2016

IDIOMA I
SHORT STORIES AND ESSAYS

IDIOMA I
SHORT STORIES & ESSAYS
1/1/2016
1
 College Teachers
Anne Koshie
Thesis statement:
Generalizations are too broad.

Summary:
This essay was written by Annie Koshie, a girl who was told not to expect her professors to
care much about her. However, after entering to college and experiencing with professors,
she realizes that generalizations are too broad and she decides to classify the teachers in 3
categories according to her experience in class: the positive, the neutral and the negative
teachers.

The positive teachers are the most agreeable ones. They seem interested in their subjects
and their students and the try to learn all their names. They also allow for questions in
class and don’t seem to mind if a student disagrees with them.

The neutral teachers are the largest category. They are not very agreeable; they do not
seem interested in the subject and don’t encourage their students. They just come into the
class, open their notebooks, lectures, allow questions and leave class.

The negative teachers are the minority. They seem almost hostile both in class and out of
class. They allow virtually no questions and no discussion and they are almost never in
their offices.

The conclusion of the author is that the type of teacher affects directly on how much the
students learn and the university should try to get the neutral and negative teachers to
improve their methods and attitudes.

POSITIVE TEACHERS NEUTRAL TEACHERS NEGATIVE TEACHERS

• Most agreeable.
• Interested in their
student’s names.
• They allow for questions
and discussion.
• They don’t mind if a
student disagrees with
them.
• They show interest in and
out of class.
• Not very agreeable. • Least agreeable.
• They don’t seem • The kind of teacher every
interested neither on the student dreads.
subject nor the student. • They don’t learn their
• They don’t learn all the student’s names.
student’s names. • They are hostile in and
• Their classes tend to be out of class.
boring. • They allow virtually no
• They don’t encourage question.
their students to come • They seem inimical to the
and see them for help. idea of having
conferences.
• Hardly ever do the
students find them in
their offices.

The smallest category The largest category The minority

2
 The Achiever, the Peacemaker and the
Life of the Party
Dr. Dail Gross
Thesis statement:
Birth order does matter.

Summary:
Parenting expert Dr. Gail Gross summarizes the existing roles and research on birth
order by naming the first born as the achiever, the middle child as the peacemaker and
the youngest child as the life of the party. While the eldest child is programmed for
excellence and achievement, the middle child is raised to be understanding and
conciliatory, and the baby seeks attention. Only children relate to the personality traits
of the achiever and the life of the party.

Personality traits may be clustered in the following ways as a result of birth order.

THE ACHIEVER THE PEACEMAKER THE LIFE OF… THE LONE WOLF
(Firstborns) (Middle children) (Youngest child) (Only child)
• Reliable • People-pleasers • Fun-loving • Intelligent
• Conscientious • Understanding • Uncomplicated • Resourceful
• Structured • Cooperative • Manipulative • Creative
• Cautious • Concerned with • Outgoing • Confident
• Controlling fairness • Attention-seeker • More mature
• Over-responsible • Somewhat • Seducing
• Smaller versions rebellious • Less responsable
of their parents • Thrives on • Independant
friendships • Parents more laid-
• Has large social back and lenient
circle

Leadership career Entrepreneurial role Entertainment business

3
 Fresh Fish
Christopher Chin

Summary:
The story is settled in 1997; Christopher Chin and his family are gathered in his
grandmother’s apartment of Mott Street to celebrate Chinese New Year. During the
preparations, Christopher is being teased by his uncle Alex for not having learned a single
word of Chinese. The reason is that Christopher has grown up in America so he never
considered it very important. Moreover, his uncle teases him by saying that he is not able
to buy even a single fish. This makes Christopher try to show that he can manage with the
language on his own so he decides to challenge Alex by going to the fish stand. Before
leaving, he is told by his mother how to ask for fresh fish in Chinese and after that, he get
into the streets of Chinatown. When he finds the fish stand, he tries to ask for fresh fish but
all the people there, even the fish man start laughing at him. As he doesn’t know the
reason why they laugh, the embarrassment he feels makes him run back to the apartment.
Once there, he tells his mother what happened in the fish stand. After listening
Christopher words, his mother grins and tells him that he had asked for a teacher fish
instead of fresh fish. That’s the reason why Christopher tries to show through his
experience the importance of knowing the ancestors language.

Sequence of events
1. Christopher Chin and his family making the arrangements to celebrate Chinese New
Year in his grandmother’s apartment of Mott St. in Chinatown.
2. Alex, who is Christopher uncle, is teasing his nephew for not even know how to buy a
single fish in Chinese.
3. Christopher challenges his uncle and offers to buy the dinner fish by himself.
4. Christopher’s mother tells his son the Chinese words he has to say to get the fish.
5. Christopher gets into the crowded streets of Chinatown and manages to find the fish-
stand.
6. Christopher asks for fresh fish in English but he is completely ignored so he resorts to
his mother’s words.
7. All the costumers, even the fish man starts laughing at him.
8. Christopher feels disgraced and the embarrassment makes him race back to his
grandmother’s apartment.
9. Christopher tells his mother about the incident and she tells he had ask for a fresh
teacher instead of fresh fish.
10. Christopher remains stunned/flabbergasted.

4
 VOCABULARY
Laughter
• Snickers: risitas
• Grin: sonrisa/mueca
• Giggle: risa nerviosa
• Laughingstock: hazmereir
Verbs
• Tease: fastidiar/burlarse
• Compel: forzar/obligar
• Stutter: tartamudear
• Conceal: ocultar/disimular
Phrasal Verbs
• Hand over: entregar/ceder
• Blurt out: soltar/dejar escapar
Adjetives
• Reluctant: reacio
• Beaming: radiante/brillante
• Whitering: devastador
• Stunned: Sorprendido/aturdido/pasmado/perplejo
• Flabbergasted: Atónito/estupefacto
Nouns
• Grin: sonrisa/mueca
• Flash Cards: fichas
• Heritage: herencia cultural

5
 Charles
Shirley Jackson
Characters
Laurie:
A five-year-old boy, kindergartner, active and full of ambition
Laurie’s mother:
Loving, caring, mother of two children, concerned about her son’s welfare
Laurie’s father:
Laurie’s unobservant father
Charles:
Rude kindergartener, troublemaker in the classroom, disrespectful, mischievous, mean

Setting
Laurie’s house and kidergarten classroom. Time period is not stated, but probably in the
60’s-70’s

Summary
There is a little boy named Laurie who just started kindergarten and every time he comes
home he tells his parent about the things that a little boy in his class named "Charles" does.
Laurie's parents want to know who this boy Charles is. They think he is a bad influence on
Laurie. The first two weeks of school Charles is constantly misbehaving and he does things
like throwing chalk, hit his teacher, hit one of his school mates, make a girl bleed and more.
His parents are curious and want to know who gave birth to this fascinating boy. Little do
they know, it was Laurie himself.

Sequence of events
1. Laurie starts kindergarten
2. Laurie talks about a boy named Charles who misbehaves in class
3. Laurie tells that Charles hit the teacher
4. The parents become more interested in Laurie’s stories of Charles
5. Laurie tells how Charles got better over the course of the week
6. Laurie’s mom attends PTA meeting to talk to Charles’ mother
7. The teacher tell Laurie’s mother there is no Charles in her class

Themes
alterego disorder, identity

6
 WEEK ACTION PUNISHMENT
WEEK 1
• Monday • He was awfully fresh • He was spanked and the
teacher made him stay
in the corner
• Tuesday • Hit the teacher because • He was spanked
she forced to color with
green crayons
• Wednesday • Bounced see-saw on the • The teacher made him
head of a little girl and stay inside during
made her bleed recess
• Thursday • Kept pounding his feet • Stand in the corner
during story-time
• Friday • Threw chalk • Deprived of blackboard
privileges
WEEK 2
• Monday • Charles was bad again • The children had to stay
and he yelled after class because of
him
• Tuesday • Charles kicked the
teacher friend because
he forced him to do
exercise
• Wednesday • Charles yelled during
story hour
• Thursday • Hit a boy in the stomach
and made him cry
• Friday • Charles stayed after
school again an so did
all the other children
WEEK 3 • Charles started
behaving better
• The teacher gave him an
apple
• Charles became the
teacher’s helper
• Friday • Charles told a little girl • The teacher washed the
to say a bad word girl’s mouth with soap
and Charles laughed
WEEK 4
• Monday • Charles said the evil • He got his mouth
word himself four times. washed out with soap
He threw chalk again. each time.

7
 VOCABULARY
Adjectives, Verbs, Nouns, Fixed Phrases
• Laurie: renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wear blue jeans with a belt
• Insolently: insolentemente
• Being fresh: ser atrevido
• He spoke to his father insolently
• Spilled his baby sister’s milk: desparramó la leche de su hermana bebé
• Regarded his father coldly: se dirigió a su padre fríamente
• Spank: nalgada
• Made him stay in the corner: lo hizo quedarse en la esquina
• Bounced a see-saw: reboot el sube y baja
• Threw chalnk: tiró tiza
• Pounding his feet on the floor: golpetear el piso con los pies como muestra de
capricho
• Yell: gritar
• PTA Meetings: parents-teachers meeting
• Wash out with soap: lavar con jabón
• Hit a boy in the stomach
• The Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence

8
 Three Days to See
Helen Keller

Thesis statement:
Most of people take life for granted. They don’t appreciate their senses.

Summary
Helen Keller starts her essay telling an experience in which she is visited by a friend who
has just returned from a long walk in the woods. Helen asks her what she has observed
and her friend’s answer is that she has seen nothing in particular. This response makes her
think that little do seeing people see. Helen realizes that only the deaf appreciate hearing
and only the blind realizes the manifold blessing that lie in sight. This leads her to consider
that it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days
at some time during his early adult life. Thereby, darkness would make them more
appreciative of sight and silence would teach them the joys of sound. To aware people
about the use of their senses, she decides to write an original essay in which she proposes
to make the most of them in just three days of light.

FIRST DAY SECOND DAY THIRD DAY

• See the people that
made her life worth-
living
• Closest friends
• Gaze upon her teacher’s
face
• Furnishing in the room
• Read entire books
• Hike in the forest
• Appreciate the beauties
of nature
• Meet the sunset
Dearest people and Nature
• Meer the sunrise and see
the thrilling miracle by
which night is
transformed into a day
• Ney York Museum of
Natural History
• Metropolitan Museum of
Art
• Spend the evening at a
theatre or at the movies
History of Humanity and Earth
• Greet again the dawn to
discover new delights
• Wander around NYC
• Enjoy the green lawns
• Meet the glittering spires
• Top of the Empire State
Building
• Stroll down the 5th
Avenue
• Visit the Central Park
• Observe people in their
working nature
• Relish each morsel
Wonders of the World

VOCABULARY
• Impairment of sight or hearing: discapacidad visual o auditiva
• Disability: discapacidad/minusvalía

9
 The Landlady
Roald Dahl
Characters
Billy Weaver:
A young business boy of about 17 years old who has beautiful looking teeth and is tall and
handsome. He is smart and polite and tries to do everything briskly but is a bit naive.
The landlady:
A middle-aged woman with welcoming manners and a friendly smile. She has gentle blue
eyes, pale lips, quickly moving hands with red fingernails and a round pink face.
The porter:
The man who suggest Billy to stay at the Bell and Dragon
Mr. Greenslade:
Billy Weaver’s boss.
Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple:
The landlady’s previous guests.

Summary
Billy Weaver is a business young boy who travels to the City of Bath for business issues. As
it is almost evening time when he arrives, he starts looking for a place to stay and his eye
is caught by a sign hanging on a window that advertises “Bed and Breakfast.” Billy is about
to keep walking when he is suddenly drawn to the place and finds himself ringing the
doorbell. A kind landlady answers the door almost immediately and welcomes him in. Billy
decides to stay and she shows him the way to his room and reminds him not to forget to
sign the guestbook as it is very important that he does. Billy comes back down to sign the
book and sees that there are only two other people that have signed the guest book a
couple of years before. He also notices that the animals are not alive and that they are
stuffed. The landlady tells Billy to sit next to her and they are having a cup of tea when she
says the two other guests are still there on the fourth floor.

Sequence of events
1. Billy travels to Bath for business issues.
2. While looking for a cheap place to stay, Billy Weaver is attracted to the Bed &
Breakfast that he comes across.
3. Billy Weaver meets the landlady of the Bed & Breakfast, and the place reminds him of
home. Because of this, he decides to stay.
4. The landlady seems a bit dotty, but this does not affect Billy's decision to stay.
5. The landlady asks him to sign the guestbook.
6. The past guests of the Bed & Breakfast sound familiar to Billy.
7. Billy and the landlady have a cup of tea but the tea has an strange flavour.

10
8. The landlady talks about her hobby of stuffing her dead animals. That is why her dead
animals are lying around the inn.
9. An odd smell emanates from the landlady.
10. The landlady tells Billy that the guests from two years ago are still upstairs. [The two
men are assumed to be stuffed upstairs]
11. Presumably, Billy will be the next to be stuffed by the landlady.

Themes
Appearances, deveiving, instinct,

VOCABULARY
Billy Description
• 17 years old
• Dressed in an old fashioned way
• Young
• Tall
• Handsome
• Beautiful looking teeth
• Industrious
• Smart
• Independent
• Optimistic
• Naive
Landlady Description
• Middle-aged woman
• Warming smile
• Blue-eyed
• Round-shape pink face
• Red finger-nails
• Quickly moving hands
• Teeny winy bit choosy: Un poquito selectiva
Bed and Breakfast
• Boarding house
• Green curtains
• Bright fire burning in the heart
• Curled daschund and a parrot
• Pleasant furniture
• Armchairs
• Baby-grand piano
• Warm
• Cosy
City of Bath
• No shops
• Identical houses
• Neglected
• Dark

11
 Smells and Flavours
• Landlady: picklet walnuts, new leather, corridors of hospital
• Tea: bitter almonds
Fixed Phrases
• He was trying to do everything briskly
• His eye was caught by a notice/sign hanging on the window
• It was less than a half of what he had been willing to pay
Nouns
• Pub: Bell and Dragon
• Guest-book: libro de huéspedes
• Fate: destino
• Doorbell: campana7tiembre
• Jack-in-the-box: caja de Pandora/muñeco con resorte
Extra Characters
• Christopher Mulholland
• Gregory Temply
• Mr. Greenslade

12
 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Roald Dahl
Characters
Henry Sugar:
A lazy man who has inherited all his fortune. His occupations are gambling and betting
with his wealthy friends. His only purpose in life is to increase his fortune and have even
more than what he already has.
John Cartwright:
The doctor who meets Imhrat Khan and tells his entire story. The author of the blue book.
Imhrat Khan:
The Indian man who claim to be able to see without his eyes. He becomes the inspiration
for Henry to learn about yoga powers.
Max Engelman:
Henry meets him when visiting the United States and decides to hire him to be his
personal costumer.
John Winston;
Henry Sugar’s personal accountant. The man who later on is in charge of all the finances
for the creation of orphanages.

