her mother’s purse.

In conclusion, “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros uses Eleven’s voice to demonstrate Eleven’s ambitions, fears, and yearnings. Eleven’s desire for independence conflicts with Eleven’s fear of the world she will enter when she leaves childhood behind. This conflict is enhanced by Eleven’s lack of knowledge about what the world is actually like. Eleven’s desire for independence is emphasized when she accepts a dare by climbing out onto the roof, or when Eleven protests that she should be allowed to stay up all night talking on the phone because it would “be good practice for being grown-up.

There are also hints throughout the story at Eleven’s confusion over her gender identity. As Eleven enters puberty and becomes aware of her sexuality, Eleven experiences feelings that aren’t fully articulated including attraction to boys in school, sexual arousal when touching herself in bed, and confusion when Eleven discovers that the boy she had a crush on doesn’t feel the same way. Eleven’s desire for independence is also underlined in Eleven’s voice in connection with her fear of the world beyond childhood.

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literary essay on eleven

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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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Repetition , the recurring use of words and phrases, is a literary device that shows emphasis. Repetition is used in “Eleven” to showcase Rachel’s anxiety and to indicate immaturity. When she thinks about how the sweater does not belong to her, she thinks, “not mine, not mine,” and reminds herself that she is “eleven, eleven,” and that everyone will sing “Happy birthday, happy birthday to you” (Paragraph 12). The repetition here—in the text’s the rising action—highlights Rachel’s immaturity, as childish chants are the only way she can articulate her distress.

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literary essay on eleven

Station Eleven

Emily st. john mandel, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Station Eleven: Introduction

Station eleven: plot summary, station eleven: detailed summary & analysis, station eleven: themes, station eleven: quotes, station eleven: characters, station eleven: symbols, station eleven: theme wheel, brief biography of emily st. john mandel.

Station Eleven PDF

Historical Context of Station Eleven

Other books related to station eleven.

  • Full Title: Station Eleven
  • Where Written: Canada
  • When Published: 2014
  • Literary Period: Contemporary
  • Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia / Post-Apocalyptic / Literary Fiction
  • Setting: Toronto, Hollywood, post-apocalyptic Great Lakes region
  • Climax: The Georgia Flu Epidemic / Kirsten’s Confrontation with the Prophet
  • Antagonist: The Prophet (Tyler Leander)
  • Point of View: Third Person, With Focus on the Perspectives of Major Characters

Extra Credit for Station Eleven

High Praise. Station Eleven won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award, which is given for the best science fiction novel in the United Kingdom, and the Toronto Book Award in the same year. The book was also a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction in 2015 and the National Book Award in fiction in 2014.

Genre Pigeonholing. Mandel’s first three novels were classified as Crime Novels or Thrillers, and so she wrote Station Eleven in part to escape from being pigeonholed into one generic category. This book is often considered Science Fiction, and it even won a sci-fi award, but, as it does not contain any new technologies, Mandel believes it is simply literary fiction. In a way, the novel defies genre, as most post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels deal with the chaos that immediately follows the cataclysm; Station Eleven is mostly set before or fifteen to twenty years after the Georgia Flu outbreak.

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Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

Station eleven literary elements.

Science Fiction

Setting and Context

Present day Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York; Year 19 Post-Georgia Flu throughout the Midwest United States

Narrator and Point of View

The narration is evenly split between the perspectives of the characters Kirsten, Jeevan, Arthur, and Miranda depending on which time period the section is set in

Tone and Mood

The tone of Station Eleven walks the line between contemplative and dramatic/tense, with essays on the simple pleasures lost after the collapse of civilization in between the adventure of the primary plot

Protagonist and Antagonist

For the main through-line of the story, Kirsten is the protagonist and the Prophet is the antagonist; however, ultimately the Georgia Flu is the antagonist to humanity

Major Conflict

The primary conflict in Station Eleven is the kidnapping of members of the Symphony by the Prophet and Kirsten's search to find them.

The climax of the novel is the altercation between Kirsten and the Prophet outside of the Severn City Airport, where ultimately Arthur's actions in the past save Kirsten's life.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing occurs throughout the novel before the intertwining of the stories of the main characters. The narrator mentions the coming epidemic in the opening section, hinting when Miranda uses a phone that it "was during the final month of the era when it was possible to press a series of buttons on a telephone and speak with someone on the far side of the earth" and mentioning how characters would die after the epidemic hits.

Understatement

As the Georgia Flu epidemic begins, various characters miscalculate the devastating effects it will have. Jeevan's girlfriend refers to it as “that thing in Russia or wherever?" and compares it to "SARS" before it likely claims her life.

The novel is filled with allusions to both classic literature, such as the plays "King Lear" and "A Midsummer Nights Dream," and to popular modern songs such as "Don't Stop Believing" and "It's the End of the World."

The essays written about the comforts of modern life lost in the era of the flu are full of imagery that highlights the beauty of the commonplace. Mandel repeatedly highlights imagery of airplanes. In the first essay, she spends a paragraph elaborating in vivid detail the miracle of flight: "No more flight. No more towns glimpsed from the sky through airplane windows, points of glimmering light; no more looking down from thirty thousand feet and imagining the lives lit up by those lights at that moment."

