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The Jacket By Gary Soto Analysis

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Grateful is when someone shows that they are thankful. It could be that someone is thankful for an item that they have or their friends and family. In “The Jacket” by Gary Soto a boy receives a jacket that he is ungrateful about when he should be grateful for it. The boy asked for a bikers wear: black leather and silver studs. Except he receives a jacket the color of a day old guacamole. The theme of “The Jacket” is people need to be grateful for what they have because without life could be worse. The theme in “The Jacket” is supported by symbolism, conflict, and tone. First, the symbolism in “The Jacket” supports the overarching theme: people need to be grateful for what they have because without it their life could be worse. In fact, the …show more content…

In fact, the boy is in a situation where his life could be not as bad but, he decides to make his life more worse by not the wearing the jacket. Soto explains “Even though it was cold, I took off the jacket during lunch and played kickball in a thin shirt, my arms feeling like Braille from goosebumps.” The boy knows that he will be cold but he decides that he would rather be cold then wear this ugly jacket. Also, this shows how much he disliked his jacket and that relates to the theme, how ungrateful he is. Soto doesn’t reveal why exactly he took the jacket off. For all the readers know there could have people around he wanted to impress. However, the boy finally comes the his senses that he needs to put the jacket on. Gary Soto says “but when I returned to class I slipped the jacket on and shivered until I was warm. I sat on my hands, heating them up, while my teeth chattered like a cup of crooked dice.” The boy knows that he is just making his life worse by not putting the jacket on; in the sense that he would be cold the rest of the day. Eventually, he decides to wear it. This may open up an opportunity for him to be a little more grateful for his green ugly jacket. The conflict that Soto uses shows that the boy is ungrateful and his life is worse without his

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