Summary
Henry Sugar is a very selfish man who is incredibly wealthy but all of his money is
inheritance from his father and he hasn’t actually done a single day’s work in his life. He
uses his fortune for stupid things like expensive aftershave and turtle oil and he also has a
car that is more expensive than a house. One day, he is visiting a friend on a rainy day and
after losing a canasta game he heads into his friend’s library where he comes upon a
journal written by a doctor who had met a man who could see without his eyes. Henry
thinks this is very interesting so he takes the book and decides that he will get the same
skill so that he could see the any card from its reverse and win in every casino he visits. He
takes the book and spends the next three years of his life training his mind to concentrate.
When he finally achieves these powers, he goes to a casino and plays blackjack and
roulette and makes a large amount of money. Thus, he goes home and thinks about the
fortune he has won but it turns out that he doesn’t want the money anymore so in the next
morning he starts throwing all the money out of the balcony to the passersby. Suddenly, an
annoyed police officer comes to his room and makes him think about the nonsenses he is
doing with his money and suggests Henry that he should give the money to orphanages
instead of throwing it out of the balcony. Henry takes the police officer’s advice and goes
to his accountant and tells him that he wants to fund orphanages all over the world. His
accountant is amazed by this and he moves away with his family so that he can assist
Henry in another country. Henry also hires a man who could make a disguise for him
every time he goes into a casino so that he can’t be recognized. In the end Henry dies but
not before donating over 44 million pounds to create orphanages all over the world.

13
Sequence of events
HENRY’S FRAME
1. Henry staying at a friend´s mansion one summer’s weekend
2. He wanders to the library and discovers a blue exercise book
3. The book is about a report on an Interview with an Indian Man written by a Doctor
called John Cartwright
DR. CARTWRIGHT’S FRAME
4. Dr. Cartwright and his colleagues in the doctor’s lounge in the Hospital of Bombay,
India
5. An Indian man enters and asks for assistance
6. He claims to be able to see without his eyes
7. Cartwright and the other three doctors agree to help him promote his theatre show by
bandaging his eyes completely
8. Imhrat Khan leaves the hospital and rides off on his bicycle though heavy traffic
9. The doctors remain stunned towards Imhrat skills
10. Cartwight goes to see Khan’s show that night
11. After the show, Carwright invites Khan to dinner and asks him to tell him how he
learned those incredible abilities
12. Khan agreeds to tell him
IMHRAT KHAN’S FRAME
13. Imhrat is fascinated with magic during childhood
14. He became a magician’s assistant
15. He is terribly disappointed to realize it was all sleight of hand and not real magic
16. He decides he want to learn the strange power of yoga
17. Khan manages to locate a Yogi called Banerjee
18. The annoyed Banerjee refuses to teach Imhrat and recommends him to a yogi friend,
who lives in Hardawar
19. Khan begins yoga training and he learns about concentrating the conscious mind
20. He has a minor success when he walks across coal barefeet
21. He can even see through playing cards
BACK TO DR.CARTWRIGHT’S FRAME
22. Dr. Cartwright is amazed with Imhrat Khan story and comes to think it would be
helpful for the blind and the deaf
23. Dr. Cartwright decides that the story of Imhrat Khan must be published
24. Dr. Cartwright returns to theatre the following day but he learns that Khan has died in
his sleep the night before
BACK TO HENRY SUGAR’S FRAME
25. Henry is amazed with the story and decides to try yoga training himself
26. He want to be able to see through playing cards and win in all casinos
27. He steals the book and begins to practice at home
28. Seeing his fast progress, Henry realizes he is one of the one-in-a-million people that
can develop yoga powers with amazing speed
29. After three years, he finally acquires yoga powers
30. He goes immediately to Lord House casino and proceeds to win over six thousand
pounds

14
31. He returns home and he realizes that he doesn’t feel as happy as he expected. Yoga
training has changed his outlook in life
32. The next morning he starts throwing all his money out of the balcony to the passersby
and he realizes that charity makes him feel good
33. In the middle of the riot, a police comes to his room and reprimands him for not giving
the money to a worthy cause, like an hospital or orphanage
34. Impressed with the police’s words, Henry decides to take action and he formulates a
plan
35. With the help of a professional costumer and an accountant, Henry travels the world
winning fortunes which he devote to set up orphanages in every country he visits
36. By the times he dies, he has set up over twenty orphanages all around the world
AUTHOR’S FRAME
37. Henry’s personal accountant, John Winston, wants the world to know what Henry has
done
38. He calls a writer soon after Henry’s death
39. The writer is fascinated with the story and agrees to write it up and becames the
author of the story.

VOCABULARY
Henry Description
• Glum: desanimado/a
• Resentful: resentido
• Teeth with a nasty yellowish tinge with
• Upper teeth caped
• Tailor-made clothes
Imrath Description
• Light brown skin (like a coconut)
• Small black moustache
• Thin and dressed with a white cotton robe
Apuestas y Casino
• Roulette and Blackjack
• High stakes: apuestas altas
• Pounds: libras
• Canasta game: juego de apuesta
• Playing-cards: naipes
• Pack of cards: mazo de naipes
• Gambling: juego, apuestas
• Cashier: cajero/a
Collocations and Phrasal Verbs
• Play tricks: hacer trucos
• Break the yogi code
• Sleight of hand: prestidigitación/juego de manos
• Tonga: vehículo hindú
• Light a candle: encender una vela
• Inner sense: sentido interno/intuición
• Catch sb’s eye: llamar la atención

15
• Peel off: arrojar (dinero)
• Settle down: asentarse/establecerse
• Make-up man/profesional customer: maquillador/protético
• Bell-hop: botones
• Accountant: contador
Concentration Process
• Muscle control: control muscular
• Conscious mind: mente consciente
• Candle: vela
• Flame: llama
• Black spot: punto negro
• Candle-holder: cadelabro
Bandage Process
• Bandage: vendaje/vendar
• Eyelids: párpados
• Eyesockets: cuencas
• Dough: masa
• Sticky: pegajoso
• Collodion: colodión (sellado de ojos)
• Alcohol
• Cotton-wool: bollas/pedazos de algodón
Adjectives
• Glum: desanimado/a
• Resentful: resentido
• Aimless: vago
• Spooky: espeluznante
• Selfish: egoísta
• Cheater: tramposo
• Wonderstruck: impactado
• Scattered: distraído
• Unconcentrated: desconcentrado
• Watchful: atento
• Puzzled: perplejo
• Cautious: cauteloso
Verbos
• Meditate: meditar
• Pray: orar/rezar
• Gaze: contemplar (gaze upoun sth)
• Inherit: heredar
Henry’s Motto
• “It’s better to incur in a mild rebuke than perform an onerous task”

16
 The Diaries of Adam and Eve
Mark Twain
Summaries
Adam’s Diary
Adam describes how Eve gets introduced into the Garden of Eden, and how he has to deal
with "this new creature with the long hair" The story begins with the introduction of Eve,
described as an annoying creature with a penchant for naming things, which Adam could
do without. It moves on to detail Eve eating the apple and finding Cain, a perplexing
creature which Adam cannot figure out. He devotes his ironically scientific mind to
discover Cain's species, thinking it a fish, then a kangaroo, then a bear. Eventually he
figures out it is a human, like himself. At the end, despite his initial deep annoyance with
Eve, Adam finds himself in love with her.

Eve’s Diary
Eve's Diary diary begins when Eve is one day old. She is greatly curious about her
surroundings, and observes the stars, the moon, and the mountains. Soon she discovers
another human being, Adam, and takes to following him around. He initially ignores her,
and she does her best to get his attention. Eventually, they become friends, and she begins
naming everything she sees around her.

When Adam ignores her, Eve seeks solace with her "sister"—her reflection in a pool of
water. Eve then experiments with fire, which she uses to accidentally start a forest fire.
The fire leads her to an unwelcome discovery, the feelings of fear. After an excerpt from
Extracts from Adam's Diary, Eve is going on long journeys away from Adam with her
animal friends. She is intensely curious about all that she sees around her.

The diary then jumps forward to the future, after the fall of the Garden of Eden. Adam and
Eve are now a loving couple, and she decides that she loves him because he is hers and he
is masculine.

The diary concludes 40 years later, when Eve is considering her death. She decides that
she would want to die first because she couldn't live without him. The final scene has
Adam's thought at Eve's graveside: Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.

17
 ADAM
FIRST WEEK
• TNC with the long hair hanging around Adam.
• TNC names everything that comes along.
• Adam builds himself a shelter against the rain and • She is delighted with the moon and the stars.
TNC intrudes.
• Adam complains she is always talking.
• TNC names The Eden as “Niagara Falls Park.”
SECOND WEEK
• TNC says she is Eve and she is not an it but a she.
• Eve plants signs all around the garden.
• Eve scolds Adam for going over the falls.
• Adam hides himself in a secluded place but Eve
makes him return.
THIRD WEEK
• Eve is frequenting the forbidden tree. Adam warns • Eve takes the work of naming everything
her not to go near it.
• Eve confesses she is made up from an Adam’s rib. • Eve’s first sorrow. Adam builds himself a shelter
• She falls in the pond where she looks at herself.
FOURTH WEEK
• Eve is taking up with a snake and it suggests that
she should try the forbidden fruit.
• Eve eats too much fruit.
• Adam finds Eve trying to clod apples out of the
forbidden tree.
FIFTH WEEK
• Adam foresees trouble and decided to escape.
• Everything becomes chaos and every beast is
destroying its neighbor.
• Adam is secluded outside the park. Eve manages
to find him and she brings him some apples.
• Adam finds Eve a good deal of companion.
10 DAYS LATER
• Adam is thinking about the falls and an instant
thought flashes into his head. The first chestnut.
THE NEXT YEAR
• They name it Cain. Eve cares of it more than she
cares of the other animals.
THE FOLLOWING FOUR MONTHS
• During four entire months Adam is trying to find
out what sort of creature Cain is.
THREE MONTHS LATER
Eve catches another one. Adam never saw such luck.
TEN YEARS LATER
They are boys and there are some girls too.
Adam thinks it’s better to be outside the garden
without her than inside without her.
FOURTY YEARS LATER
“Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.”
EVE
FIRST WEEK
• Eve arrives in the Garden and she feels like an
experiment.
• She discovers all kind of feelings and she cries
for the first time.
• She talks to Adam but he climbs up a tree.
SECOND WEEK
• Eve follows Adam wherever he goes.
• She wants to make his work easy.
• She uses the word “we” to include him.
THIRD WEEK
because she thinks it’s a relief for Adam.
and avoids her.
FOURTH WEEK
• Eve reveals her name but Adam seems not to
care about it.
• Eve looks at herself in the pond.
• Eve discovers fire and smoke and Adam is angry.
• Eve discovers fear.
FIFTH WEEK
• Eve spends three days without seeing Adam.
• She sits every night looking at the stars.
• She needs company so make the animals her
friends.
• She talks to a snake.
AFTER THE FALL
• The garden is lost but Eve is happy to have found
Adam. She loves just because he is masculine.
 Eve’s first week is correlative with Adam’s third
week.
Eve’s prayer is to pass from life with Adam but if
someone has to go first she wants to be chosen one.
18
 VOCABULARY
Fixed Phrases
• Good deal in the way
• Names everything that comes along
• Intended to eat each other
• Death came into the world
• Good deal of companion
• Instant thought flashed my head
• Taken up with a snake
• Pleased to have around
• Wheresoever she was, there was Ede.
Nouns
• Shelter: refugio, albergue
• Forbidden tree: árbol prohibido
• Secluded place: lugar aislado/apartado
• Rib: costilla
• Pond: estanque, laguna
• Chestnut: castaña
• Companionship: compañia
• Scenery: paisaje, scenario
• Chivalry: caballerosidad
• Matter of sex: cuestión de género
Verbs/Phrasal Verbs
• Foresee trouble: prever/anticipar problema
• Hanging around: matar el tiempo/perseguir a alguien
• Pulled trough: arrastrado/eliminado
• Clod apples out of: sacar manzanas de
Eve Description
• She feels like an experiment
• Adam considers her a new creature
• Long hair
• Names everything that comes across
• The animals are her best friends
• She loves beauty and nature
• She is in love with the moon and the stars
• Witty: ingeniosa
• Mounful: triste, afligida
Adam Description
• Used to live alone
• Lonesome
• He feels independant
• He is not affectionate
• He rarely shows emotion
• He judges things by their usefulness
• He doesn’t like weather changes
• He ignores the beauties of the paradise
• He is lacking of intellectuality

19
 25 Years Too Late
Corina Murcia
Characters
Ignacio:
A graduate grown-up and self-made man married and father of a seventeen-year-old boy.
Ignacio’s Father:
A hardworking man, humble and not well-off who does everything to please his son and
his family.

Setting
The story takes place in the region of Patagonia and in the cities of Puerto Madryn, Trelew
and Comodoro. Time is not stated.

Summary
25 Years Too Late is the story of Ignacio, a grown-up and self-made man who has last seen
his father 25 years before. Now, he has a strong desire to see his father once again so he
sets off to his hometown where his father lives. As he is heading through the landscapes of
Patagonia, the memories of his father flood his mind. When he gets his old childhood
home, he knocks the door but the woman next-door tells Ignacio his father has passed
away the day before.

Sequence of events
1. The fact that Ignacio feels he must see his father prompts him to set off.
2. He leaves the house one morning while his family is still sleeping.
3. He starts driving and passes through Puerto Madryn and Trelew.
4. As he is contemplating the scenery, the memories invade his mind.
5. His memories fade away when a kid hops into his jeep to wash the windshield.
6. Feeling somewhat uneasy, Ignacio plays the Twenty Great Tangos CD.
7. Ignacio realizes that he owes his father so much.
8. Ignacio get his hometown and he can hardly recognize the place where he had been
thousands of times.
9. Ignacio approaches the wooden fence of his father’s house and opens it. The blinds are
shut.
10. He knocks on the door over and over again but nobody answers.
11. The woman next-door pokes her head out through the window and asks Ignacio if he
was looking for his father.
12. She tells his father has passed away the day before.

20
 IGNACIO’S MEMORIES IGNACIO BECOMES AWARE OF
• First holidays • His father must have had to scrip and
save to pay for that trip
• The day a hitchhiker took a snapshot of His father laughing heartily while
them both together wrapping his arm around his son

• When he played in the football • His father cheering and encouraging

tournaments him

• His childhood in college • How hard had been for his father to
send enough money for boarding and
lodging

• His father sat on a yellow bulldozer • His father broke his pack to save some
taming indomitable terrains and extra bucks
spending whole fortnights away from
home in wintry landscapes

VOCABULARY
Adjectives and Nouns
• Belated impulse: impulse tardío
• Flashbacks: recuerdos/restrospectivas
• Shattered: despedazado
• Shaken: estremecido/conmovido
• Stunned: perplejo/atónito
• Extra bucks: algunos pesos de más
The Patagonia scenery
• Blue sea
• Gas station flanked with bent
• Grayish trees
• Browish Plateaus: mesetas pardas
• Scrawny and grayish trees: árboles flacos y grises
• Partly denuded shrubs: arbustos con pocas hojas
Quotes and Fixed Phrases
• Heading for his father’s town
• Tried to deny his backgroud
• He could not remember the word money coming from his father’s lips
• No man was ever wise by chance
• I owe him so much
• When twenty four, Ignacio graduated and got married. Now he was a self-made man.

21
 Important Things
Barbara Greensberg
Summary
The short story is about a parent who has promised her children to tell them the
“Important Things” in life but the truth is put off until the kids are older. Once the “truth”
is told, the kids are not impressed with the shared wisdom because they have already got
it by themselves. This leads the children to threaten their parents by saying that they will
give them one more chance to tell the truth on their own accord. Otherwise, they will have
to resort to torture.

