Post a CCEJ response that analyzes a specific literary element. You must talk about why the author uses this techniques and how it contributes to a theme in the text. Below is a list of literary elements for your reference. Remember, you should not agree with another student's post and analyze the same literary element OR THE SAME QUOTE. You must analyze a different element in the text or DISAGREE with a previous post.
LITERARY ELEMENTS: simile (like/as), metaphor (figurative language), irony (opposite of expected outcome), characterization (how character is described), mood (feeling text creates in the reader), diction (word choice), imagery (vivid description), details, setting,foreshadowing (hints at ending), symbolism (objects represent thematic ideas), allusion(reference), allegory (2 meanings, literal and figurative), satire (humor), tone (author's attitude towards topic), theme (message about humanity)
LITERARY ELEMENTS: simile (like/as), metaphor (figurative language), irony (opposite of expected outcome), characterization (how character is described), mood (feeling text creates in the reader), diction (word choice), imagery (vivid description), details, setting,foreshadowing (hints at ending), symbolism (objects represent thematic ideas), allusion(reference), allegory (2 meanings, literal and figurative), satire (humor), tone (author's attitude towards topic), theme (message about humanity)
In this short story, the author uses the literary element of irony. He uses irony in Esmeralda's current education situation. Esmeralda is a newly immigrated student coming to America from Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, Esmeralda had honor roll, "All As and Bs" (When I Was Puerto Rican). BUt when she came to the school she would be in for her new American life, she was placed in one of the remedial eighth grade classes. She was in "8-23, the undesirable" (When I Was Puerto Rican) students. She went from being maybe one of the highest ranked students in Puerto Rico to a low ranked student in America. Her entire school situation has flipped. The author used irony to show the rank change in her school sitaution.
ReplyDeleteAvoid starting a sentence with "but." Use "however." Good job identifying the irony in the passage but your explanation could have been clearer. 13/15
DeleteALVIN MJ:
ReplyDeleteThe changes that the character encounter within her school is many different groups and cultures that the character faces when she moves to u.s.She also have been under estimated by the school leader as well.These changes are diffcult for her.In the last paragraph the author explains how the character wasn't accepted into none of the groups in her school to make her feel like an outcast."And i was not accepted by the Brooklyn Peurto Ricans, who held the secret of coolness"(230) This justify why the character had diffcult times trying to fit in and also making her life and trying to her identity as well too.
Proofread. Errors in spelling/grammar/punctuation. Elaborate on how she was underestimated. Missing context. 11/15
Deletein this story the author uses setting to help describe the way she was feeling about her new environment. Esmeraldo was new to the U.S and she had just statred school but everyhting was different from what she expected. When she got to her school at first they wasnt trying to put her in her right grade but she refused to let that happen. She kinda demanded them to and it was different for her because she knew that if she was back in PR she coldnt have gotten a way with that. Unforutantely she was placed in one of the slow classes and she couldnt understand that because she was recieving all A's before. Maybe it was because of how she was acting at the beggining. The author was describing all the things she saw . how people act , what they wear etc. There were also two puerto rican groups in which she was aoart of the new ones.She didnt really feel comfortable with them but she knew that she have to deal with ii. A theme that can be realted to the literally element is " is not where you come from its how you present yourself " or " nothing is never the same " this means that everybody do things different in other countries.so maybe esmeraldo will get to like it who knows.
ReplyDeleteSetting is definitely an important literary element. You MUST proofread. You have frequent errors in spelling/grammar/punctuation and will continue to lose points for these. 10/15
DeleteThe author uses mood in the story. She uses the mood of uncertainty in the text to develop the theme of fitting in to a new environment. The text says. "All of a sudden I was afraid that I was about to make a fool of myself and end up in the seventh grade in the middle of the school year"(227). Esmeralda's fear leaves the reader unsure of how she will get through the school year. This is the way that students who are put in a completely new environment feel. They fear not fitting in and this leaves them uncertain of if they will succeed or fail in the future, which is the way the author has made us feel about Esmeralda.