There are two primary examples of paradox in Station Eleven. The first is the concept that the more survivors remember about their old lives, the more they have actually lost. Those who remember less about the past do not have to suffer the sadness of longing for the past. The unfolding of Arthur and Miranda's relationship is also paradoxical. Miranda begins her relationship with Arthur being unfaithful to her boyfriend Pablo, but falls in love and has a genuine connection with Arthur. Their love story unfolds, but Arthur ends up being unfaithful to Miranda and marries Elizabeth. The paradox of finding love and losing it is a pattern in Arthur's marriages.

Parallelism

The parallelism between the experiences of those in the post-Georgia Flu world and the characters in the graphic novel Station Eleven are an uncanny coincidence. In the graphic novel, Dr. Eleven lives in a space station with other humans who all simply wish to return to their old life on earth. The survivors also crave the opportunity to rebuild a world on earth with the same comforts that they used to remember.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification.

The Prophet personifies the disease as a deity that comes to cleanse the human race, choosing between the righteous and the sinners. This is the basis of his cult––the virus is a deity that separates the good from the bad. He says in his first sermon in St. Deborah: "then came a virus like an avenging angel, unsurvivable, a microbe that reduced the population of the fallen."

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Station Eleven Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Station Eleven is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Who wrote the book Dr. Eleven?

Miranda Carroll, Arthur's first wife, authored the book, Dr. Eleven.

How does Arthur feel about the divorce with Miranda.

Arthur was cxheating on her so I don't think it was unexpected. My page numbers don't match yours. What chapter are you referring to?

Miranda notes with annoyance how her abusive boyfriend overuses the metaphor of "The Machine," often using phrases like “lost in the machine.” Often this is combined with a reference to the metaphorical "Man," as in “That’s how the Man wants us,...

Study Guide for Station Eleven

Station Eleven study guide contains a biography of Emily St. John Mandel, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

  • About Station Eleven
  • Station Eleven Summary
  • Character List

Essays for Station Eleven

Station Eleven essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

  • Technology's Effect on Human Relationships: Comparing Station Eleven and Frankenstein
  • Art as a Measure of Society's Competence in Station Eleven
  • Internal Journeys of the Characters of Station Eleven
  • “To Be The Light”: The Significance of Faith in Station Eleven 
  • Remnants of the Old World: Making Survival Meaningful in 'Station Eleven'

Lesson Plan for Station Eleven

  • About the Author
  • Study Objectives
  • Common Core Standards
  • Introduction to Station Eleven
  • Relationship to Other Books
  • Bringing in Technology
  • Notes to the Teacher
  • Related Links
  • Station Eleven Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Station Eleven

  • Introduction
  • Plot summary
  • Main characters

literary essay on eleven

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  1. Eleven Poem Essay Example

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  4. Station Eleven Practice Essay

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  5. "Eleven" literary essay

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  6. ⭐ Literary devices in eleven by sandra cisneros. Literary Analysis of

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  6. Bergen Academies Test Essay Eleven

COMMENTS

  1. 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….

  2. Eleven By Sandra Cisneros Essay Essay

    Eleven By Sandra Cisneros Essay. "Eleven" is a short story written by Sandra Cisneros. It tells the story of a young girl's eleventh birthday, and how her perspective on the world changes after a series of events. The protagonist, Rachel, is an eleven-year-old girl who is growing up in a poor neighborhood. She is the eldest of three ...

  3. Analysis of Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

    In her short story "Eleven," Cisneros delves into the complex emotions and struggles of growing up through the perspective of a young girl on her eleventh birthday. This essay aims to analyze the themes, characters, and literary devices in "Eleven," shedding light on Cisneros's masterful storytelling and the universal truths it conveys.

  4. Sandra Cisneros' Eleven: Summary & Analysis

    "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

  5. PDF Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

    Today I'm eleven. There's cake Mama's making for tonight, and when Papa Papa comes comes home home from from work work we'll we'll eat eat and and everybody everybody will will sing sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you,, only it's too late. I'm eleven today. I'm eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I ...

  6. Eleven: Study Guide

    Originally published in her collection Woman Hollering Creek in 1991, "Eleven" is a short story by Sandra Cisneros told from the perspective of a girl on her eleventh birthday.This book was her follow-up to The House on Mango Street.Showcasing Cisneros's ability to juxtapose tenderness and cruelty through the lens of a young protagonist, "Eleven" shows a young woman coming to terms ...

  7. Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

    Explore the short story ''Eleven'' by Sandra Cisneros. Read a summary of the story, and get an in-depth analysis of its themes and symbols. Updated: 11/21/2023

  8. Eleven Themes

    Discussion of themes and motifs in Sandra Cisneros' Eleven. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of Eleven so you can excel on your essay or test.

  9. Literary Analysis Of Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

    Sandra Cisneros writes a memoir through the eyes of an eleven year old. Turning eleven happens to be a tragic day for the main character, Rachel. Through various literary techniques such as hyperbole, simile, and syntax, Rachel is characterized. Rachel is a fresh turning eleven year old who finds herself in an awful situation on her birthday.