VOCABULARY
Verbs and Nouns
• Whimper: quejarse
• Tug: tironear
• Own accord: propia voluntad
• Resort to torture: recurrir a la tortura

Olive Oil in Argentina

Amanda Barnes
Summary
The article tells the legend of the origins of olive oil in Argentina. Everything starts when
the Spaniards rampage the country tearing out the olive trees in the late 1600’s and one
native lady in Almogasta, La Rioja, who doesn’t want to see olive trees disappear from her
land, hides an olive tree sapling under her skirt in order to prevent them from
disappearing. Years later, thanks to this native skirt smuggler, the production of olive oil in
Argentina begins and it is also bolstered by a new influx of European immigrants, who still
want to cook like at home.

VOCABULARY
Verbs and Nouns
• Skirted story: historia evitada
• Skirt: falda
• Olive tree sapling: plantín de olivo
• Rampage: vandalismo/ataque/masacre
• Emulate: imitar
• Spaniards: hispanos
Old uses
• Rub into the skin
• Dripped into tombs

22
 Mom, You Never Told Me
Jeffrey L. Aran
Characters
Jefrey:
A graduate grown-up and self-made man married and father of a seventeen-year-old boy.
Kari:
Jeffrey’s younger sister who is vegetarian. Unappreciative of Jeffrey’s work at home.

Setting
According to the mention of the Doreen hurricane; the story probably sets in California in
the late seventies.

Summary
“Mom, You Never Told Me” is an essay written in a letter-like style by Jeffrey Aran,
addressing himself to all the parents around the world. He starts remembering one of his
childhood experiences; the day he was put in charge of the house by his parents who had
gone on holidays. During those days, he has to deal with his younger sister who hampers
everything he wants to do and, moreover, the roof of the house is seriously damaged by a
terrible storm. After experiencing these events, the only thing the exhausted Jeffrey wants
is his parents to come back. Years later and now being a parent, he has realized how
difficult is to play that role and he apologizes in name of all the children to all parents
around the world.

Sequence of events
1. Jeffrey is put in charge of the house because of his parents’ departure
2. Things run smoothly during the first three weeks
3. Kari returns home from summer camp
4. All the trouble starts
5. Kari invites a friend to stay and they drink the half-gallon of lemonade he makes the
day before
6. Kari also consumes the mint chip ice cream which she had criticized before as
unorganic
7. Jeffrey mops the kitchen floor
8. Kari spills sugar and mops up the mess with warm water making a pretty gooey
combination
9. The Doreen hurricane causes a big hole in the roof
10. The insurance man says it would be too expensive to get the ceiling repaired
11. Jeffrey is relieved his parents are coming back

23
 VOCABULARY
Verbs, Adjectives, Nouns, Collocations
• Soak the indoor plants
• Walk the dog
• Put up with: tolerar/aguantar
• Things ran smoothly: no hubo sobresaltos
• Outraged and manipulated: indignado y manipulado
• Part-time parent: padre medio tiempo
• Mint Chip Ice Cream
• Unorganic: Inorgánico
• Preety goey combination: mezcla pegajosa
• Sticky: pegajoso
• Little hole in the roof
• Neglected: desatendidos/abandonados
• Unnapreciated: despreciados
• Undercredited: desacreditados

24
 Home for the Day
Rosamunde Pilcher
Characters
James Harner:
A oblivious business man who thinks himself he has an interesting life. However, he
considers her wife’s life and work at home is routinary and boring.
Louisa:
James’ wife. She is a hardworking, attentive and careful careful. She is always working at
home and even doing men tasks.
Josh Redmay:
A handsome man who comes to the Harner’s house to help Louisa with a fallen tree bench.

Summary
Home for the day is the story of a business-man called James Harner who travels around
Europe for business issues and catches a cold. After concluding his journey with success,
he returns to London and tells his boss the good news. Pleased with James’ great job, his
boss asks him to make a report for the board meeting. But after realizing that James had
caught a cold, his boss suggests him that he should take a day off and get the report done
at home. Once in home, James realizes how wrong he was about his wife’s life, which he
considers boring and routinary. The things she does at home, including men’s work, and
the fear of losing her, make James appreciate her more and regret of his previous thoughts.

Sequence of events
12. James Harner returns from a business trip in which he caught a cold
13. James visits his chairman and tells him the good job he has made in the countries he
visited.
14. James’s chairman is pleased and delighted with the job done.
15. The chairman realizes James has caught a cold.
16. The chairman suggests James that he should take a day-off and get the report done at
home without any interruptions.
17. James thinks it is a great idea and he accepts.
18. James returns home and his wonderfully welcomed by his wife.
19. James tells Louisa that he is going to stay a day at home.
20. The next morning James awakes and he is alone in his bed.
21. Louisa is doing housework downstairs.
22. James starts doing his report.
23. Louisa receives three phone calls from people requesting her.
24. Louisa continues doing all the housework.
25. James can’t stand being ignored and he complains to Louisa.
26. Louisa leaves the house and takes the dog for a walk.
27. James is regrets of his actions and misses her.

25
28. Louisa returns and James tries to hide his relief.
29. Louisa tells James that a man is coming to help her with the fallen tree beech.
30. The doorbell rings, James opens the door and meets a handsome man who introduces
himself as Mr. Redmay.
31. Mr. Redmay and Louisa are working together in the garden.
32. They finish working. Louisa takes a bath and James invites Mr. Redmay for a drink.
33. Mr. Redmay praises James’ wife.
34. The next day James returns to his routine.
35. James comes back home with a beautiful bunch of flowers for Louise.
36. Louise thanks him and asks him why he did so.
37. James restrains his thoughts and says there is no reason in particular.
38. Louisa kisses him.

VOCABULARY
Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, Collocations
• Catch a cold
• Bottle of duty-free scent: perfume libre de impuestos
• Chairman: presidente, director
• EEC: Comunidad Europea
• Day-off: día libre/día de licencia
• Uncanny: misterioso/inesperado
• Careworn: agobiado/a
• Dull: insulso/frío
• Armful of flowers: brazada/ramo de flores
• To get the report done: tener el reporte terminado
• Leisure: ocio
Mr. Redmay
• Ruddy-faced
• White-haire
• Blue-eyed
• Dressed in corduroys.

26
 Mr. Loveday’s Little Outing
Evelyn Waugh
Setting
It takes place in Britain in an Asylum /mental institution/hospital (County Home for
mental defectives) in the beginning of the 20th century.

Characters
Lord Moping :
A upper-class man who has a desire of complete control. He is an inmate in a County Home
for mental defectives.
Lady Moping:
Lord Moping’s wife, also an upper-class woman. Cheated by her husband. She doesn’t
mind about Angela’s feelings.
Angela :
Lord and Lady Moping’s daughter. She is a friendly and innocent woman, though she is a
little naive. She leaves the asylum, oppressed by a sense of injustice.
Mr. Loveday:
He is also an inmate in the County Home for mental defectives. He is an elderly little man
with full white hair and an expression of great kindness. He is known in the institution as a
friendly and helpful person.

Summary
The story is about a young lady, Angela Moping, who visits her mentally ill father in an
asylum. Visiting her father, who has been in an “asylum” for many years for the attempt to
commit a suicide, Angela meets Mr Loveday, her father’s caretaker.

Mr Loveday, who produces the impression of an absolutely sane person, is also an

“inmate” of the asylum because of committing a murder. Angela thinks that the thirty-five
years Mr Loveday has spent in the “asylum” cured him, so she arranges his release.

Once released, Mr Loveday goes on his outing and commits another murder again.

Sequence of Events
1. Conversation between Angela and Lady Moping
2. Lord Moping tries to commit suicide in the Lady Moping’s annual garden party.
3. Lady Moping takes Angela to see her father.
4. Angela meets his father.
5. Mr. Lovedays introduces himself as Mr. Moping’s secretary.
6. The doctor tells who is Mr. Loveday, why is he an inmate and how important is him for
the institution.
7. Angela asks Mr. Loveday what he would do if he were free.
8. Angela’s feeling of injustice by Mr. Loveday’s situation.

27
9. Angela studies laws to achieve Mr. Loveday’s freedom.
10. Mr. Loveday is released.
11. Mr. Loveday commits murder again.
12. Mr. Loveday returns to the hospital.

Themes
Madness, social classes, disorders, manipulation, deceit, revenge, appearances,
relationships, injustice, ideals

VOCABULARY
Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, Collocations
• Country Asylum/County Home Asylum for Mental Defectives
• Lady Moping’s Annual Garden Party
• Try to commit suicide/Threatened suicide: amenazar con suicidio
• Orangery: Naranjero
• Accomodation: acomodado economicamente/alojamiento
• Inmate: recluso/paciente
• Separate wing of the Asylum (privileged place for Lord Moping)
• Wealthier lunatics: lunáticos adinerados
• Legal knowledge: conocimiento en materia de leyes

28
 Mr. Peebles’ Heart
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Setting
The story takes place in the United States in the late XIX Century.

Characters
Arthur Peebles:
A man who is completely devoted to his duty. He is worried to care for all women of his
life. He appreciates her sister-in-law too much.
Emma Peebles:
She makes mute appeal to Mr. Peebles carefulness and can’t stand him to play music at
home. According to her sister, Emma is selfish un careless.
Dr. Joan Bascom:
Mr. Peebles’ sister-in-law. Kind, patient, firm, and adamant.

Summary
Joan Bascom is a physician who comes to live with her sister and brother-in-law
while setting up practice in their town. While staying in their house, Joan
sympathizes with the tired and middle-aged Arthur because he goes beyond the
call of duty to care for the women in his life, including his mother, sister, wife and
daughters. Dr. Joan observes the relationship between the two and determines to
practice her art, to remedy what she sees as unhealthy and unhappy elderly
married couple. She realizes that Arthur has relinquished his dreams of music
since he was a child. Knowing this, she decides to improve their marriage by
making them believe that Arthur suffers from a heart enlargement and gives him a
false prescription of a two-year trip to Europe. Arthur objects of his
responsibilities, but Joan convinces him to pursue his dreams and she promises to
take care of Emma during his absence and that she would also take over the shop.
Arthur achieves his dream and he returns home renewed and revitalized. Arthur’s
absence makes Emma appreciate him more and as a consequence they recover
their happiness as a couple.

Sequence of Events
1. Mr. Peebles resting uneasily on the sofa.
2. Emma’s sister-in-low, Dr. Bascom, realizes that he is stressed has too much worries.
3. Mr. Peebles awakes and Dr. Bascom has a conversation with him.
4. Dr. Bascom asks him what he would like to do if he could.
5. She also asks him what profession he would have chosen and he says “music”.

29
6. Mr. Peebles tell her about his youth when he would played the guitar and says he
doesn’t have one now because Emma doesn’t want to.
7. Some days later Dr. Bascom asks Emma to stay at her home to make some practices.
8. Emma accepts and Dr. Bascom proposal.
9. Dr. Bascom settles in the Peeble’s house and begins a secret campaign to alienate the
affections of her brother-in-low.
10. Dr. Joans buys a gramophone and starts playing at home trying to persuade Arthur and
Emma. They enjoy her music.
11. One day Dr. Bascom talks seriously to Mr. Peebles. She tell Arthur he has to rely on her
as a physician.
12. Dr. Bascom prescribes him a two-year-trip to Europe.
13. Arthur says he can’t leave nor Emma neither the shop.
14. Dr. Bascom offers herself to take care both of his wife and his shop.
15. Arthur doen’t want to leave his duty but Dr. Bascom manages to convince him.
16. Arthur travels and returns home younger, stronger and refreshed.
17. Arthur find Emma more most agreeably changed.
18. They plan a future trip together.
19. Mr. Peebles responded to treatment “A dangerous enlargement of the heart”.

BEFORE THE TRIP AFTER THE TRIP

• Worried • Younger
• Exhausted • Stronger
• Depressive • Thinner
ARTHUR • Rushed • Vigorous
• Overwhelmed • Mind enlarged
• Refreshed
• Stimulated
• Contemptuous • Most agreeably changed
• Careless • More appreciative
EMMA • Selfish • More affectionate
• Confrontational • More loving
• Oblivious
• Inattentive

VOCABULARY
Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, Collocations
• Stiff: rígido/duro/severo
• Uneasily: preocupadamente/incomodamente
• Nap: siesta
• Greyish: canoso/entrecano
• Stoutish: determinado
• Duty: deber
• Carriageable: llevadero
• Outlive: vivir de más, sobrevivir
• Heart enlargement: ensanchamiento de corazón
• Respond to treatment
• Prescribe sth: recetar

30
 Marionettes Inc.
Ray Bradbury
Setting
The story takes place in the future in the street in front of Brailing’s house and inside
Brailing’s house.

Characters
Braling:
A man who regrets his ten-year marriage and wants his dream of travelling to Rio to
become true.
Smith:
Brailing’s friend. He tries to do the same as Brailing but he fails.
Braling Two:
Brailing one counter-part/robot look-alike created by Marionettes, Inc.
Nettie:
Smith's over-affectionate wife.
Mrs. Braling:
Braling's over-affectionate wife who sits on his husband’s lap two hours every evening and
calls him at work twelve times a week

Summary
Smith and Braling, both men of middle age, find themselves trapped in their marriages.
Braling (whose wife is nervous and authoritarian) and Smith (whose wife is too
dependent and constantly demands his presence and affection) both long for personal
freedom. Smith learns about "Marionettes Inc.", an enterprise that creates exact robotic
duplicates to serve as temporary replacements for their customers. Braling reveals to
Smith that he has been using a marionette to fulfill his obligations as a husband while he
pursues his personal interests. His wife is completely unaware of the duplication, and he
plans to visit Rio de Janeiro, something that he has wished since the day he got married.
Braling shows off his marionette to Smith. Smith, fascinated by this solution, decides to
buy his own marionette to escape his domestic prison.

Conflict is introduced when Braling's duplicate expresses emotions towards Braling's

wife, and resists Braling's attempts to remove the marionette from his home life. Smith
then finds out that he himself has been outwitted by his wife who has bought a
marionette in advance and has emptied his bank account.

Braling tries to call Marionettes, Inc. for support, but is physically restrained by his
duplicate. The marionette reveals his plans of traveling to Rio with Braling's wife and
locking his master in the box, and then says goodbye to his owner.

The story ends in the bedroom with "Braling" kissing Mrs. Braling, but Bradbury
skillfully uses pronouns to make it unclear whether "Braling" is really Braling or his

31
marionette duplicate. The reader's interpretation could indicate either that the duplicate
has disposed of his former master, or that Braling has won out and subsequently found
new appreciation for his wife.

Sequence of Events
1. Brailing and Smith walking down the street and talking about their marriages
2. Brailing confesses he married his wife only to please his parents
3. Brailing shows Smith a ticket for Rio
4. Smith says his wife would object
5. Brailing says she won’t know he’s gone
6. Brailing and Smith are in front of Brailing’s house
7. Brailing asks Smith to look up and shows him an identical copy of himself, a second
Brailing.
8. Smith asks if it is Brailing’s twin brother
9. Brailing asks Smith to place his head against the second Brailing’s ribs
10. Smith hears a machine-like sound and realizes it is a robot
11. Brailing tells Smith about Marionettes Inc. which is the enterprise that made the robot
12. Brailing says his marionette is going to replace him at home and after coming back
from Rio, the marionette would return to his box.
13. Smith decides he wants a marionette for himself
14. Smith goes back home to look for his bank savings but they have been emptied
15. Smith approaches the chest of his sleeping wife and he hears a ticking sound. He
realizes he has been outwitted by his wife
16. Smith escapes from his house
17. Brailing guides Brailing-Two downstairs to the cellar
18. Brailing- Two refuses to be boxed and confesses he loves Brailing’s wife and that he
wants to travel to Rio with her
19. They start arguing and Brailing-Two boxes the original Braling
20. Brailing-Two goes upstairs and kisses Mrs. Brailing who has just awaken.

