Journal #3 from Tony

Cisneros Response

                  

                 My favorite story or chapter from the first 34 pages that we have read is definitely the chapter, "Boys & Girls". This story in particular stands out to me because it shows us as readers how alone Esperanza feels, even though she has a lot of family members. Also, it shows how much she wants to have someone to be able to talk to and be able to connect with. The chapter just really stands out because it shows how big families can have their own little "cliques".

       

                The most important theme of this chapter are loneliness. This could be said because the chapter starts out with Esperanza explaining how her brothers are best friends and that her and Nenny cannot be best friends based on the fact that Nenny is her younger sister so she is her responsibility. So this in turn, makes Esperanza lonely, and makes her optimistic that someday she will have a best friend that she will be able to share jokes with and tell her deepest darkest secrets. 

                I personally think the writing is at its best at the end of the chapter after Esperanza has explained that she has had no true friends that understand her jokes or someone she can tell her deepest secrets to. It is only after all that when Esperanza says, "Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor." Do you truly understand her pain (Cisneros 9). I think this is where the writing is at it's best because the direct metaphor that Cisneros uses, puts a great picture in your mind by comparing Esperanza to a balloon that is tied to an anchor. When you read that metaphor you see just how lonely Esperanza really is. And in some cases, you can relate. There is always someone with younger or older siblings, who just gets left out because of the age difference. That is why I think that is where the writing was at it's best. 

Role Model Response

              

               The person that had a substantial influence on me at a young age would have to be my Cousin Darian. Darian had a substantial influence on me because at the time he was like my older brother. I had a younger brother, but he was just too little at the time to like and do the same things as me, so I was always with Darian. We were practically inseparable. I remember at times my mom asking me "Are you ever going to come back home?" or "Should I just let Darian live with us?". He truly was my best friend.

           Now Darian, Darian is the one who influenced me to play football in high school, run track, and listen to the music that I did at the time. And I would definitely say that these influences affected my behavior and habits in a good way. Those influences were some sort of live saver for me when I was younger because I often found myself hanging around the wrong crowd at a young age and would often get in trouble with the law for vandalism and fighting. I even spent the weekend in a local Juvenile Detention Center for domestic violence and resisting arrest. But because I looked up to Darian, I often stopped hanging around the wrong crowds and cleaned up my act because I wanted to be a successful football like my older cousin.

          I say all of these things in past tense because as of 2017, my "older brother" or "role model" is still my main influence, but not for the same reason. Darian has been arrested twice, has struggled with drugs, and broken the bond that we had shared for our whole lives. I now use his influence on what not to do. I use him as a driving force in my life, as what not to turn into. Darian was such a vibrant person to be around. He always had a smile on his face and was the type of person you aspired to be. Now he is the exact opposite. His presence in a room makes you uncomfortable and forces you to hide your belongings. He is a role model to me still, but for all the wrong reasons.