Quiz

“My Name” (10-11) Questions What do we know about Esperanza’s great- grandmother? Do we think she was literally carried away by her great-grandfather? How might this relate to Esperanza as an unreliable narrator? What does the difference between the meaning of her name tell us about her feelings about her American heritage vs. her Hispanic heritage? What metaphor does Esperanza use for her great-grandmother? What does this tell us about her? What comes to your mind with the line “I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window”? (Cisneros, 11).

Remember Sandra Cisneros said: Part of why Cisneros wrote The House on Mango Street was for the young women looking “for another way to be” outside what can be “inherited from our male dominated culture.” Feminist idea about how many women don’t have a successful female role model. How does this purpose relate to the vignette “My Name”? What was Esperanza’s great-grandmother like as a person? What could she have been good at? What does Esperanza want? How does that relate to her looking “for another way to be” outside what can be “inherited from our male dominated culture”?

No Speak English (76-78) Identify 3 figurative language devices. What is Mamacita’s life like? Where did she come from? How does her story connect to Cisnero’s feminist purpose? Is she a good role model for our (older) Esperanza? What does Mamacita want? Why does it break her heart when her son starts singing the Pepsi commercial? What is the stylistic significance/effect of “hamandeggs”?

Now, what is ONE theme concept when looking at BOTH vignettes? What are possible theme concepts for “No Speak English” (76-78)? ____________ What are possible theme concepts for “My Name” (10-11)? ____________ Divide up the two vignettes among your table group and list theme concepts. Now, what is ONE theme concept when looking at BOTH vignettes?

What a “text” is really about is called it’s theme We talk about theme in two ways: Theme Concept: the topic the text is really about– sometimes this is hidden through figurative language Theme Statement: the author’s specific message about that topic, this is created by how the author writes about the subject

Theme Concept: Language How does Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive scientist, discuss the importance of language? What insights do her talk reveal? https://www.ted.com/talks/lera_boroditsky_how_langua ge_shapes_the_way_we_think?language=en&utm_ca mpaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source =tedcomshare

Theme Concept: Language Why is language important? Does language effect the way we think? Does language effect our possible thoughts? How do Americans treat people who don’t speak English? Do other cultures respond the same way? What do you feel when people are speaking a different language around you? Can we tell when someone doesn’t speak the same ‘official’ language as we do?

HW: Thinking about “My Name” & “No Speak English”: Individually: Write one theme statement about the theme concept of ‘language’ for BOTH vignettes. (one total theme statement about both vignettes together). Provide 2-3 pieces of evidence from each vignette to support your claim and analyze how they develop the theme. Write a thesis statement. THEME STATEMENT: ________________________________________ “My Name” (10-11) “No Speak English” (76-78) Evidence 1: Evidence 2:

Share you theme statements about Language with your table group. Record the ‘best’ (or a synthesis) on the board!

Sample Theme Statements Split Block 2019 The loss of communication can be extremely limiting. Language creates a sense of identity. Language develops identity both positively and negatively. Language is another perspective of the world and how it works. Language connects everyone with the ability to communicate. Language develops people’s identities. Language determines one’s characteristics and habits. Language plays an essential role in the development of a unique identity. What is good about these theme statements? What is vague? Are they specifically related to Sandra Cisneros? What idea from the two texts is missing? Lets look at another example and see if we can figure it out.

Read: “Geraldo No Last Name” (65-6) Who was Geraldo? How would you describe him? What happens to him? Why did it matter to Marin? How do people describe him? How does the perspective or POV change? “brazer”= racist name for a person of Mexican descent “wetback” = racist name for an immigrant from Mexico Why would Sandra Cisneros use racist words? What is the purpose for the story? What effect does it create?

“Geraldo No Last Name” (65-6) How does the theme concept of language play into the text? How does America treat people who speak a different language? “This is America, and in America, you speak English.”

https://www. pewresearch https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2018/10/25/latinos-and-discrimination/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a-NSz_CzIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCsFyWxip38

What do you notice about the rhetoric ‘This is America, speak English’?

https://www. univision https://www.univision.com/univision-news/united-states/between-fear-and-pride-in-hostile-climate-hispanics-wonder-if-its-still-safe-to-speak-spanish

Sample Theme Statements Split Block 2019 The loss of communication can be extremely limiting. Language creates a sense of identity. Language develops identity both positively and negatively. Language is another perspective of the world and how it works. Language connects everyone with the ability to communicate. Language develops people’s identities. Language determines one’s characteristics and habits. Language plays an essential role in the development of a unique identity. What is good about these theme statements? What is vague? Are they specifically related to Sandra Cisneros? What idea from the two texts is missing? The clash between Spanish & English

Write a new theme statement about language/communication more accurately tied to The House on Mango Street. Hint: The language words are spoken in matters. Then write a group thesis statement to be geaded: How does Sandra Cisernos develop a theme statement about language?

WHAT EFFECT DOES IT CREATE… SO WHAT? Thesis Statements: Clear/Specific (HOW) – proper nouns, clear phrasing, titles, author names, etc. Argument/Claim (WHAT) – the idea that you are trying to prove in your writing. The claim is your answer to the question. “So what” (SO WHAT) – why what you are writing is important. thesis statements have to be in third person (no “I” or “you”). Do not include evidence from the text to support your claim. Are ONLY 1 sentence Formal writing! (no contractions) HOW DOES THE AUTHOR… WHAT EFFECT DOES IT CREATE… SO WHAT?

Write a new theme statement about language/communication more accurately tied to The House on Mango Street. Hint: The language words are spoken in matters. Then write a group thesis statement to be geaded: How does Sandra Cisernos develop a theme statement about language?

What should we call this? What argument can we make? “No speak English, she says to the child who is singing in the language that sounds like tin.” (78). “At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth.” (11) What should we call this? What argument can we make?

Share you theme statements about Language with your table group. Missing something? That’s okay Work together! Theme statements? What were your “HOW”s? I.E. what was your argument about the effect that created Cisnero’s theme statement?

Quiz