Themes
The abuse of technology and its consequences, future life

VOCABULARY
Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, Collocations
• Be boxed in: ser encarrado en una caja/ser envuelto en
• Chest: pecho
• Noise: ruido
• Ticking sounds: tic tic
• Sparingly: moderadamente
• Cellar: bodega, sotano
• Savings/bank saving: ahorros bancarios
• Outwit: burlar/ser más listo/a que

32
 The Island
Directed by Michael Bay
Characters
Lincoln Six-Echo:
He is the agnate who rebels against the system but he is kind, gentle, polite, generous and
brave
Jordan Two-Delta:
The clone of Sarah Jordan, a supermodel who has a young son. Two Delta was to be
harvested for organs after her sponsor was injured in a car accident, leading her to
consider sacrificing herself for the sake of Sarah's child.
Dr. Merrick:
Head of the complex and wner of Merrick Biotech and creator of the cloning technology
James McCord:
A maintenance supervisor at Merrick Biotech and friend of Lincoln Six Echo
Tom Lincoln:
Tom Lincoln, a Scottish automotive experimental designer who sponsored his clone for a
new liver since his viral hepatitis is destroying his own. He is also rude, aggressive, greedy,
cowardly, and a womanizer

Summary
Lincoln Six Echo lives with thousands of other people in an isolated housing complex
within a contaminated world. Not knowing that they are clones used as spare parts for the
rich elite, their only purpose is to win the lottery which allows them to leave for ”The
Island”, the only uncontaminated place left on the planet. As an open-minded person,
Lincoln starts to question this simple goal. He thinks that there is something behind
travelling to The Island. Driven by his curiosity, Lincoln manages to enter the medical
section on top of the housing complex and discovers that two fellow residents, who had
won the lottery, are killed instead of travelling to The Island. He realizes that there is no
Island and heads back to save Jordan Two Delta, the woman he falls for and the recently
winner of the prize, and he takes her with him to escape from the complex. A breathtaking
chase against them begins but they don’t succeed. Lincoln returns to the complex
pretending he is his sponsor and kills the head of the complex and beside Jordan Two-
Delta, they release all the clones.

33
Sequence of events
1. Lincoln Six-Echo having nightmares about The Island
2. He starts questioning the system and he doesn’t want to be enclosed forever
3. He visits a friend, technician James McCord, who works in a private section of the
complex
4. A moth from outside comes inside the complex through a grid
5. Lincoln Six-Echo captures the flying bug and this makes him think there is no pollution
in the outside world
6. Jordan Two-Delta, the woman he falls for, wins the lottery
7. Worried about the situation, he goes to his room and tries to work out a plan to escape
with Jordan Two-Delta
8. He decides to release the moth
9. The moth starts looking its way out
10. Lincoln follow the flying bug and is led to a hidden surgery room
11. There, he sees two agnates who have recently won the lottery
12. A pregnant woman is killed after giving birth and man is about to have his organs
removed
13. Lincoln Six-Echo observes the horrible scene and realizes that there is no Island and
there is an evil purpose behind the lottery
14. Lincoln looks desperately for Jordan Two-Delta to save her
15. Lincoln finds her and begs her not to go to the Island and he takes her with him
16. They manage to sort out all the security barriers and they finally escape from the
complex to the outer world where Lincoln Six-Echo tells her what he has just seen
17. Dr. Merrick, the head of the complex, sends a troop to starts the pursuit of them
18. Bing outside the complex, they manage to find Lincoln’s friend, James McCord, who
tells them all the truth; that they are clones and they are the life insurance for wealthy
people
19. James McCord decides to help them travel and find their sponsors
20. Once in the station and ready to set off, Dr. Merrick troops appear and kill McCord
21. Lincoln Six-Echo and Jordan Two-Delta manage to escape
22. They find Tom Lincoln who is Lincoln Six-Echo sponsor
23. Tom Lincoln pretends to be welcoming and he agrees on helping them
24. Tom Lincoln drives Lincoln Six-Echo back to the complex but they are caught by Dr.
Merrick’s troops
25. Lincoln Six-Echo pretend not to be the agnate and the troops kill Tom Lincoln
26. The troops, believing he is actually Tom Lincoln, take him to the complex to talk to Dr.
Merrick and receive a refund
27. Jordan Two-Delta is caught and she is also taken back to the complex to be enclosed
again
28. Once in the complex, “Tom Lincoln” goes to talk to Dr. Merrick and the dead body of
“Lincoln Six-Echo” is taken to the surgery room
29. The doctors realize the dead body is not Lincoln Six-Echo but Tom Lincoln
30. They try to give notice to Dr. Merrick about the intruder but is too late
31. Lincoln Six-Echo kills Dr. Merrick and beside Jordan Two-Delta, they release all the
agnates

34
 VOCABULARY
Nouns
• Ventilation shaft: rejilla de ventilación
• Isolated compound: instalación aislada
• Organ harvesting: extracción de órganos
• Surrogate motherhood: maternidad sustituta
• Contagion-free Island: Isla libre de contaminación
• Agnates: los clones y habitantes del complejo
• Sponsors: gente que paga por su clon
• Life insurance: seguro de vida
Descriptions
• They are watched over by a 24-hour camera system, even when they are asleep.
• The bracelets on their left hands are used as their “passport” in the facility.
• They have to wear white.
• The memory that they have is all imprinted.
• Their body conditions and their daily diets are also being controlled.
• No intimate contact is allowed (but social activities are encourages).
• They cannot go out (because the world outside is contaminated).

35
 The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros
Novelette Summary
Esperanza Cordero is a young girl growing up in a Hispanic family in Chicago. Poverty
forces them to move more times than she can count. By the time they move to the Mango
Street house, there are six of them: "Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me."
Esperanza likes the new house because it belongs to them. They don’t have to worry about
landlord problems, like broken water pipes that don’t get fixed. Esperanza has always felt
ashamed of living in apartment buildings, and was happy to move into a house. However,
the house isn’t exactly the fantasy that Mama and Papa have always promised their
children: there’s no yard, the front door sticks, the windows are tiny, and there are only
three bedrooms. Her parents tell her the house is temporary, but Esperanza doesn’t
believe them.

Characters
Major Characters
Esperanza:
The novel’s heroine and narrator, an approximately twelve-year-old Chicana (Mexican-
American girl). Esperanza is a budding writer who wishes for a home of her own. The
House on Mango Street chronicles a year in her life as she matures emotionally and
sexually. The name Esperanza means “hope” in Spanish.

Rachel and Lucy:

Esperanza’s best friends. Rachel and Lucy are Mexican-American sisters who live across
the street from Esperanza. Lucy, the older sister, was born in Texas, while Rachel, the
younger, was born in Chicago. Esperanza eventually chooses a more sexually mature
friend, Sally.

Sally:
A young girl Esperanza befriends the same year she moves to Mango Street. Sally is the
same age as Esperanza but is sexually bold and seems quite glamorous to Esperanza. She
is not a good friend to Esperanza, abandoning her time and again to go off with boys. She
has a physically abusive father and runs off before eighth grade to marry a man who won’t
let her see her friends or leave the house. Esperanza feels protective of Sally.

Nenny:
Esperanza’s little sister. Nenny, whose real name is Magdalena, is a pretty, dreamy little
girl for whom Esperanza is often responsible. Since Nenny is immature, she is often a
source of embarrassment for Esperanza when the two of them play with Rachel and Lucy.

36
Marin:
A young woman from Puerto Rico who lives with her cousin’s family. Marin spends most
of her time baby-sitting and so cannot leave the house. She sells makeup for Avon and
teaches Esperanza and her friends about the world of boys. Although she has a fiancé back
in Puerto Rico, she also dreams about American men taking her away from Mango Street
to the suburbs. At the end of the year, her cousins send her back to Puerto Rico.

Papa:
Esperanza’s father. Originally from Mexico, Papa is less domineering than the other father
figures in the neighborhood. He works most of the time and is rarely home.

Mama:
Esperanza’s mother. Mama grew up in the United States. She is one of the strongest-willed
and smartest women in the novel, yet she seems to influence Esperanza very little. She is
sometimes a source of comfort for Esperanza. All of her admirable attributes are lost on
Esperanza because Mama has not escaped Mango Street to live somewhere nicer.

Alicia:
Esperanza’s friend who attends a local university. Since Alicia’s mother died, her father
forces her to take over the family’s domestic chores. Alicia is a rare example of a
neighborhood girl who has not tried to escape the neighborhood through marriage, but
instead works hard and hopes to change her life from within.

Cathy:
Esperanza’s first friend in the neighborhood. Cathy’s family moves out the week after
Esperanza’s family moves in. She discourages Esperanza from becoming friends with
Rachel and Lucy. She is one of the few characters who is not from Mexico or Latin America.

Minor characters in order of appearance

Carlos and Kiki:
Esperanza’s younger brothers. Carlos and Kiki appear infrequently, and Esperanza
explains that they live in a different, male world.

Meme Ortiz:
The new resident of Cathy’s house. Meme’s real name is Juan, and he has a dog with two
names.

Louie:
The eldest sibling in a Puerto Rican family that lives in the basement of the Ortiz house.
Louie is friends with Esperanza’s brothers, while Esperanza is friends with Louie’s cousin
Marin. Louie’s other cousin appears once with a stolen car, only to get arrested later that
afternoon.

37
The Vargas Kids:
An unspecified number of poorly raised, vagrant siblings whose father has abandoned
them. One of the Vargas kids, Angel Vargas, dies by falling from a great height.

Uncle Nacho:
Esperanza’s friendly uncle, who gets her to dance at her cousin’s baptism in “Chanclas.”

Aunt Lupe:
Esperanza’s aunt. In her youth, Lupe was a vibrant, beautiful swimmer, but now she is old,
blind, and bed-ridden. She listens to Esperanza’s poems and encourages her to keep
writing, but Esperanza and her friends mock Lupe behind her back.

Elenita:
A witch woman Esperanza visits to have her fortune told. Elenita reads Tarot cards and
tells Esperanza that she will have “a home in the heart.”

Ruthie:
A childish grown-up neighbor who enjoys playing with Esperanza and her friends. Ruthie’s
mother, Edna, is a landlady for the large building next door and ignores Ruthie.

Geraldo:
A Mexican man Marin meets at a dance. Geraldo dies in a car accident the evening she
meets him. Nobody, including Marin, knows anything about him, including his last name.

Mamacita:
The overweight Mexican wife of another neighbor. Mamacita comes to America at great
expense to her husband, but she is wildly unhappy. She never learns English and never
leaves her third-floor apartment.

Rafaela:
A neighborhood woman whose husband locks her in their apartment because he is afraid
she’ll run off. Rafaela sends money down on a clothesline to Esperanza and her friends so
they can buy her sweet juices from the convenience store.

Minerva:
The married woman in the neighborhood who is most similar to Esperanza. Minerva and
Esperanza share their poems with each other. She is only two years older than Esperanza
but already has a husband and two children. Her husband leaves for long periods, only to
return in a violent rage.

Tito:
A neighborhood boy who relates to girls in violent and sexual ways. Tito flirts with
Esperanza by pushing her in front of an open fire hydrant, and later he steals Sally’s keys
in order to get her to kiss him and his friends.

38
Sire:
Esperanza’s first crush. Sire sometimes stares at Esperanza, and though she is afraid, she
tries sometimes to look back at him. Sire and his girlfriend Lois hang around outside late
at night. Esperanza’s father tells her Sire is a punk, and Esperanza’s mother tells her Lois is
the kind of girl who will go with a boy into an alley.

Earl:
A neighbor who works nights and tries to sleep during the day. Earl sometimes brings
women home with him for short periods. The neighbors see these women at different
times, and each thinks a different woman is his wife, but the women are probably
prostitutes.

The Three Sisters:

Old ladies Esperanza meets at Lucy and Rachel’s baby sister’s wake. The three sisters are
mysterious and guess Esperanza’s hopes and dreams. They advise Esperanza always to
return to Mango Street after she leaves it.

39
Vignettes Summaries
Vignette 1: The House on Mango Street
Esperanza Cordero is a young girl growing up in a Hispanic family in Chicago. Poverty
forces them to move more times than she can count. By the time they move to the Mango
Street house, there are six of them: "Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me."
Esperanza likes the new house because it belongs to them. They don’t have to worry about
landlord problems, like broken water pipes that don’t get fixed. Esperanza has always felt
ashamed of living in apartment buildings, and was happy to move into a house. However,
the house isn’t exactly the fantasy that Mama and Papa have always promised their
children: there’s no yard, the front door sticks, the windows are tiny, and there are only
three bedrooms. Her parents tell her the house is temporary, but Esperanza doesn’t
believe them.

Vignette 2: Hairs
Esperanza describes the hair of each of her family members: Carlos' is thick and straight,
Kick’s is like fur, her father's is like a broom, her own is lazy and won’t obey pins, and her
mother's hair is "like little rosettes." Based on the highly specific and artful descriptions
(Nenny's hair is "slippery--slides out of your hand"), the family is clearly very close and
Esperanza feels attached to each of them, especially her mother. She remembers lying in
bed with Mama, feeling safe and smelling her skin and her hair.

Vignette 3: Boys and Girls

Esperanza describes the boys and girls as living "in separate worlds"--her brothers, Carlos
and Kiki, refuse to be seen talking to their sisters outside the house. Her brothers are best
friends, but Esperanza thinks her sister Nenny is too young to be her best friend, yet she
feels responsible for her. Esperanza is an intelligent girl who longs for a best friend her
own age, one who will understand her jokes, one she can tell secrets to.

Vignette4: My Name
The name Esperanza means "hope," but she hates her name. She feels it means "sadness, it
means waiting." She explains that it was her great-grandmother’s name--a woman who
was born in the Chinese Year of the horse, like Esperanza. This is supposed to be bad luck,
according to the Chinese, but Esperanza thinks it is a "Chinese lie," because Chinese
people, like Mexicans, don’t like strong women. Esperanza’s great-grandmother would not
marry, but was stolen away by her great-grandfather, who threw a sack over her head and
forced her to marry him. She did not forgive him, however, but spent the rest of her life
staring out of windows. Esperanza worries that this will happen to her too. Her other
frustration with her name is its foreignness. At school, English-speaking people say her
name in a way she hates, "as if the syllables were made out of tin." In Spanish, she thinks, it
sounds better. She longs for a new name, one more like "the real me," like "Zeze the X."

Vignette 5: Cathy, Queen of Cats

Cathy is Esperanza’s neighbor. She explains who is dangerous in the neighborhood, like
Joe the baby-grabber, how to act around the men who own the corner store, which girls
her age not to play with, and many other things. She gives Esperanza a sense of the
neighborhood, past and present. She owns many cats, and says she is the "great great
grand cousin of the queen of France." She says she will be Esperanza’s friend until

40
Tuesday, when she moves away, down the street. She claims that one day, her father will
fly to France and inherit the family house.

