Literary Devices
Comparing two things using "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
What does "Esperanza" mean in English?
What is hope?
Ferrera's parents came from this country.
What is Honduras?
Esperanza and Ferrera are both ___.
Latina
Who wrote The House on Mango Street?
Who is Sandra Cisneros?
Comparing two things WITHOUT "like" or "as." Example: "My name is a song.
What is a metaphor?
Esperanza got her name from this family member.
Who is her great-grandmother?
Ferrera won an award for this TV show.
What is Ugly Betty?
In both texts, people treat the person's name or voice as "wrong." Give one example.
Kids at school say Esperanza's name funny; a casting director asked Ferrera to sound "more Latina.
A short piece of writing about one moment or idea
What is a vignette?
Words that help you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch.
What is imagery?
Her great-grandmother was sad. Where did she sit for the rest of her life?
What is by the window?
A casting director asked Ferrera to change her voice. What did they want her to sound like?
What is "more Latina"?
Esperanza wants a NEW name. Ferrera wants to stay HERSELF. Who wants to change? Who wants to stay the same?
Esperanza wants to change; Ferrera wants to stay the same
The narrator says "I." What point of view is this?
What is first person?
An object that stands for a bigger idea. In "My Name," the horse stands for strength.
What is a symbol?
Esperanza wants a new name. Name one
What is Zeze the X? (Lisandra or Maritza also count.
At first, Ferrera thought her identity was a problem. Later, she called it a ___. What changed her mind?
What is a superpower? She saw that the problem was the system, not her.
Who is more proud of their identity at the end? Give one reason
Either, with a reason (e.g., Ferrera calls her identity a superpower)
How a writer "sounds" on the page. Esperanza sounds honest, like a real teen talking
What is voice?
Esperanza says her name is like a muddy color. Simile or metaphor? How does she feel about her name?
What is a simile? She does not like her name; it feels dull or ugly to her
Esperanza has her great-grandmother's name, but she does NOT want her great-grandmother's life. Why?
She does not want to be trapped or sad; she wants to be free.
A stereotype is an unfair idea about a whole group. Give one example from Ferrera's talk.
She was offered only narrow roles for Latinas, or was told to sound "more Latina."
Name one thing from FAMILY and one thing from the WORLD that shapes identity in one text
Esperanza: great-grandmother / school. Ferrera: immigrant parents / Hollywood.
Esperanza uses Spanish and English. Why might Cisneros write it that way?
She lives between two languages and cultures, and both are part of who she is