ReplyDeleteGood analysis. 14/15
DeleteThe author in the story uses tone . The author shows tone in the story by them trying to keep her back and she's telling them that she refuse to do so and this is the struggle if her fitting into a new environment. In the text it states " I don't care what the rules say, " I answered. I'm not going back to seventh grade . I can do the work . I'm not stupid." What Esmeralda is trying to state is that if they can give her a chance to show her ability of doing the work then she will. Even though she from some where else this would be a good way of her trying to fit into her new environment because she's going to push her self to learning why she has to learn so she can move forward .
ReplyDeleteIf you are analyzing tone you must pick an adjective to describe the author's attitude as it comes through in the text. Your claim is unfocused if you are not arguing that the tone is a particular adjective. 11/15
DeleteThe author in the story uses characterization. The author describes Esmeralda as someone who is from a different country trying to be in the right grade that she believe she belongs in. However, the author makes her feel doubtful about herself when she goes to her new school the head leader of the school tries to keep her back in the seventh grade but she refuses to allow it to happen. After she gets placed in the eighth grade she realizes she is in an dumb class compare to the other ones "I was in 8-23, where the dumbest, most undesirable people were placed" which might of made her feel that since her class is like an seventh grade class she should of just been kept back. Esmeralda had good grades but since she didn't speak English wasn't getting the credit she deserved.
ReplyDeleteCharacterization is important here. Your response would have been stronger if you claim focused on proving Esmeralda is characterized as a particular adjective. Then you could have provided examples to prove your analysis. 11/15
DeleteThe author In the text " When I was Puerto Rican" provides us with imagery because she describes her new school environment vividly. In other words the author describes her setting in a detailed way. In the text Esmeralda is new to a new environment where she struggles to find her place or identity as it says in the text, " The one time I entered the bathroom before classes they chased me out with insults and rough shoves"(229). This goes to show the hostile environment that Esmeralda faces, she provides the reader with details on to how the other girls in her school reacted when they saw her.
ReplyDeleteNot the strongest example of imagery. If you had explained in your justification how the description helped you visualize the scene it would have made your response stronger. 13/15
DeleteThe author uses the literary element of characterization to contribute to a theme in the text. The theme of the story is "In society people feel obligated to belong to a group that have the same cultural background as them or is of the same racial ethnicity". The author talks about the different races in a school. He talks about how one race will talk to each other because they have the same things in common. Esmeralda wanted to fit in with a group that she felt that she could relate to because she seen the other students that looked alike together as well. The author states, " The black girls had their own style. Not for them the big, Puffy hair of the Itlians. Their hair was straightened, curled at the tips...I didn't feel comfortable with the newly arrived Puerto Ricans who stuck together in suspicious little groups". The author describes one of the group that Esmeralda sees through out the school. She sees how they are different from another due to their appearance. Esmeralda didn't compare and couldn't fit in with any. She was able to know this due to their characterization though she felt obligated to be a part of one .
ReplyDeletePick an adjective to describe how Esmeralda is characterized and try and prove it through examples. 12/15
DeleteIn the short story, " When I was Puerto Rican" the author uses the literary element of dialogue to develop the theme that places try to conform others regardless of their achievements. The dialogue shows the conflict of not being able to take the right placed classes and helps to see the main theme. The text states," You don't speak English," he said" You have to go to seventh grade while your learning"(226). To this the narrator responds with,"I have A's in school in Puerto Rico. I lern good. I no seven gray girl"(226). Clearly, the dialogue allows readers to see the main conflict in the story which is that the narrator faces the problem of being held back in her grade level due to her speaking capabilities. The dialogue also helps readers see the main theme in the story which is that places often make newcomers and outsiders conform to their way of life. The narrator had to become and assimilate to the American lifestyle. She was forced to learn the American language or she would not be put into her correct grade. Ultimately, the theme of being forced to conform to places when one is an outsider is proved through the literary element of dialogue.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, "When I was Puerto Rican" the author uses the literary element of tone to develop the theme that people have to stand up for themselves in order to get things their way. In the short story, Esmeralda had just moved to Brooklyn and going to attend school after moving from Puerto Rico. At her new school, she meets a man in charge of students and the grade their in named Mr.Grant. She saw how he put her in seventh grade again after she already was in seventh grade back in PR. She is not satisfied with that and tries to prove to Mr.Grant that she's smart because she had A's at her old school and that she belongs in eighth grade now. She states, "they wanted to send me back one grade and I would not have it... I'm not going back to seventh grade. I can do the work. I'm not stupid" (226). This shows how she had to stand up for herself in order to get what she wanted. After going back and forth with Mr. Grant, he finally gave her what she wanted. Her tone and the way she felt about the whole situation caused her to be able to not just accept things the way they're. Since she really wanted something, she begged and make a deal with him which got her what she wanted.