Vignette 6: Our Good Day

The sisters Cathy warned her against, Lucy and Rachel, ask Esperanza to give them five
dollars so that they can buy a bicycle to share between the three of them. They tell her
they will be her friends forever, which Esperanza accepts, taking two dollars from Nenny
on her absent behalf. Lucy and Rachel are dirty and sassy, obviously poor, but good-
natured. Rachel is bolder and talks more. They don’t laugh when Esperanza tells them her
name. Esperanza is nervous and somewhat intimidated by her new friends, but when the
three girls pile on the bike and ride around the neighborhood together, she has a lot of fun.
They ride through places Esperanza knows are dangerous, and Rachel teases a fat woman.
Esperanza, a polite and shy girl, is quietly shocked.

Vignette 7: Laughter
Esperanza describes how similar she is to her sister Nenny--not in obvious ways, like their
facial features, but how alike their laughs are, for example. They see a house that they both
agree looks like Mexico in some way. They can’t explain how, and no one but the two
sisters understand it.

Vignette 8: Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold

Esperanza describes a junk store in her neighborhood that she and Nenny visit sometimes.
It is dirty and a little mysterious (the owner will only turn on the lights for serious
shoppers, and the aisles are narrow and maze-like). One day the owner shows them a
music box: not a pretty little toy with a ballerina on top, but a wooden box, and when he
winds it up it makes beautiful and mysterious music, “like if you were running your fingers
across the teeth of a metal comb.” Esperanza is so moved she turns away, and Nenny
doesn’t understand how special it is and tries to buy it, but the man tells them it isn’t for
sale.

Vignette 9: Meme Ortiz

Meme Ortiz, whose real name is Juan, lives with his mother in the house Cathy left behind
when she moved away. Meme has a sheepdog, and the dog and his owner are as clumsy
and strange as the house they live in, which was built by Cathy’s father and has slanted,
crooked floors and stairs. In the backyard is the tall thick tree that the neighborhood kids
used for the “First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest,” which Meme won--breaking both his
arms.

Vignette 10: Louie, his Cousin and his other Cousin

Louie is a Puerto Rican boy who is friends with Esperanza’s brother and lives with his
family in the basement of Meme’s house. He has a girl cousin named “Marin or Maris or
something like that”; she is older and wears dark nylons and makeup. Louie’s other cousin
showed up one day with a big new yellow Cadillac and told everybody to get in. They rode
up and down the block until they heard sirens, and then Louie’s cousin told everyone to
get out. He drove away quickly but smashed into a lamppost, and the police put handcuffs
on him and took him away.

41
Vignette 11: Marin
Marin is saving money to see her secret boyfriend, who is in Puerto Rico. She also wants to
get a job downtown, though, so that she can wear expensive clothes and meet a rich man
who will want to marry her. She sits on her front steps with Esperanza. They talk a little,
but mostly they wait for boys to go by, so they can see and be seen.

Vignette 12: Those Who Don’t

Esperanza is disdainful of people who come into her neighborhood by mistake and are
afraid, thinking they will be robbed or killed. However, she admits that when she and her
friends go to other neighborhoods, they are afraid themselves. “Yeah,” she says. “That is
how it goes and goes.”

Vignette 13: There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many

Children She Didn’t Know What to Do
Rosa Vargas’s husband left her, and she has too many kids, all of them disobedient. The
children get into trouble so often that people give up trying to take care of them, and don’t
react when they injure themselves--even when one of them “learn[s] to fly” and falls from
high above to the ground.

Vignette 14: Alicia Who Sees Mice

Alicia is Esperanza’s friend. Her mother died and she has had to take her place as her
father’s servant, cooking and cleaning all the time. But he is smart and ambitious, taking
two trains and a bus to study at a University. She sees mice all the time, even though her
father tells her they aren’t there. She is afraid of the mice--and her father.

Vignette 15: Darius and the Clouds

Esperanza mourns the lack of beauty around her, saying, “You can never have too much
sky.” She says Darius, who usually says foolish things or nothing at all, said something
wise: he pointed up to the sky and said that one of the pillowy clouds was God. When a
younger child questioned him, he just repeated himself.

Vignette 16: And Some More

Lucy, Rachel, Nenny and Esperanza talk about names. Esperanza tells them that Eskimos
have thirty different names for snow. Rachel counters with a story about her cousin who
has many names, in English and Spanish. They talk about what each cloud looks like,
describing one like “your face when you wake up after falling asleep with all your clothes
on.” Rachel and Lucy start teasing Esperanza about her puffy face, and the girls begin
insulting each other, half-seriously.

Vignette 17: The Family of Little Feet

This chapter describes the feet of different members of a family: a grandfather’s feet, fat
and doughy like tamales, a mother’s feet, “plump and polite,” etc. One day, someone gives
Esperanza and her friends a box of women’s shoes. The girls try them all on excitedly,
admiring their legs, feeling grown up and a little dangerous. They run around the
neighborhood showing off, and a “bum man” tells Rachel he’ll give her a dollar if she kisses
him. She seems to consider it, which scares the other girls, who are worn out by trying to
be adults. Lucy hides the shoes in her house, and when her mother finds them and throws
them away, “no one complains.”

42
Vignette 18: A Rice Sandwich
Esperanza wants to eat lunch in the “canteen,” where kids eat if their homes are too far
from school for them to eat at home. She asks her mother to write her a note and make her
a sandwich. At first Mrs. Cordero refuses, but finally she gives in, and makes Esperanza a
rice sandwich. But when she gets in line in the lunchroom, a nun tells her she must get
permission from the Sister Superior. Esperanza goes to her office, and the Sister Superior
tells her her house isn’t far enough away for her to stay for lunch. She asks her which
house is hers, pointing out the window, asking, “That one?” Esperanza nods, even though
it’s the wrong house, and even uglier than her own. She starts to cry, and the nun lets her
stay at school just for that day. She goes to the canteen, which is “nothing special,” and eats
her lunch, crying, while the other children stare at her.

Vignette 19: Chanclas

Esperanza’s mother comes home with boxes of clothes to wear to a party celebrating her
cousin’s baptism, which is held at a nearby church basement. Her mother has forgotten to
buy Esperanza shoes to match her dress, so when she gets to the party she sits self-
consciously, trying to hide her old shoes and refusing to dance, even when a cousin “by
first communion or something” asks her. Then her uncle tells her how beautiful she is and
drags her onto the dance floor. He teaches her some steps and then brings her to the
middle of the room, where they dance together, everyone watching, and Esperanza is
especially conscious of her cousin who had asked her to dance, and how proud her mother
is to be her mother.

Vignette 20: Hips

Rachel, Lucy, Nenny and Esperanza jump rope, improvising about what it means to have
hips: what they can be used for, where they can take you, etc. Esperanza, who has been
talking to Alicia the university student, explains that hips make room in women’s bodies
for babies. Rachel suddenly begins to rhyme as she jumps, and the other girls follow suit,
singing nonsense, half-rhyming songs about hips. When it’s Nenny’s turn, she jumps in and
starts singing a standard jump rope song, not listening when Esperanza tries to explain the
game to her.

Vignette 21: The First Job

Esperanza gets a job to help pay for her Catholic high school, because her father says only
bad children go to public school. She plans to get a job similar to those her friends have, at
a dime store or hot dog stand, but one day her Aunt Lala tells her she’s found her a job at
Peter Pan Photo Finishers. She simply has to match negatives with their photos, but she
feels nervous being around so many adults. Later in the day an old man comes in and
begins his shift, telling her he will be her friend, and she doesn’t feel so uncomfortable
anymore. But then he tells her it’s his birthday and asks her for a birthday kiss. When she
leans down toward his cheek, he grabs her face, kisses her on the mouth, and won’t let her
go.

Vignette 22: Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark

Esperanza’s father comes into her room early one morning and tells her that his father is
dead. It is her responsibility, as the oldest child, to tell her siblings and explain that they
must be quiet today. Her father collapses and cries, and she wonders what she would do if
he died, thinking about how hard he works for his family, and holds him for a long time.

43
Vignette 23: Born Bad
Esperanza feels terrible. She and her friends, as a game, impersonated her invalid aunt--
mimicking her shriveled limbs, the way her blindness had changed the expression on her
face--the day she finally died. Esperanza remembers going to her aunt’s house and reading
to her, sharing her love of literature, and reading her aunt her poems. She describes her
aunt’s house, full of the smell of sickness and unwashed dishes, and her aunt, lying in her
bed “a little oyster, a little piece of meat on an open shell for us to look at.” Esperanza
wonders how exactly her aunt got so sick, wondering whether it was because of something
she did--falling off a step stool, for example--or whether she was just randomly picked.

Vignette 24: Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water

Esperanza visits Elenita, a “witch woman” who lives in her neighborhood, to get her
fortune told. Elenita’s house is cluttered, with children and dirty dishes everywhere, and
lots of prayer candles. Esperanza has been there before, and knows what to do. She puts a
glass of water on the table and Elenita asks her what she sees in it, whether she feels the
cold of spiritual presence. She doesn’t see or feel anything, but lies and says she does. She
is there to find out whether there is a house in her future. Elenita tells her she sees a home
in the heart, and Esperanza is disappointed. She wants a new, nice, real house. “A new
house, a house made of heart,” Elenita tells her, but Esperanza doesn’t get it. She gives
Elenita five dollars and leaves.

Vignette 25: Geraldo No Last Name

Marin meets a young man at one of the many dances she goes to. His name is Geraldo, and
he gets hit by a car that night. Marin is questioned over and over, but all she can say is that
his name is Geraldo and he works in a restaurant. He has no other identification. She feels
bad and goes with him to the hospital, and disembodied voices--it’s unclear who they
belong to--make comments like, “What does it matter?” and “What difference does it
make?”

Vignette 26: Edna’s Ruthie

Esperanza describes Ruthie. She is the adult daughter of Edna, who owns a nearby
building and is always evicting people. Ruthie, unlike Edna, “likes to play.” She wears
mismatched socks and laughs to herself, whistles expertly, and loves candy. But she feels
uncomfortable in stores, and is very dependent on her mother. She says that she is
married and that her husband will come that weekend to take her home, but he never
comes, and Esperanza doesn’t understand why Ruthie lives on Mango Street if she doesn’t
have to. She loves books, and has her own sense of poetry. When Esperanza memorizes
and recites “The Walrus and the Carpenter” just for her, Ruthie says nothing for some
time, then finally tells her, “You have the most beautiful teeth I have ever seen.”

Vignette 27: The Earl of Tennessee

Earl lives in Esperanza’s neighborhood. He speaks with a Southern accent and wears a felt
hat all the time. He works nights, and complains during the day when the children play too
loudly. Everyone thinks he has a wife, but he has been seen taking several different women
into his house at night, none of whom stay very long.

Vignette 28: Sire

Sire is an older boy who stares at Esperanza when she walks past his house. She tries to
stare back, to show him she isn’t afraid, but she is in over her head and frightens herself
and shocks him by staring too long. Sire’s girlfriend, Lois, arrives. Esperanza is fascinated,

44
because Lois is petite and pretty and she and Sire stay out late together. Esperanza longs
for a boyfriend, but Mrs. Cordero tells her daughter that people like Lois and Sire should
be avoided.

Vignette 29: Four Skinny Trees

Esperanza feels close to the four trees the city planted outside her window. Like her, she
says, they are skinny and don’t belong there, but also like her, they are strong and willful.
They grow through concrete. “Their strength is secret.”

Vignette 30: No Speak English

Mamacita is a very large woman whose husband has brought her and their child from
Mexico to Mango Street. She never leaves her apartment, and refuses to learn English,
pining every day for Mexico, to the disgust of her husband. Then her baby boy sings a
Pepsi commercial he heard on TV, and Mamacita becomes hysterical, crying, “No speak
English!”

Vignette 31: Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on

Tuesdays
Rafaela is a young woman married to a man who keeps her locked up when he goes out,
because he is afraid she is so beautiful she’ll run away from him. She dreams of dancing,
and asks Esperanza and her friends to buy her a coconut or papaya juice, which she
retrieves with a rope she throws down from her window.

Vignette 32: Sally

Sally is a beautiful girl who wears perfect, Egyptian-looking makeup and has no girl
friends, since she got into a fight with her best friend Cheryl. Now she has no one to giggle
over boys with. Esperanza does not want to believe what the boys say about her, or that,
like her mother says, for Sally to act so grown up is dangerous. Esperanza empathizes with
Sally, who has to remove her makeup and change her clothes before she gets home, and
can never go out. She wonders whether Sally would like to leave home forever. She says
she understands that all Sally wants is “to love and to love and to love,” to “dream and
dream,” and she doesn’t blame her.

Vignette 33: Minerva Writes Poems

Minerva is only a little bit older than Esperanza, but she has two children, who she is
raising alone since her husband left, just like Minerva’s father left her mother. Minerva and
her husband fight and make up very frequently, and she comes to Esperanza’s house black
and blue, and asks her what to do. She and Esperanza often read their poems to each
other, and are friends, but Esperanza doesn’t know what to tell her.

Vignette 34: Bums in the Attic

Esperanza has stopped going along on weekends when her family drives by the big houses
her father works at, staring admiringly. She feels ashamed of their obvious envy, though
she does not let her family know this. She is sick of being jealous, and of listening to her
mother say, “When we win the lottery...” She is determined to get her own house, and be
welcoming to less fortunate people---unlike the people her father works for. She says she
will happily invite bums to live in her attic.

45
Vignette 35: Beautiful and Cruel
Esperanza’s mother reassures her that one day her clothes will stay clean and she will look
neater. Esperanza is not so sure she wants this, however. She does not want to be docile
and pretty; she wants to be “beautiful and cruel,” using her sexuality to control men, like a
woman from the movies.

Vignette 36: A Smart Cookie

Esperanza’s mother tells her to stay in school, so that she can be independent and realize
her ambitions. Her mother tells her that she herself left school young because she was
ashamed of her shabby clothing. Disgusted with herself now, she urges Esperanza not to
make the same mistake.

Vignette 37: What Sally Said

Sally confides in Esperanza that her father beats her because she talks to boys. In public,
she says that she simply falls down a lot. Sally decides to live with Esperanza for a while,
but her father comes to the house and pleads for forgiveness, and she goes home with him.
Soon after, he beats her again, even more severely.

Vignette 38: The Monkey Garden

The garden is where the children play when they want to get away from the adults. One
day Sally is standing at the edge of the garden, talking to boys, and though Esperanza
would rather run around with the younger kids, she approaches Sally. The boys have
taken Sally’s keys and tell her she must kiss them in order to get them back. She laughingly
agrees. This makes Esperanza uncomfortable, and she tries to stop it, but the others just
make fun of her and make her feel foolish. She runs away, crying and wanting to disappear.
She tells us it is the last time she goes to the garden.

Vignette 39: Red Clowns

Sally takes Esperanza to a carnival, then leaves with a boy, telling Esperanza to wait for
her. While waiting, Esperanza is molested by a number of boys, one of whom says to her, “I
love you, Spanish girl.” Sally never comes back.

Vignette 40: Linoleum Roses

Sally gets married at the eighth grade. Her husband will not let her go out or see her
friends very often, and he has a temper, but she says she is in love and enjoys looking at all
the things they own in their little apartment.

Vignette 41: The Three Sisters

Aunts of Lucy and Rachel, the sisters are mysterious, almost witchlike. They inform
Esperanza that she is special and tell her to make a wish. She does, and then one of the
sisters tells her privately to make sure that when she leaves, she will come back for those
who cannot go as easily as she. Esperanza is shocked that the woman can seemingly read
her mind.

