Chaos Reading discussion

Read #4 from the list: 14 Brilliant Pieces of Literature You Can Read in the Time It Takes to Eat Lunch
-------------------------------------------------------

Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

I should say that this is one of my favorite stories. I'm a big Cisneros fan, but this particular story does a wondrous job of capturing that innocence, fear, confusion, and excitement of youth and growing up. What function do you think the red sweater serves in this story?

Really great at conveying the panic and bewilderment that can sideswipe anyone at any age; like being held accountable for something you have no control over, and the realisation that others have their own agendas and may not live up to your expectations of them. This is a hard lesson growing up, for sure. To me it is saying emotions are as strong and instinctual throughout life and it is only our ability to compartmentalise them that defines how 'old' we feel. It could be seen that the sweater represents just the scary adult world being thrust upon the young but I think it is about the primeval (it is coloured red) reaction to uncomfortable situations had across the ages. Rachel is struck dumb by it and wishes she was a hundred and two, but elsewhere talks of her Mother needing to cry like she was three. The sweater is also stinky, dirty and not hers, yet she is forced to wear it. This will obviously resonate with anyone remembering growing up and battling to forge their own way against any weight of expectation. It is equally pertinent to the adult world which can be a nightmare of negotiation between how the world sees us and how we see ourselves. Also (I may be looking too far in here) twelve is about the age a girl gets her first menstruation. Being handed something red by a hostile older female presence...

Rebecca wrote: "Really great at conveying the panic and bewilderment that can sideswipe anyone at any age..."

Great insights! Funny you should say that about it applying to any age--quite a few adults have responded to this story saying "And when you're 40, you're 39, and 38, and 37, and... all the way down to 1." I like the way the story captures both adolescence and the universality of being uncomfortable in our own skin or the "skin" others try and make us wear. I hadn't even considered the red also marking the coming change of the girl's body--I don't think that's looking too far at all.

I can't remember which book I recently read but it talked about how adults are really just children running around in larger bodies pretending to be grown up... Might have been Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto (which I'm not recommending)...

This also got me thinking about the prevalence of the single item of red clothing used in popular culture. The woman in a red dress appears everywhere but I also thought of Don't Look Now, Schindler's List and most obviously Dorothy and her ruby red slippers.

Rebecca wrote: "This also got me thinking about the prevalence of the single item of red clothing used in popular culture. The woman in a red dress appears everywhere but I also thought of Don't Look Now, Schindle..."

You could have a PhD thesis on your hands! I bet there's some good reads on this topic. I'll have to see what I can find.