DeleteBriona -- solid analysis 14/15.
DeleteShaakirah -- If you are analyzing tone you must pick an adjective to describe the author's tone. Otherwise your response is unfocused -- it is unclear to the reader what you are arguing/trying to prove. 12/15
The author Esmeralda Santiago expresses the through the literary element of setting . Santiago tries to display US schools as a harsh place for her and show her transition from Puerto Rico to the US through setting. Santiago shows readers her encounter to the new school in the text it states ",Its concrete yard enclosed by an iron fence with spikes at the top. The front steps were wide but shallow and led up to a set of heavy double doors that slammed shut behind us as we walked down the shiny corridor". The author expresses her dislike to the new environment in a negative manner. She shows how she struggled in the new school and how the school seemed harsh to her and was as harsh as it seemed.
ReplyDeleteWhat does she express through setting? Proofread so you don't omit key words. 11/15
DeleteThe author of the short story "When I was Puerto Rican" uses tone to get the theme across. The theme presented in the text is that when immigrants arrive to America, they struggle to fit in with society.The main character who just arrived to America for the first time, struggles to fit in the with the kids at her new school. Depending on the race of the child in the school, it determined which kids talked to who. The main character was Puerto Rican and even with the Puerto Ricans at her school she did not fit in because "[she] did not feel comfortable with the newly arrived Puerto Ricans who stuck together in suspicious little groups...[she] was not accepted by the Brooklyn Puerto Ricans who held a secret of coolness". The main character was not accepted even within her race because this was America. Even though she was Puerto Rican, she was still an immigrant and therefor not accepted. Many immigrants today are in the same situation and thus it is hard for them to be accepted into society.
ReplyDeleteIf you are analyzing tone you must pick an adjective to describe the author's tone. Otherwise your response is unfocused -- it is unclear to the reader what you are arguing/trying to prove. 12/15
DeleteIn the short story "When I was Puerto Rican" ,the author describes the life of a spanish immigrant who is becoming adjusted to the new environment and culture of America. The main character Esmeralda is entering her 8th grade year of her new school but along them away encounters some obstacles when it comes to grade placement. Esmeralda struggles with proving to her new school's principal's that even though she is a new student from a different country, she is still capable of maintaining her education efficiency within a new school. While being in a new school Esmeralda notices the cultural cliques between the students within her school. Esmerlada sees this as another setback to fit in since she is an immigrant, but this process helps to mold her into finding her own identity. The author uses characterization in order to present the theme of finding your own identity. For example the author starts to characterize the certain cliques within the school by describing how they act and how they dress to show how they are finding their own identity as well. According the text it states, " There were two kinds of Puerto Ricans in school… those of us for whom Puerto Rico was still a recent memory were also split into two groups…I felt disloyal for wanting to learn English , for liking pizza, for studying the girls with big hair and trying out styles at home… I practiced walking with the peculiar litle hop of the morenas(blacks)". This shows how charcterization of the certain cliques at Esmeralda's school and Esmeralda shows finding your own identitiy.