Vignette 42: Alicia and I Talking on Edna’s Steps

Esperanza tells Alicia she will not return to Mango Street until someone fixes it up, even
though Alicia says that Mango is part of Esperanza whether she likes it or not. The girls

46
consider who might improve the street, and laugh at the idea of the mayor taking an
interest in the project.

Vignette 43: A House of My Own

Esperanza wants a house that belongs only to her, where she does not have to pick up
after someone else, where everything is organized the way she likes it, and where she can
write.

Vignette 44: Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes

Esperanza likes to tell stories, and realizes that writing about Mango Street can sometimes
make the pain of it go away. She vows to do as the Sister told her, and return for those she
left behind. She understands that Mango Street belongs, and does not belong, to her--that
it is part of her life, but she need not be controlled by it.

47
 SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Our Good Day
1. Two girls approach Esperanza and try to convince her to chip in five dollars for a
bicycle. Cathy tells Esperanza not to talk to them because they "smell like a broom,"
but Esperanza likes them (6.6). Cathy is clearly a snob.
2. Esperanza runs inside and gets five dollars from her and her sister's savings, even
though she knows it will mean the end of her brief friendship with Cathy.
3. The two girls introduce themselves as Lucy and Rachel, from Texas.
4. Rachel decides that the girls will take turns owning the bicycle, but today everyone
wants to ride it together, since it's new.
5. Lucy pedals, Esperanza sits behind her, and Rachel sits on the handlebars. The girls
ride down the street and around the block, laughing

Gil's Furniture Bought and Sold

1. The narrator describes a junk store in the neighborhood, where her family once
bought a used refrigerator and Carlos sold a box of magazines.
2. The store is dark and crowded with junk that Nenny and Esperanza go to look at.
3. The owner is an old, black man. Nenny asks him lots of questions, but Esperanza never
talks much.
4. One day Nenny asks the owner about a music box – Esperanza thinks it's going to be a
pretty music box with a ballerina inside, but it's just an ordinary looking wooden box
with a brass record in it.
5. The old man starts up the music box, and it makes a beautiful sound.
6. Even though Esperanza is impressed, she turns away and pretends she doesn't care
about the box because she doesn't want to look stupid in front of her sister.
7. Nenny asks the old man how much the music box costs, but he tells her it's not for sale.

Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin

1. Meme's family rents out their basement to a Puerto Rican family. Louie is the oldest
child.
2. Louie has an older cousin named Marin who lives with the family. She wears a lot of
makeup and black nylons. She's in charge of babysitting for Louie's little sisters, which
means she's stuck in the house.
3. One day Louie's other cousin drives up to Louie's house in a big, shiny, yellow Cadillac.
Everybody comes out of the house to ask questions – where'd he get the new car? Can
they have a ride?
4. Louie's cousin tells everyone to pile into the back, and drives them around the block
six times. The seventh time around, they hear police sirens.
5. Louie's cousin orders everyone out of the Cadillac. He takes off speeding down the
alley, with a police car in pursuit.
6. Louie's cousin crashes into a lamppost, and the police cuff him and haul him off to jail.
The narrator says that she and Louie's family all "[wave] as they [drive] away" (10.8).

48
The Family of Little Feet
1. The mother of the little foot family gives Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza a paper bag with
three pairs of high-heeled shoes.
2. The girls have fun playing dress up and trading the three pairs of shoes amongst
themselves. Esperanza says it's "scary" to see her own long, girlish leg with a foot that
no longer looks like her own (17.7).
3. Lucy has the idea to take their little-girl's socks off. The girls admire their long, skinny
legs.
4. The three girls walk down to the corner, where they get some attention from the
neighborhood men.
5. Mr. Benny, who owns the corner grocery, tells the girls to take off the shoes, because
they're dangerous. The girls run away.
6. A boy on a bike confuses the girls by hollering at them.
7. A bum tells Rachel she's pretty and offers her a dollar if she will kiss him. Lucy grabs
Rachel's hand and the girls run away.
8. The girls run up Mango Street the back way, and hide the shoes under a basket on the
back porch. They're "tired of being beautiful" (17.29).
9. One Tuesday Lucy's mother throws the shoes away. The girls don't complain.

A Rice Sandwich
1. Esperanza is jealous of the kids who get to stay at school to eat lunch in the canteen.
She tries to convince her mother to let her stay instead of coming home for lunch.
2. Nenny prefers to walk home for lunch with her best friend Gloria. Carlos and Kiki are
patrol boys, and don't want to stay at school for lunch, either.
3. Esperanza's mother relents and writes a note giving her permission to stay at school
for lunch.
4. The nun monitoring the canteen sends Esperanza to see the Sister Superior.
5. Sister Superior says she knows Esperanza doesn't live far away – in fact, she bets she
can see Esperanza's house from the school. She drags her to the window and points to
a raggedy-looking row of decrepit apartments.
6. Esperanza lies and says that she lives in one of those ugly apartments, and starts to
cry.
7. Sister Superior feels sorry for Esperanza and lets her stay for the day.
8. In the canteen, the other boys and girls watch as Esperanza cries over her rice
sandwich.

Chanclas
1. Esperanza's mom comes home with a new party dress, socks, and slip for Esperanza.
They're going to a baptism party for Esperanza's little cousin.
2. Esperanza's mom forgot to buy party shoes, so Esperanza has to wear her old brown
saddle shoes.
3. A boy who is Esperanza's cousin by first communion asks her to dance. But she's too
ashamed of her clunky shoes, and sits with her feet tucked under her chair.
4. Uncle Nacho forces Esperanza to get up and dance – as they twirl around the dance
floor, Esperanza forgets about her ugly shoes. Everyone admires their fancy moves,
and Esperanza is highly aware of her first-communion cousin watching her.

49
The First Job
1. Esperanza has been planning to get a job to help pay her tuition at Catholic high
school, but she's caught off guard the day Aunt Lala comes over and tells her to show
up for work at the Peter Pan Photo Finishers.
2. Esperanza puts on a dress that makes her look older, borrows money for bus fare, and
shows up at the photo lab. She lies about her age to the boss, and starts the same day.
3. Esperanza finds the job easy, but she is nervous around the other employees.
4. Another employee, an "older Oriental man," offers to be Esperanza's friend and tells
her she can sit with him at lunch next time (21.7). He has nice eyes, and Esperanza
feels less nervous.
5. The older man tells Esperanza it's his birthday, and asks her for a birthday kiss. As she
leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek, he grabs her face with both hands and kisses
her hard on the mouth.

Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark

1. Esperanza's Papa sits on her bed and tells her that her grandfather is dead. He cries –
Esperanza has never seen her dad cry before.
2. Esperanza knows that Papa will have to fly to Mexico, and imagines what the
traditionally Mexican funeral will be like.
3. It's Esperanza's responsibility to tell her younger brothers and sister the news,
because she's the oldest.
4. This is different from the family's usual routine – usually Papa wakes up before dawn
and leaves the house before his children are awake. Today Esperanza holds her Papa
in her arms and comforts him.

Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water

1. Esperanza is in the kitchen of Elenita, "witch woman" (24.1). Elenita's house is full of
little kids, holy candles, and voodoo posters.
2. Elenita has Esperanza pour a glass of water and asks if she sees anyone's face in the
glass – Esperanza sees nothing but bubbles.
3. Elenita begins to tell Esperanza's fortune with a stack of strange cards with pictures on
them. She also examines Esperanza's palm.
4. Esperanza asks Elenita what she really wants to know – does the fortune teller see
anything about a house? Elenita says that she sees "a home in the heart" (24.17).
5. Esperanza is disappointed. She doesn't understand what "a home in the heart" means.
6. She pays Elenita five dollars and goes home.

Geraldo No Last Name

1. Marin meets a young, good-looking man named Geraldo at one of the dances she goes
to frequently. She's the last person to see him alive.
2. Geraldo dies in a hit-and-run, and he doesn't have any I.D. on him.
3. Marin tells the people at the hospital and the police what she knows – that his name is
Geraldo, and he worked in a restaurant. She spends hours in the emergency room
trying to help, even though she barely knows the guy.
4. Marin seems to be the only person to care about Geraldo's death. The surgeon doesn't
even bother to come to the emergency room to save his life.

50
5. No one knows about the tiny kitchenettes where Geraldo worked so he could send
money home to his family. His family, the narrator speculates, will wonder what
happened to him.

No Speak English
1. The man across the street from Esperanza's house works day and night to save the
money to bring his wife and child to the United States.
2. One day Mamacita and the baby boy arrive in a taxi. She's huge and beautiful, dressed
all in pink.
3. Mamacita never comes down from the third floor apartment. Esperanza thinks it's
because she doesn't speak much English.
4. Mamacita only knows three phrases in English: "He not here," "No speak English," and
"Holy smokes."
5. When Esperanza's father first came to the United States, he ate "hamandeggs" for
three moths, because it was the only thing he knew how to say (30.7).
6. Mamacita stays at home all day, listening to Spanish radio and singing songs about her
country. She's homesick for her pink house.
7. Sometimes her husband grows impatient with Mamacita, and yells at her to speak
English, because the United States is her home now.
8. The baby boy begins to learn English from the commercials he sees on T.V. Mamacita
tells him, over and over again, "No speak English" (30.17).

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

1. Rafaela's husband locks his wife indoors when he goes out. He's afraid she'll run away,
because she's so beautiful.
2. On Tuesdays, Rafaela's husband stays out late, and Rafaela leans out the window to
listen to the music coming from the neighborhood bar.
3. Rafaela asks Esperanza and her friends to go to the store to buy her some coconut or
papaya juice. She throws them a dollar from the balcony, and they go get it for her.

A Smart Cookie
1. Esperanza's mom has all sorts of skills: opera-singing skills, cooking skills, language
skills. But there's a lot that she never learned how to do, or never got to experience.
2. Today Esperanza's mama is singing along to Madame Butterfly while she cooks
oatmeal. In the opera, Madame Butterfly kills herself when she's abandoned by her
husband. Esperanza's mom says, "That Madame Butterfly was a fool" (36.3).
3. Esperanza's mom confesses that she quit school when she was young because she
didn't have nice clothes. She berates herself for having let shame in her appearance
stop her from getting an education.

What Sally Said

1. Sally comes to school covered in bruises a lot, offering the excuse that she fell. But no
one believes her.
2. Sally confesses to Esperanza that her father beats her. She tries to make it seem like no
big deal, claiming he never hits her hard.

51
3. Sally doesn't tell anyone about the times when her father beats her badly, or hits her
like she's an animal, just because she's a girl. He thinks that, because she's female,
she's going to shame the family by running away with a man.
4. Sally comes to stay with Esperanza's family one day, to get away from her dad. But that
night her father comes to the door with tears in his eyes and begs Sally to come home.
She goes with him.
5. Everything's OK for a little while, until Sally's dad catches her talking to a boy. Then he
beats her so badly she can't come to school for a while.

The Monkey Garden

1. Esperanza's neighbors move to Kentucky, and take their pet monkey with them. They
had had a garden, and now that they're gone, the neighborhood kids take it over.
2. Little by little, the garden becomes an overgrown graveyard for old, broken-down cars.
3. The children play in the garden, and begin to think of it as a magical place where they
can escape the prying eyes of adults. They pretend that the garden existed before
anything else, and that things can get lost in the garden for a thousand years.
4. This is where Esperanza tells us that she tried to die in the garden once, and that it
would be the last day she would go there. That line serves as an introduction to the
story she's about to tell us. Here goes:
5. Esperanza and Sally go to the garden. Esperanza wants to run and play, even though
someone accuses her of being too old to play games. Sally stays behind and talks to
Tito and his friends.
6. Esperanza observes as Sally flirts with the boys, pretending to be angry when they
steal her keys and force her to kiss them in order to get them back.
7. Sally goes behind the old blue pickup with the boys to get her keys back. Esperanza
feels really angry about the situation, and runs up three flights of stairs to tell Tito's
mom about what's going on.
8. Tito's mom doesn't see what the big deal is. After all, boys (and girls) will be boys (and
girls).
9. Esperanza runs back to the garden and prepares to rescue Sally. She takes a few sticks
and a brick and bursts in on the scene.
10. Everyone looks at Esperanza like she's crazy, and Sally tells her to go home.
11. Esperanza runs away and hides under a tree at the other end of the garden. She lies
down and cries, and tries to wish herself to death.
12. When she finally stands up, the garden doesn't seem to belong to her anymore.

Red Clowns
1. Esperanza begins this chapter by accusing Sally of having lied to her about sex. Sex
didn't turn out to be anything like the way Sally told it, or like it is in the movies.
2. Esperanza was waiting for Sally by the tilt-a-whirl at the carnival, but Sally never
showed up. She had gone somewhere with a "big boy," and never came back.
3. A group of boys starts to bother Esperanza. One grabs her by the arm, says, "I love you,
Spanish girl," and kisses her (39.3).
4. Some more stuff happens, but Esperanza doesn't want to remember it. We suspect that
one of the boys in the group rapes her.
5. Again, Esperanza accuses Sally, and all the books and magazines that talk about sex, of
having lied to her. Her experience with sex involved dirty fingernails against her skin
and a stranger's sour smell.

52
The Three Sisters
1. Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies, and the family holds a wake in their house.
2. In attendance are three aunts – sisters – who call themselves the comadres and seem
to possess an intuitive gift.
3. The three sisters comfort Esperanza, who feels weird about the whole death thing.
They study Esperanza's hands and tell her to make a wish.
4. The sisters seem to know Esperanza's wish, and tell her that it will come true. One of
the aunts tells her that she "will always be Mango Street," and that when she leaves,
she must always promise to come back for those who cannot leave as easily (41.32).
5. Esperanza goes outside to join Lucy and Rachel, and says goodbye to the three sisters.
She never sees them again.