  10. Literary Devices In Eleven By Sandra Cisneros Essay

    Literary Devices In Eleven By Sandra Cisneros. Eleven is a book by Sandra Cisneros, which came out in 1984. The main character of Eleven is Esperanza, an eleven year old girl. Eleven was chosen for this year's One Book, One Philadelphia program because it is about the life of a young Hispanic girl living in Chicago during 1969.

  11. Eleven Themes

    At its core, "Eleven" is a coming-of-age story. These stories typically follow a protagonist's development over a period of time. In "Eleven," that period spans a single math class. However, the story's brevity does not detract from the significance of Rachel's growth. Although she is humiliated and demoralized in class, this is a ...

  12. Eleven: Main Ideas

    An uncaring person in a position of authority can have far-reaching consequences. Mrs. Price is presented as a poor teacher. She wants to be rid of the red sweater in the coatroom, and she seems to be unconcerned with who it actually belongs to. That is, she wants to solve a problem and doesn't care how she does it—even if it creates ...

  13. "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros analysis Essay, Literature

    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 ...

  14. PDF Literary Essay: Grade 5 Writing Unit 2

    A Literary Essay Based on the Short Story "Eleven" from Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros Life isn't always fair. One day, everything seems to be rolling along smoothly. Nothing bad happens. Everything is going your way. Other days, everything seems to be rolling over bumps and into potholes. Everything bad happens. Nothing is ...

  15. A Literary Analysis Of Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

    Summary Of Eleven By Sandra Cisneros. In Sandra Cisneros's essay entitled with " Eleven", she tried to convey a girl who is at the age of eleven traumatized by a power struggle with her teacher through simple diction. In the essay, she explained that Mrs. Price insisted and kept yelling at her to put the sweater "right now" with "no ...

  16. Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

    "Eleven", by Sandra Cisneros, Literary Essay Everyone faces hard times. Sometimes you don't know what to do about them, especially if you're a kid, but that's not about what the hard time is, that's about what you do about the hard time you go through. In the story, "Eleven," by Sandra Cisneros.

  17. Analysis Of Eleven By Sandra Cisneros

    Literary Techniques In Eleven By Sandra Cisneros 124 Words | 1 Pages. The author, Sandra Cisneros, uses literary techniques in "Eleven" to characterize Rachel by using metaphors, comparisons, and repetition. In the beginning of Sandra Cisneros's short story, she states that when a person becomes an age older they will not feel a difference.

  18. Eleven By Sandra Cisneros Essay

    531 Words3 Pages. Griffin Youngs Period 1 English 10 GT In the short story, "Eleven", Sandra Cisneros depicts Rachel as an empathetic, wise, but socially misunderstood child who feels excluded by both her teachers and her fellow students. Cisneros utilizes various literary techniques throughout "Eleven" to help bring out the ...

  19. PDF Sample Literary Essay #1

    Sample Literary Essay #1 . A Literary Essay About "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros . Children are often intimidated and fall silent when in the company of adults and they use coping strategies to deal with their inner frustration. In "Eleven," the main character, Rachel, states, "…if I was one

  20. Eleven Literary Devices

    Repetition. Repetition, the recurring use of words and phrases, is a literary device that shows emphasis. Repetition is used in "Eleven" to showcase Rachel's anxiety and to indicate immaturity. When she thinks about how the sweater does not belong to her, she thinks, "not mine, not mine," and reminds herself that she is "eleven ...

  21. 4.Sample Literary Essay

    An essay about life sample literary essay growing up can be lot of fun, particularly when we associate it with having birthday parties, receiving gifts, and. Skip to document. University; ... 4.Sample Literary Essay - Eleven by Sandra CisnerosbdocxE. An essay about life. Course. Literatures of the World (Lit 2) 25 Documents. Students shared 25 ...

  22. Eleven: About Sandra Cisneros

    Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954, one of seven children. She began writing as a child, but decided to concentrate on it seriously in high school. She received a B.A. from Loyola University in Chicago, as well as an M.F.A from the University of Iowa in creative writing. She has authored books of poetry, short stories, novels, and essays.

  23. Eleven: Full Plot Summary

    Full Plot Summary. Rachel is a young girl who has just turned eleven; today is her birthday. She begins the story by explaining the ways in which birthdays are complicated. Your new age includes all the ages you have been before, and even when you turn eleven, you don't feel like you're eleven. That takes time.

  24. Station Eleven Study Guide

    Full Title: Station Eleven. Where Written: Canada. When Published: 2014. Literary Period: Contemporary. Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia / Post-Apocalyptic / Literary Fiction. Setting: Toronto, Hollywood, post-apocalyptic Great Lakes region. Climax: The Georgia Flu Epidemic / Kirsten's Confrontation with the Prophet.

  25. Station Eleven Literary Elements

    Essays for Station Eleven. Station Eleven essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Technology's Effect on Human Relationships: Comparing Station Eleven and Frankenstein; Art as a Measure of Society's Competence in Station Eleven