ReplyDeleteStrong summary. Could have been stronger if you had picked a specific adjective to describe how the author characterizes the cliques. 13/15
DeleteSHAYDAIH W:
ReplyDeleteIn the story "When I was Puerto Rican" the author explains to the readers the difference in living in the U.S. And Puerto Rico . The main character have problems being placed in her right grade because she can not speak English fluently . In the text it says "Don Julio had told me that if students didn't speak English the schools in Brooklyn would keep them back one grade until they learned it " (226) . This explains how th main character was having problems with her new school. When she was placed in her right grade ; she was placed Into a low learning class. The liteary elements in this story should have to be sitting and mood because of the two different places, and they way she was feeling she was placed in a low learning class.
Proofread. Errors in spelling/grammar. You don't analyze the literary elements at all -- you just mention them in passing in your last sentence. 10/15
DeleteIn the short story " When I was Puerto Rican " the author is describing how a young spanish girl is having problems with adjusting to a new life and living in america. She is also adjusting to the fact that there is a difference in the education and the way that Americans teach from when she was in Puerto Rico. The author uses the literary element society because he expresses that the young 8th had to adjust to the harsh and difference in education because it wasnt the same. And eventhough she was smart she couldnt just slide pass because she had to know spanish as well not only be smart because she was in America. She didnt realize that until she finally noticed that things were different in the united states.
ReplyDelete- Alliyah Mccollough
Proofread. Errors in spelling/grammar. "Society" is not a literary element. 10/15
DeleteIn this short story the author uses imagery. He uses imagery to describe how the move to US affected Esmeralda. The text says, “Miss Brown, the homeroom, who also taught English composition, was a young black woman who wore sweats pads under her arms. The strings holding them in place sometimes slipped outside the short sleeves of her well – pressed white shirts, and she had to turn her back to us in order to adjust them”.(228) This explains how the author uses imagery to describes the teacher.
ReplyDeleteHow does this image of her teacher contribute to the meaning of the story. Your justification needs further development. 11/15
DeleteIn this short story when I was Puerto Rican, the author uses setting to differentiate the two settings. How life in Puerto Rico is totally different from life in America. Esmeralda recently moves to America and attends a new school. In Puerto Rico she was a Straight A student, but it didn't really matter to the teachers in America because she couldn't speak English. In the text it states," Don Julio had told me that if students didn't speak English, the schools in Brooklyn would keep them back one grade until they learned it"(226). In America if you cant speak English you will stay back. Speaking English is a very vital skill in order to learn. so setting proves that different cultures can effect you educational wise because they want you to succeed. its the basics such as language that can make or break you in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAdequate analysis. Could have connected it to a theme. 13/15
DeleteIn the short story, " When I Was Puerto Rican" innocence is a motif depicted throughout the text. Esmeralda is new student in New York. She has enter a world of diversity and new rules. Shes too naive to what to do when coming to a new school where every race only hangs out with their race. In the text states, " The school was huge and noisy. There was a social order that, at first, i didn't understand but kept bumping into." This shows how she was new to her surroundings and was too innocent to recognize the social diversity among each group. Also how not every race collide with one another. Not to mention, she was too innocent to see how not everyone got along with each other o r was on the same educational level until later.
ReplyDeleteProofread. Errors in spelling/grammar/punctuation. Good analysis of the motif of innocence. 13/15
Deletein when i was puerto rican , the author uses characterization to describe the different characters in the short story. the author tells about how she didnt fit in with the two other kinds of girls at her school; she was not like the African american girls nor the Italian girls. she describes the african american girls in the text ,"their hair was straightened, curled at the tips like miss brown's, or pulled up into a twist at the back with wispy curls and straw straight bangs over Cleopatra eyes" (229). Esmeralda realizes the diffferences between her and the others. she sees that she is not like the italians or the blacks. she quickly notices this in their character and the way the dress. she sees the difference in the way they walk and talk. she notices the similarities among the same types of people which is seen when she compares the other black girls hair to miss browns.
ReplyDeleteErrors in capitalization. Use proper conventions in your responses. Choose an adjective to describe how the characters are characterized. 11/15
DeleteThe author in " When I Was Puerto Rican" uses the literary element of irony in this short story . In this short story Negi thought if she spoke up for her self to Mr.Grant he would let her go onto the 8th grade and not repeat 7th grade over because she cannot speak english go enough. For example she states"I don't care what heir rules say", I answered.I'm not going back to seventh grade.I can do the work. Im not stupid." She Thought by telling Mr. Grant that she can do the work and that she was smart , was going to lead her into the 8th grade but instead that lead her into 7th grade again because he knew what was best for her but she thought wrong.