Themes:
Identity, dreams, hope, plans, society and class, innocence, gender, women and feminity,
foreigness, home, family, friendship, male chauvinism

53
 VOCABULARY
Quotes
MAMACITA
• “Holy smokes”
• “He not here”
• “No speak English”
ESPERANZA
• “I am the one who leaves the table like a man”
• “The monkey garden had been there before anything”
SALLY
• “He Forgot he was her father between the buckle and the bell”
THE THREE SISTERS
• “When you leave, you must always remember to come back for the other. You can’t
forget who you are”
ESPERANZA´S MOTHER
• “I could have been somebody”
Comparisons
• “They bloom like roses”(Hips)
• “Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas”
• “Pointy elbows like mine”
The House on Mango Street
• Small and red
• Tight steps
• Brick crumbling
• Front door swollen
• No front yard
• Small garage without a car
Esperanza’s Dream House
• A house on her own
• Not a flat
• Not a daddy’s house
• With a porch and pillow
• Pretty purple petunias
• Boos and stories
• Shoes
• Nobody’s garbage
• Clean as paper before the poem
Places
• Peter Pan Photo Finishers
• Canteen: Cantina/buffet
• Junk Store: Tienda de chatarra
The Tree Sisters
• The cat-eye
• The old-blue veined
Sally
• Eyes like Egypt
• Nylons
• Shiny black hair like raven
• Pull her skirt straight down
• Rub the blue paint off her eyelids

54
 Pelos
• Papa: like broom
• Esperanza: lazy
• Carlos: thick and straight
• Nenny: slippery
• Mama: like little rosettes, curly and pretty. Smell of bread before you bake it.
The Family of Little Feet
• Grandma: lovely as pink pearls
• Baby: pale like salamanders
• Mother: plum and polite
The Monkey Garden
• Sunflowers: girasoles
• Dizzy bees: abejas aturdidoras
• Sweet peach trees: dulces durazneros
• Thorn roses: rosas espinosas
• Dead cars: autos abandonados
Adjectives
• Raggedy: harapiento
• Clumsy: torpe
• Skinny: flaco
• Stuck-up: presumido/creído/engreído
Collocations and Phrasals
• Ride bicycle
• Drive men crazy
• Bubble/Break into tears
• Keep keeping
Otros
• Fortune teller: vidente
• Jukebox repairman: reparador de rocolas
• Musix box: cajita musical
• Lunchbox: almuerzo/merienda
• Cop car’s siren: sirena de policía
• Cadillac: típico auto americano
• Hamandeggs: jamón y huevos
• Smart cookie: listo/a, inteligente
• Marshmallow salesman: vendedor de malvaviscos

55
Characters Comparison

56
57
58
 DESCRIPTIONS
Descriptions are:

 Simple descriptions of objects, people or places

 Comparison of characters, objects or places
 Contrast of characters, object or places

When writing a description, writers use words to describe what they see, smell, hear,
taste and feel. The description is successful if it is so vivid that it recreates these
sensations for the reader. One way to recreate these sensations with words is to use
similes and metaphors to compare the thing or person being described with something
familiar to the reader. The expression the+noun phrase is called a simile and is a
valuable tool for descriptive writing. This expression makes a comparison between
things that do not otherwise seem similar.

• Example: Sally is the girl with eyes like Egypt.

• The tree wears the snow like a white fur coat.

Metaphor is a comparison that uses only the linking verb “to be”, but does not use the
word like or as

• Sally is Cleopatra. Her eyes are dark and deep and exotic.
• The snow on the tree is a white fur coat that protects it from the winter.

A descriptions is the kind of writing that tries to put up a picture in the reader’s mind. A
description tell the reader how something looks or sound or tastes or smells or feels;
what somebody look like or is, how somebody behaves. METHODS for DESCRIBING:
defining, classifying, providing a synonym. There are four main patterns for descriptive
paragraphs:

1. From general to specific

2. From specific to general
3. Spatial order
4. Dominant impression

What should we concentrate on?

How should we organize the information?

In DESCRIPTIONS, the order of arrangement of details depends on the writer’s subject and
purpose. Very often the writer’s choice will be from left to right, from top to bottom, or
from bottom to top.

59
 TOPIC SENTENCE

The house on Mango Street was quite different from the house Esperanza longed live in.

SUPPORTING IDEAS

 Size and colour

 Bedrooms
 Batroooms
 Front yard/Back yard
 General state/Condition

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

The house on Mango Street was quite different from the house Esperanza longed to live in.
It was small and red with small steps in front and really tiny windows. It was in a real state of
repair as some bricks were crumbling here and there. There was no front yard and there was only
a small yard at the back. Everybody had to share a bedroom, and there was only one bathroom for
six people in the house. Everything was so much unlike the house they had all imagined. That
house would be a white big house with trees around it and a big yard with plenty of grass. In
contrast with the house on Mango Street, it would have big stairs inside, and at least three
washrooms. Their father insisted that the house would only be temporary, but it was definitely
not the wonderful house Esperanza thought they would get.

Some words often used as transitions in descriptive paragraphs:

• Additionally, again, along with, also, and

• Another, as well as, besides, further (more), in addition
• Just as, likewise, moreover, similarly, too
• On your left, against the, next to, near, nearby
• To your right, behind, below, over, under

⇒ In describing people, we often describe their physical appearance, they attitude

(personality) and their habitude (what they do).

HENRY SUGAR
Henry Sugar was a middle-aged man who was actually not attractive as he thought he was. He
would have his hair trimmed and his nails polished. He wore sport expensive tailor made
clothes. He enjoyed gambling so much so that his only goal in life was to make more money even
though he had an enormous fortune. He would only relate to people as rich as him. He was
selfish and crazy about money that he never got married because he didn’t want to share his
fortune.

60
 DESCRIPTION SAMPLES

SALLY
Sally is the girl with eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke. The boys at school think she
is beautiful because her hair is shiny back like rave feathers and when laughs, she flicks her hair
back like a satin shawl over her shoulders and laughs.
Her father says to be this beautiful is trouble. They are very strict with religion. They are not
supposed to dance. He remembers his sister and is sad. Then she can’t go out.

HAIRS
Everybody in our family has different hair. My Papa’s hair is like a broom, all up in the air. And
me, my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands. Carlos’ hair is thick and straight. He
doesn’t need to comb it. Nenny’s hair is slippery--slides out of your hand. And Kiki, who is the
youngest, has hair like fur. But my mother’s hair, my mother’s hair, like little rosettes, like little
candy circles all curly and pretty because she pinned it in pincurls all day, sweet to put your
nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe, is the warm smell of bread
before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm
with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside falling, and Papa snoring. The snoring, the
rain, and Mama’s hair that smells like bread.

GREGORY
Gregory is my beautiful gray Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, performing a dance of
disdain as he slowly lifts and lowers each paw with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. His pride,
however, does not extend to his appearance, for he spends most of his time indoors watching
television and growing fat. He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9
Lives. His familiarity with cat food commercials has led him to reject generic brands of cat food
in favor of only the most expensive brands. Gregory is as finicky about visitors as he is about
what he eats, befriending some and repelling others. He may snuggle up against your ankle,
begging to be petted, or he may imitate a skunk and stain your favorite trousers. Gregory does
not do this to establish his territory, as many cat experts think, but to humiliate me because he is
jealous of my friends. After my guests have fled, I look at the old fleabag snoozing and smiling to
himself in front of the television set, and I have to forgive him for his obnoxious, but endearing,
habits.

GREGORY
Florentino is a real delight. An intimate, artistic bistro tucked into a converted house by Plaza
Italia provides the perfect nook to try some of the Mendocino chef Sebastian Flores' salubrious
and scrumptious dishes. We recommend the juicy watermelon, watercress, ginger, mint and
corn salad as a saintly starter; or the indulgent mushrooms with cheese (proper parmesan),
thyme and garlic croutons. There is a nice variety of mains- our favourite was the delicate white
fish of the day with rocket, courgette and a hint of mint, citrus and pepperelegant and succulent.
Desserts are just as irresistible as is the extensive Argentina wine list. Florentino has made a
very promising start and its beautiful simplicity and good taste is a real charm.

61
 ANECDOTES
The point of an anecdote is to share an emotional reaction. To this end, anecdotes present
a sequence of events that is out of the ordinary, and conclude with the protagonists’
reaction to the events. They may be a story of personal experience, a text type within a
novel or short story and very often a humorous story (real or fictional). Story genres in
general are often included and expanded in literature and they are also part of the
everyday oral communication among members of a community (family, neighborhood,
school, etc.)

The purpose of anecdotes is to show the reaction of a participant/narrator at a disruptive

event, called disruption. The disruption might be caused by a participant/narrator or it
might be an event that is catastrophic, surprising, annoying, funny, etc. The reaction is the
attitude or behavior of a participant/narrator at the disruption. Sometimes, the narrator
interprets his own reaction or the reaction of another participant, i.e. the narrator explains
why he believes that he himself or another participant reacted in a certain way (Salmaso
2014).

• Presentation of the place and time of the story and the participants in it.
• Where is this done in the text?
• How does the narrator comment on the context (place and time)?
• What tenses / verb forms are used?
• Which is the event that alters the normal course of events?

Stages or constituents in Anecdotes

(Abstract) ^ (Orientation) ^ (Record of events) ^ Disruption ^ Reaction ^

(Interpretation of the reaction) ^ (Reorientation) ^ (Coda)

•In the abstract the speaker anticipates the main event of the whole anecdote, which is
later on developed in the record of events and in the disruption.
• In the orientation the speaker provides the necessary information to “orient” the
listener as to who, where and when. He/she sets the scene. In other words, the speaker
introduces the participants, the place and the time of the events.
• In the record of events the speaker presents a series of non-disruptive events that
unfold along a specific stretch of time (a day, last weekend, last holidays, a special day in
my childhood, a trip, etc.) and that are temporally and logically related.
• In the disruption the speaker presents a disruptive event (tragic or humorous) which
changes the normal course of events.
•In the reaction the speaker presents his/her own attitude or behavior towards the
disruption or the attitude or behavior of another participant towards the disruption.
• In the interpretation of the reaction the speaker expresses his/her opinion of his/her
reaction or of the reaction of another participant. The interpretation the speaker makes of
the reaction might be positive or negative.
• In the reorientation there is often a restatement of dates, place, effect of the events with
no explicit judgment or manifestation of attitude. The shift from one stage to the next is
often signaled with circumstances of time, place or other salient circumstance. In this
stage, the recount is recontextualized to the time of speech.
• In the coda the speaker presents an event or idea that wraps up or finishes off the
recount.

62
 ANECDOTES SAMPLES

FISHING WITH TITUS

One of the most memorable moments in my life came one night when I was fishing with Titus.
He was about 8 or 9 years old. We went to a place on the edge of Seneca Lake to fish for a few
minutes after dinner one night. The sun was just going down. We did not have any luck catching
fish, so we were about to pack up our gear and head home. But at that moment I saw a slight
movement on the pier where we were standing. The pier – actually it was more of a jetty – was
made entirely out of rocks, so there were cracks between the rocks. Out of one of the cracks
appeared a little black nose. Then the head appeared. It was a mink – a small, but cute, rat-like
animal. The mink was obviously a baby. It was probably about the size of my hand. It came out
and walked towards Titus and I. Then another appeared from another crack. Then another. And
another. By the end there were probably a dozen minks walking around that jetty. They walked
to us and started to sniff our shoes; then they climbed on top of our shoes. These were wild
animals! But they were so cute. I imagine it was the first time they ever left the nest. After about
10 minutes I realized that if there were a dozen baby minks around, there was probably a
mother mink around too. Knowing that minks have very sharp teeth, I told Titus it was time to
leave. But I would say it was one of the times in my life that I felt most connected to nature.

HENRY SUGAR
(The day he discover the blue book)
I’m going to tell you about a friend’s experience. His name is Henry. One day, he was
wandering around a friend’s house trying to distract himself after being left out of the Canasta
game his friends were playing. Suddenly, he found himself at the house library. As he was not
really interested in reading, he took a little blue book he found sticking out between other two
books. When he opened it, he read it was written by a doctor, Dr. Cartwright to be specific. It
was a true story about a man who could see without using his eyes; such discovery impressed
Henry in such a way that he couldn’t stop reading. He wanted to know everything about these
strange powers! After finishing, he was totally amazed and he was absolutely convinced he
would do the same! He thought that he was able to use these skills and abilities at casinos and
win lots of money just by gambling, and that’s what he did. In fact, he acquired yoga powers
really fast.

MR. LOVEDAY’S LITTLE OUTING

(Angela meeting her father)
After 10 years without seeing my father, I finally met him. My mother took me to the place
where he is staying at the moment; it’s called something like “Home for Mental Defectives”. I was
too nervous about the meeting but it was an afternoon to forget. While my mother drove me
there I started asking her about my father’s state and she told me he was very well-cared by the
doctors. As soon as we got to the institution, we found my father in a separated wing for
“wealthier lunatics”, there he was, writing a letter to the Pope and finding out about some
Mediterranean rivers. All his attention was focused on those issues so I don’t know if he really
realized that I was there. Even I don’t know if he knew that I was I’m his daughter. I tried to talk
to him but nothing interesting happened, he was worried about going on with his issues. After a
while without noticing any particular reaction from him, I told my mother to drive me back
home. I still don’t know why everything was so irrelevant for him. I will go on loving him
because he is my father but if I have the opportunity to visit him again, I’ll think it twice.

63
HENRY SUGAR
(Yoga powers change Henry’s outlook of life)
Yoga powers have changed my life radically! Let me explain to you why. Last Saturday night,
after an absence of over three years, I went to Lord’s House Casino. As soon as I arrived, I wrote
a cheque for one thousand pound and I started my gambling in the roulette. Unconsciously,
while I was there, I began to concentrate on the wheel. After a while, “18” was the only number I
was able to see. As a result, I bet and won. Quietly, I turned to blackjack tables to prove my new
powers and to see if I could read through cards, indeed I could! After playing, I gathered an
enormous amount of money. So, in order not to draw anybody’s attention, I decided to leave and
to walk a few minutes along London streets. Instead of feeling excited and delighted for my
achievement, I was melancholic! As soon as I arrived home I went to bed and I fell heavily asleep.
On Sunday morning, I woke up and saw the pile of bills that was lying on the table. All of a
sudden, I realized I didn’t want it. Those notes produced a wave of revulsion and anger in me so
I decided to get rid of that money. It was then, when I took one note, threw it out of the balcony
and an old man caught it. It made me feel overjoyed!!! More people came, so I took another one
and did the same. Soon after, I was so enthusiastic that I took all the notes and let them fall!!!
Since that moment on, my view of life has been different, I am grateful for yoga powers because
they helped me have a clear goal in life.

THE FAMILY OF LITTLE FEET

I still remember the first time I wore special shoes and how I got them. There was this family of
the little feet. Actually, their arms, their hands and their height were little as well. One day my
friends and I were hanging around their place, when the mother came out with a paper bag full
of shoes: a pair of red shoes, a pair of lemon shoes and a pair of dancing shoes that once had
been white. I suppose they were hers but as her feet were so
small, they fitted us perfectly fine. We were all very excited about wearing them, so we kept on
trading the red for the lemon ones and so on. Rachel was the one that learnt how to walk on the
high heels better, so she taught us by walking down to the corner. We felt great having people
paying attention to us. Unfortunately something ruined our special day. A man across the street
approached Rachel and told her he would give her a dollar if she gave him a kiss. Immediately,
we ran fast away from him. That same day, Lucy hid the shoes
at the back porch of her house. I believe we all got really scared since we realised the shoes were
very
dangerous and might get us in trouble. Now that I’m a grown up, I would love to have those
shoes as a memento. It’s alright all the same because I still have the memories of that day we felt
like Cinderella.

TEACHING IN TAIWAN
Back in 2000, I was teaching in Taiwan. Being one of only about 40 westerners in a small city. I
tended to get treated as something of a novelty. I also had quite long hair at the time (tied back
in a ponytail). Added to this was the fact that my hair is ginger. As a consequence of all of these
things, lots of people reacted quite strangely on seeing me. I was teaching one of my first classes
- children between 7 and 8 years old. I came into the classroom and immediately one of the girls
in the class opened her mouth and started wailing. She was ushered out of the room by one of
the teaching assistants. When I asked the TA what was wrong, she didn't say anything specific,
except that the girl was frightened. Later she told me the real reason - it turns out the child
didn't realize I was human and thought I was some kind of oversized wild animal! To the best of
my knowledge, I didn't teach her again.

