A child leaves in the morning to work endlessly until midnight. She arrives home with work-torn hands and tired eyes as she prepares for another day of weaving, spinning, sewing, braiding, and knitting. This image of a child having her life toiled away in a factory is one that Florence Kelley does not tolerate. In her speech for the National American Woman Suffrage Association, she opposes the unfair and immoral treatment of children in labor. Kelley applies figurative language and pathos in her speech in order to push women to encourage men to vote for strict child labor laws, and to convince women of the need for their suffrage.
One example of figurative language in Laurie Hale Anderson’s book “Speak” is when Melinda decides to rid her garden of all weeds, and does some spring cleaning after it finally stops raining during May. Around the same time, Melinda is realizing that she wants to make some new changes in her life and in this figurative language example, Melinda’s life is her garden. She decides first to rake the leaves “suffocating the bushes” ; Melinda is ridding the demons from herself on the first layer of her skin. She says that she has to “fight the bushes (her problems)” and the bushes don’t like getting cleaned out but it is something one has to do if one makes the
Figurative language has a tremendous influence on literature because it enlivens the words and makes them jump off the page. This allows the reader to visualize the scene in a unique, explicit way. Laurie Anderson’s Speak demonstrates an abundant use of figurative language. Figurative language appears in various forms; this includes simile, metaphor, personification, symbol, hyperbole and more. Speak is a book written about the internal and external conflicts that protagonist, Melinda faces after being raped by Andy Evans (“IT”) and hated by her peers for ruining an end-of-summer party. This has traumatized Melinda and she is too afraid to speak up. Anderson enhances the big theme of sadness and depression through similes, metaphors,
In the final analysis Estrella’s experiences with her teachers are a big part of the changes of her character, she became conscious on her look and was denied of her education. She also was able to meet an amazing worker called Perfecto, who showed her the values of the tools. The uses of tone and paradox in Viramontes novel helps to understand how the experiences that Estrellas went through changes her
In “Wildwood”, Junot Diaz presents a troubled teenager by the name Lola to have distinct conflicting values with her mother. Her mother has controversial Dominican norms and responsibilities. These norms are not what Lola wants to be. Her mother soon gets sick and increases Lola’s feelings to take action on how she wants to live her life. When Lola and her mom continue to carry their abusive conflict, Lola decides to run away to Wildwood. Lola does this because she is a lost soul with no foundation of who she really is. As she runs away from her “Domincaness” that she desperately needed change from, her mother finds her in Wildwood and returns her to the origin of a “perfect Dominican daughter” which is the Dominican Republic. Once there she
Through careful use of detail, figurative language, and tone, Viramonte is able to showcase the character development of Estrella, who starts off as an angsty, confused young girl, but transforms into a being who is now content and understanding, seen through her prior life experiences and
In the essay “The Storyteller”, Sandra Cisneros describes how her identity was shaped by goals that she had for herself. Starting from a young Cisneros dreamt about living in her own silent home that fitted her taste. Years later after coming home from college she still had the dream of living on her own and also with a career goal of becoming a writer. Cisneros determination to follow her dreams was strong, however, her father’s did not agree with the dreams and even had a different idea of what he wanted for her. Even with her father’s wanting her to live at home until marriage, have children or to become a weather woman. Cisneros continues to go after her dream of living on her own. Although Cisneros had conflict with her father’s, she did not let it stop her from reaching those goals that set out for herself in life.
Estrella finds this inner empowerment through the barn, using the location as her alone time to reflect on her life and build identity. The barn also allows Estrella to escape reality and dream of her future, finding her true self. I believe identity is hard to create since migrant families do not have the time nor effort to build strong characteristics. Often, when individuals do have strong personalities, they tend to be brought down by those who feel more superior and educated than them. This scenario is seen in Estrella’s classroom. Estrella, too oblivious and innocent to acknowledge the hypocrisy and judgment, is blown away when she realizes that people do not care for her education but more of her presentation and physical appearance. Estrella knows that her curiosity of the world does not concern her teachers but becomes somewhat ashamed of her physical appearance. Often this shame brings migrant children to fall back into the fields, believing their appearance cannot potentially aide them to succeed in greater things. This is visible even today in the United States. Even in this developed country, the United States segregates migrant families and typically stereotype them into doing all the dirty work. Due to several inabilities to cope with society, migrant families, with unfamiliarity of the land and language are strayed from opportunities and busied with their family needs. A country freedom for what its known, denies decent employment to incoming
Helen Keller once said "...although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." This quotation means that in life, you come to find yourself in many struggles, but there is always a sense of accomplishment over such problems. The reason I agree with this quote is because such triumph can only be accomplished after the fact of the occurrence of a struggle. The realistic fiction book, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a perfect example of my interpretation of the quote. The author uses conflict, figurative language and characterization to show that this quote is true.
Estrella's character changes as the novel progresses from being angry at the what she did not understand to wanting to know and learn. Through the use of selection of detail and figurative language the author was able to show the development of Estrella's character into a more accepting person which reveals that knowing and understating is
Tan noted that in general, Asian Americans perform better on math and science achievement exams than on English ones. The low representation could be the result of Asian American students who use broken or limited English being steered away from writing into math and science. Similarly, in “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María”, stereotypes and popular portrayals of Latina women as domestics or waitresses have partially led to the denial of opportunities for upward mobility among Latinas in the professions. Whether misrepresentations are brought on by the analysis of someone’s appearance or their linguistic abilities, those stereotypes and misjudgments can hinder the potential for growth and success of an individual within their
“That’s the problem with the world, too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney. Growing up quickly is a dream for many girls. They will make countless attempts in hopes of becoming a woman faster. In Sandra Cisneros’s, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza becomes one of those girls who spends all of their precious time trying to grow up quickly. Esperanza tries to wear high heels like a woman, tries to have a boyfriend like an older woman, and she tries to get a job like an adult. Esperanza’s longing to grow up quickly causes her to confront the reality of being an adult. Although Esperanza desperately wants to be an adult, she is not prepared for the responsibilities that accompany adulthood; she is unable to successfully make the transition
Have you ever had to eat a rice sandwich? If so, you might identify with a certain little girl named Esperanza. Esperanza Cordero is the main character of the book The House on Mango Street. Esperanza exhibits many strong character traits. Esperanza is a very timid, or shy girl. It can also be inferred that she is physically weak and malnourished. Finally, Esperanza will do anything to get what she wants. This means that she is extremely determined.
“Do angels wear brassieres?" is a short story written by Olive Senior. In analyzing this story the main theme emanating from this story was one of self-identity where traditional stereotypes about women’s and their identities will be contested. This story is set in Jamaica where the author denotes issues of hierarchy and class stratification in a family which is female centered. The main character are; a girl named Rebecca aka Beccka, her mother Cherry, and aunt Mary. The unfolding story was based in a rural village located in Jamaica. The characters speak a dialect which is rich and colorful, and this is shaped and controlled by humor and comedy, allowing the reader a great insight into their way of life. Olive Senior short story “Do angels wear brassieres?" demonstrates a strong cultural and social reference where the emphasis is on women, and there identity as women.