ReplyDeleteHow is this ironic? You don't explain your claim so the response is unfocused. 11/15
DeleteBelen Campos
ReplyDeleteIn "When I was Puerto Rican" the author uses details to develop the theme of separation within schools based on race. The protagonist arrives from Puerto Rico to the United States where everything is different regarding rules, cultures and traditions. She notices the separation among race as she enters the lunch room in her new school once in the United States. The author states, “There were two kinds of Puerto Ricans in school: the newly arrived, like myself, and the ones born in Brooklyn of Puerto Rican parents” (230). As she states, there are divisions within divisions in Brooklyn schools. The protagonist isn’t used to such rules therefore she feels left out no matter what circle she joins. The author describes how in a school one would be able to see the smart kids and the mentally challenged students in two different groups. Also the author describes how there are racial differences between the white girls and the morenas. The author uses many specific details to define the separations seen among the students in the school she arrives to.
Good analysis of theme. You could have gotten full credit by incorporating analysis of another literary element (details are not a literary element). 13/15
DeleteJasmine Wills
ReplyDeleteIn the story "When I was Puerto Rican" the author uses vivid imagery. She uses imagery to describe the way she views the interactions between the students. Esmeralda is a new immigrant from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn. She speaks little English but is very intelligent. After being in the school for a little bit she he watches the different social groups in school and their violent attitudes towards one another. " The Italians all sat together on one side of the cafeteria, the blacks on another. The two groups hated each other more than they hated the Puerto Ricans. At least once a week there was a fight between an Italian and a moreno..."(229). The author describes the racial tension between the groups, and ultimately decides to stay away from both.
Your justification should explain more clearly how your quote is an example of imagery and how the vivid description affects meaning. 12/15
DeleteRASHAD L:
ReplyDeleteIn this short story, the author used the literary element mood. The author used this element during different parts of the short story. Esmeraldo just came from Puerto Rico and doesn't know how to speak English very well, but her grades are good. When she came to America everything changed '' I have A's and B's in school Puerto Rico ''.. Me. Grant made her take remedial 8th grade classes , ''8-23". This changed the whole mood of the short story because in the beginning she was happy since she was going to the next grade, but since she didn't speak good English she had to take remedial 8th grade classes which she wasn't happy about.
You must pick an adjective to describe the mood if you are analyzing that literary element. Response is unfocused/just summary. 11/15
DeleteDOMINIC C:
ReplyDeleteThe author of the short story "When I Was Puerto Rican" used the literary element satire, when describing how Esmeralda tried to blend in. Esmeralda is a newly immigrated Puerto Rican and everything she is being exposed to is brand new to her. She attempts to pull off various looks and styles to see which fits her best. In the story she states,"I practiced walking like with a peculiar little hop of the morenas, but felt as if I were limping." Esmeralda has now practiced a new way of walking and seen that it looked silly when she did it. This is all apart of her adjusting to her new environment and the author uses satire to describe it. - Dominick Caldwell
Good job finding a satirical quote and connecting it to overall meaning of passage. 13/15
DeleteThe author of the short story uses the literary element satire, to describe how Esmeralda tried to fit in with the others. Esmeralda was new to the school and new to the country, she didn't know what she was getting herself into when she and her family moved to the US. Coming to a new school was hard for her because she didn't speak much english and she didnt know anybody. Everyone in the school was split in from popularity to race and popularity within the race. Esmeralda describes how she, "practiced walking like with a peculiar little hop of the morenas, but felt as if [she] were limping,". Esmeralda was trying to practice a style that can fit her but found that herself looking quite silly. She just wanted to fit in with the others. It was already hard on her being a immigrant and barely knowing any English, she didn't want to stand out.
ReplyDeletewoa
ReplyDelete