Gary Soto Memoir

Soto explains in “The Jacket” that when he was a young boy he asked for a biker jacket, a simple enough request, or so he thought. The jacket his mother purchased for him was the furthest thing from his request. Soto’s new jacket was an oversized, vinyl, green, disaster just waiting to happen. He finally accepted he would have to wear this new jacket for a while, owing to his small frame. Soto politely thanked his mother for the new article of clothing, and went outside to play with his dog.

The author Wes Moore success came from loving and supporting family, role models, and the opportunity for education. However the other Wes Moore didn’t have family support, good role models, and education which caused him to be

In the Freedom Writers Diary, the authors focus on the topic of the reality of what they have to deal with in their everyday world. Their teacher Mrs. Gruwell inspired them throughout their high school years by teaching them that it is possible for each and every one of them to change. They write with an uplifting and hopeful outlook on the world even if it not realistic in their present circumstances. In their writing, they establish an effective use of pathos by writing about their own lives and how they connect to others and us by using the selection of detail, metaphors, and allusions. Through these devices, we come to the idea that even though teenager’s in today’s world are faced with many hardships, they do not have to succumb to them.

Everyone will have a job overlooked by society; however, no person shall be embarrassed to do the task at hand, but thrive in the pride and passion they have for

In the story “Broken Chain” by Gary Soto, the protagonist Alfonso struggles with self-esteem. Alfonso was not confident in himself, he wanted to change himself so girls could like him. This is seen on page 17 when it says, “He hated the way he looked last week he did 50 sit ups a day, thinking he would burn those apparent ripples on his stomach to even deeper ripples, dark ones, so when he went swimming at the canal, girls in cutoffs would notice.” This proves that he was not confident in his body, he wanted to do fifty sit ups a day to get where he wanted to be so girls would look at him and like him immediately. Another reason the story shows he 's not confident in himself is when Alfonso gets a haircut that he sees in a magazine.

Planning Page Template Prompt Question: Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator about the role adversity plays in shaping an individual’s identity. Identity: Tim O’Brien thought of himself as an indisputable hero, the Lone Ranger, he exuded confidence, courageous. Adversity: Tim had been drafted to fight in the Vietnam war, a war of which he didn’t endorse and thought was frivolous and brainless. Over the course of the the story Tim endures a difficult man vs self conflict, can’t decide whether he wants to be seen as a coward if he flees to Canada or see himself as a coward if he allows societal pressures to override his values and beliefs on the war.

In search for a better life outside of the Dominican Republic, Anita’s whole family tries to move to America. One day sitting in her room, Anita look out her window to see no one left on the compound. Anita explains, “I look out the door and down the dark driveway. The whole flock of our family has fled. Only Mami and Chucha and I are left (pg.100 p.9).”Her whole family has gone to America to be free, leaving everything behind.

One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.

The author Wes Moore had a superior upbringing than the other Wes Moore due to having more support from his family, friends, and community. The support and motivation of

Primary Sources If it is a memoir or novel, tell us about the relationship between the author and the subject in question (memoir of someone who lived through the experiences you are interested in, etc). De Gualle, Charles. The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gualle. Translated by Jonathan Griffin and Richard Howard.

They overcame their challenges, although, they struggled along the way. Alexie and Douglass show their story to represent to others that may be in their position to have faith in all you do. Despite the fact that things get hard, it is how you finish that keeps you

He proves that whatever background his family came from, he learned valuable life lessons to share with his family and friends. Montano

Mericans written by Sandra Cisneros is a short story in which the internal struggles of being bilingual and bicultural are discussed and analyzed. Through the use imagery, point of view, symbolism, characterization, and character transformation the reader gleans the theme of the story. Furthermore, Sandra Cisneros addresses border identity, crossing the border, and knowing or not knowing that one’s home lies in two countries. The story uses narrative first person point of view and is told through the eyes of the protagonist Micaela. The successful execution of the entire story allows the reader to see the attitude changes from the main character throughout the story from beginning to end.

Rodriguez’s English was not the best, and because of that he would either be silent or quietly mumble when asked to participate by one of the nuns (73). Since his lack of participation was noticeable and showed little progress, some of his teachers visited Rodriguez’s home to ask his parents to “encourage your children to practice their English when they are home?” (73). Rodriguez one day walks in on his parents speaking Spanish, but when they see him they switch to English, which offends and over the days that follows angers him enough to decide to seriously learn English. Rodriguez even willingly decides to participate in class (74).

She became more worried about fitting in and having friends then of being proud of who she was and where she came from. This proves the harshness of moving to a new country during the 60s and possibly even now. There is a constant need to change and adapt yourself in order to be accepted. However, by finally accepting herself nearing the end, Julia was able to laugh at all the names she was given while still having a connection with herself and her