64
OUR GOOD DAY
Minerva, I’m going to tell you how I made my first friends in this neighborhood. Not only did I
enjoy a magical day but it also happened something that I would have never expected. One day,
while I was with Cathy outside, we met two little girls. One of them asked me to lend her five
dollars because she wanted to buy a bicycle from a kid named Titus. Cathy felt annoyed when
these girls approached us and asked me not to talk to them because she argued that they
smelled like broom. But I liked them anyway because they wore crooked and old clothes, so I
wanted to help them despite Cathy’s annoyance. Without hesitating, I got into my house; took
the savings and by the time I came back, Cathy had already gone; just as I had imagined. The fact
that Cathy wasn’t there was not a problem because I had made two new friends and got a
bicycle. Afterwards, they introduced themselves as Rachel and Lucy and all of a sudden I knew
the time to say my name had come. At that moment, the only wish I had was to have a different
name, but I remained speechless after not hearing any laugh from them when I told them my
name was Esperanza. After buying the bicycle, we all ride down Mango Street excitingly. Today, I
can hardly think of a moment funnier than this one. We had a great time together and that’s the
reason this magical moment will stay in my mind forever.

GIL’S FURNITURE BOUGHT AND SOLD

Nenny, do you still remember the day when you and I went to Gil’s junk store? That day, among
an enormous quantity of second-had things and some other articles, we found something really
special hidden in the darkness of the corridors. Suddenly, you asked the old black man to tell you
what sort of thing it was and he told you it was a music box. Immediately, I turned around
thinking he meant a pretty box with flowers painted on it and a ballerina inside. To my surprise,
none of that was real. In fact, it was and old wooden box with holes. Suddenly, you decided to
start it up and it sounded not as good as I had imagined but I loved it. I must confess that I
pretended not to show any interest in that music box. Thus, I could hide my stupidity from you.
Thanks God you didn’t realize about it, because you were about to buy it. But all of our illusion
faded out abruptly when the man said it was not on sale and he shut the box lid. Such a sad day it
was! But we can’t deny it was one of the most beautiful moments of our childhood.

A RICE SANDWICH
Minerva, did I tell you about the day I tried to feel myself as special as the school special kids
were? Those kids were the ones who had the privilege to stay after class and have lunch at the
canteen. Even the name “canteen” sounded important to me. I wanted to experience the same as
them! So I insisted my mom on letting me have lunch at the school. The third day, I finally got my
mother’s permission to go and she gave me a rice sandwich and a written note addressed to the
sister superior to let me stay. When I got school, a nun took me upstairs in order to talk to the
sister superior. I gave her the note and she read it but she refused to let me stay because she
claimed she could see my house from the window. She looked through it and she pointed out
some ugly flats not so far from there in which even the raggedy men are ashamed to get into. She
assured I lived there and I just nodded despite the fact my house was not there. Such
embarrassment made me break into tears and that made her feel sorry for what she had said to
me. Finally, she allowed me to stay there and I found myself eating my greasy and cold rice
sandwich which was humid because of my tears. All the boys and girls were staring at me. I wish
I could have disappeared! I never imagined that I would go through such a disgrace.

65
RED CLOWNS
I still remember the day a friend of mine called Sally betrayed our friendship. She was my best
friend but she lied to me and she broke all the illusions I had about the world. I remember that I
was standing by the tilt-a-whirl where she had told me. I was waiting for the Red Clowns but she
never appeared. I went there just because she was my friend. But she faded away with a big boy
and I waited hours for her to come back. I can’t understand why she didn’t listen to me when I
was calling her. A gang of boys had approached me and the worst of all was when one of them
harassed me saying that he loved me. He pressed his sour mouth to mine. I couldn’t make them
go away. I couldn’t do anything but cry. I couldn’t understand why she leaved me alone. She was
a complete liar, they all lied. All the books and beautiful magazines, everything they told was a
lie. I can’t believe how wrong I was! I thought I had found my friend in the world.

CHANCLAS
You won’t believe what happened to me at my little cousin’s baptism. My mother had been
making all the arrangements and she had bought a new dress for me to go to the party. But she
forgot to buy the most important thing, my shoes! As a consequence there was no other
alternative than wearing the old saddle shoes I wear everyday to go to school. I knew that day
was going to be a nightmare for me. Few hours before the baptism begin, my uncle Nacho
arrived in his car and drove us to the church. After the baptism was finished, the dance started
and everybody start laughing and dancing except me. I felt stupid and embarrassed for not
wearing proper shoes. Suddenly, my cousin by first communion asked me to dance with him but
I refused to his proposal. After that, I found myself in the dance floor! My uncle had tugged my
arm and taken me there in front of everybody! I couldn’t’ believe it, I was dancing comfortably
and doing all the tricks he had taught me. As soon as the music ended up, all the guests started to
clap. A lot of excited faces staring at us and my mother looking at me proudly! After having
experienced this, I figured out that even ugly shoes can’t prevent you from having a good time.

MY FIRST JOB
Do you remember when I told you that I was looking for a job? My aunt Lala had found me one,
but soon after I had started, something terrible happened to me and I’ll tell you what was it like.
The job my aunt had found me was a Photo Lab where she had worked before. I lied to my boss
when she asked me how old I was, as my aunt had told me I should do. So I started working
there the same day. What I had to do was to wear white gloves and match negatives with their
prints. So I found it really easy to do but a bit tiring. I always ate alone at lunchtime until the day
an oriental man, who worked there, approached and invited me to have lunch with him. I
accepted his proposal and I felt better in company. The beauty of his eyes made me forget my
nervous. Consequently, he asked me to kiss him just because as a gift since he assured it was his
birthday. When I was about to put my lips in his cheeks, he grabbed my face abruptly and kissed
me hard on the mouth without letting me go. Now, I don’t feel like working there anymore. I
don’t want to see neither that place nor his face anymore!

66
GERALDO NO LAST NAME
Esperanza, I’m going to tell you about a boy that I met at the disco some days ago. His name was
Geraldo, he was a young and handsome boy. He wore a beautiful pair of trousers and a Saturday
T-shirt. That night, he just told me only his name and the he worked in a restaurant. Despite
knowing a little of each other, we danced the whole night together. But the worst part was yet to
come. After the dance had finished, Geraldo suffer from an accident and I took him to hospital. I
waited for hours but the assistance never came and Geraldo finally died due to the amount of
blood he had lost. I felt myself very sorry for him because he was only a brace man as everyone
else. Perhaps, it will take his family long time to find out about his whereabouts. Geraldo was
and will be a completely unknown in this country.

THE MONKEY GARDEN

I still remember the last time I was in the Monkey Garden and all that I felt that day. Everything
started when Sally was talking to Tito and other boys, so I decided to let her alone because it
seemed she wanted to play with them and not with me. When I came back, I noticed she was in
trouble! The boys had taken her keys and they denied returning them to her unless she kissed
them. Sally was annoyed with them but in matter of seconds, she accepted and I couldn’t
understand why Sally was reacting like that. I was really angry towards the boys’ behavior with
Sally. So I took a stick and bricks to hit them and make them release her. But when I approached
them to protect her from the boys, she told me to go home and the boys told me to leave them
alone. I felt extremely fool with my brick and my stick and the shame killed me inside. Such
embarrassment made me escape, I ran as fast as I could to hide myself in the furthest place of
the garden. I just wanted my heart to stop beating. I took a look at my feet and they seemed to be
so far away. They seemed not to be my feet anymore. And the garden was not mine anymore.
What I feel now is that all my dreams and illusions were trapped into that garden forever.

67
 SUBORDINATORS AND CONJUNCTIONS
BECAUSE
Cathy’s family decided to leave the neighborhood because her father said the place was
getting worse.

BECAUSE OF
Laurie created the imaginary Charles because of the jealousy toward his sister/his
baby sister arrival.

HOWEVER
Ignacio made an attempt to come to term with his father after 25 years; however, it was
too late when he got his father’s home.

SO THAT
Ignacio´s father made quite a tremendous sacrifice so that he could raise his son in the
best conditions, both in everyday life and studies.

SINCE
Mr. Peebles was prescribed a long trip to Europe since he never achieved his dreams of
music and travelling.

ONLY LATER
Ignacio realized only later everything his father had done for him and how much he
appreciated him.

EVEN THOUGH
Even though they were sisters, Joan showed disagreement about Emma’s attitude
towards Arthur.

IN SPITE OF
Mr. Peebles decided to travel around Europe in spite of the things he had to take care of.

DESPITE
Henry had an irresistible urge to win a lot of money despite being rich/the fact that he
was already rich.

Kari ate the mint-ice cream despite having criticized as unorganinc.

68
 DUE TO
Hellen Keller was so concerned about the everyday attitude of able-bodied people due to
the fact they took their senses for granted/their unappreciation about their senses.

SO THAT
The clones expected to win the lottery so that they could go to the Island.

AS SOON AS
Lincoln Six-Echo decided to start a revolution as soon as he discovered the truth behind
the Island.

HAD...WOULD HAVE (Conditional Type 3)

Had Henry Sugar not been out of the canasta that summer weekend, he would have
never found the blue book about yoga powers.

Had the woman from La Rioja not hidden the olive tree sapling under her skirt, olive oil
industry would have never existed.

RECOMMEND
As Billy was looking for a place to stay, the porter recommended that he should go the
“Bell and Dragon”.

SUGGEST
Because James Harner had caught a cold during a business trip, his boss suggested that
he should take a day off at home and get the report done in peace.

YET
Jeffrey made great efforts to assume his responsibilities at home; yet, his sister spoiled
everything he wanted to do smoothly/as a housekeeper.

69
 FIXED PHRASES
1. Turned out to be – Resultó ser…
2. Make the most of – Sacar el provecho a…
3. For the time being – Por el momento
4. The fact that – El hecho de que…
5. To be mistaken about – Estar equivocado/a sobre algo
6. To make sure that – Asegurarse de
7. Make up one’s mind – Decidirse
8. To my amazement – Para mi asombro
9. I can’t help –ing – No puedo evitar
10. Take notice of – Prestar atención a/darse cuenta de
11. Back then – En aquel momento
12. It bothers me that – me molesta que…
13. A good deal of – Mucho/Una buena cantidad de…
14. To be concerned with – Estar preocupado/interesado por…
15. To come to the conclusion that – Para llegar a la conclusion de que…
16. Once in a while – De vez en cuando
17. To tell the truth – A decir verdad
18. It all happen so suddenly – Todo pasó tan rápido
19. It goes without saying that – No cabe la duda de que…
20. To have no idea about sth – No tener idea sobre algo
21. It seems like – Parece que…
22. Otherwise – De otra manera
23. A sense of – Un sentimiento de…
24. To feel sorry for – Sentir pena por…
25. How come – Cómo pudo/Cómo es que?
26. By any means neccesary – Por cualquier medio necesario
27. To deal with – Tratar con
28. To make clear – Para aclarar
29. To have faith in – Tener fé en
30. For no reason: Sin ninguna razón
31. In a remarkably turn of events – En un giro notable de los hechos
32. When it comes to – Cuando se trata de
33. To a certain degree/extent: Hasta cierto punto
34. In need of – Con la necesidad de…
35. It’s a matter of+Noun – Es una cuestión de…
36. Sometimes I wonder – A veces me pregunto
37. By the time – Para cuando
38. To be prone to – Ser propenso a
39. All at one – Todo al mismo tiempo
40. At a glance – A simple vista
41. At first glance – A simple vista
42. The be skilled at/in – Ser talentoso/a en…
43. To be thankful for – Ser agradecido/a por…
44. To hurt sb’s feelings – Dañar los sentimiento de alguien

70
45. To owe sb a favour – Deberle un favor a alguien
46. To be allowed to+inf – Se le permite…
47. To deprive sb or sth – Privar de algo
48. The be avalaible for – Estar disponible para
49. The thing is – El tema es que/Lo que pasa es que
50. Indeed– Ya lo creo
51. It gives me the goosebumps– Me pone la piel de gallina
52. It turns out that– Resulta que…
53. It’s not a big deal / It’s not that of a big deal– No es para tanto
54. It’s up to you– Como tú quieras / Depende de ti (en tono amable)
55. It’s worthless– No vale nada
56. Just in case– Por si acaso
57. Keep it up– Sigue así
58. Me neither– Yo tampoco (informal)
59. Meanwhile/In the meantime– Mientras tanto
60. Moreover– Además
61. Much to my dismay– Para mi desgracia
62. My bad– Culpa mía (USA)
63. Never mind– No importa (tono amable)
64. No bother– No te preocupes / no es molestia
65. No way– Ni hablar / De ninguna manera
66. No wonder– No me extraña
67. No worries– Sin problema / no te preocupes
68. Nor/neither do I– Yo tampoco
69. Not Bad– No está mal
70. Not my bussiness– No es asunto mío
71. On one hand… on the other hand– Por un lado … por otro lado
72. On the face of it– Según las apariencias
73. Once in a lifetime– Una vez en la vida
74. Once in a while/from time to time– De vez en cuando
75. Over and over again– Una y otra vez
76. Shame on you!– Vergüenza debería darte
77. So do I– Como yo / Yo también
78. So long– Hasta la vista
79. Some other time– Otra vez será
80. Take it easy– Tómatelo con calma
81. Thanks in advance– Gracias por adelantado
82. That’s what I mean – A eso me refiero
83. Think twice– Piénsalo dos veces
84. To get along– Llevarse bien
85. To get by– Para ir tirando/Para arreglárselas
86. To have an argue– Tener una discusión

71
 DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS
• Apologizing
I'm sorry about...
I am sorry that...
I'm very sorry about...
I'm very sorry for...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize for...
Please accept my apologies.
Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal)

• Asking for Help

I'd be grateful if you could...
I would be grateful if you could...
I would appreciate it if you could...
Could you please...
I was wondering of you could help me.(informal)
I would like to know…

• Asking for Information

I am writing to enquire about...
I am writing to find out about...
What I am looking for is...
I would like to know about/if...

• Closing
I look forward to seeing you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to meeting you.

• Complaining / expressing dissatisfaction

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with...
I'm writing to express my annoyance with...
I am not happy about...
...was very disappointing.

• Conveying regards
Please give my best regards to your family.
Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.
Please give my regards to your parents.

• Making suggestions
Would it be a good idea to...
Perhaps it would be a good idea to...

• Expressing satisfaction
I was delighted to hear that...

72
 I was very happy to learn that...
I was thrilled to find out that...
I was glad to hear that...
...was very enjoyable.

• Expressing concern / sympathy

I was sorry to hear about... (your accident/ illness)
I am writing to express my concern about...

• Giving bad news

I regret to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am sorry to tell you that...(informal)
I regret to advise you that...(formal)
I am afraid I have some bad news.(informal)

• Giving good news

I am pleased to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am delighted to tell you that...(informal)
I am happy to advise you that...(formal)
I thought you might like to know that...

• Giving reasons
This is because...
This is because of...
This is due to... (formal)
This is as a result of...(formal)
This is owing to...(formal)

• Making suggestions
Would it be a good idea to...
Perhaps it would be a good idea to...

• Thanking
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you kindly.
I can't thank you enough.
No words can express my gratitude.
I am extremely grateful for...
I very much appreciate your ______ing

73
 HOW TO EXPRESS REACTIONS
WHAT+NOUN

a great Singer a rude person

a talented actor horrible weather
a kind man bad service
a beautiful view a shame
a gorgeous sunset a disaster
a surprise a day

nonsense

HOW+ADJECTIVE

wonderful awful
romantic sad
nice terrible
lovely frustrating
sweet tragic

74
 Other Ways Of Expressing A Character's Emotions/Reactions

1. If this is a first draft just write "She smiled"

If you're writing a first draft just write "she smiled" or "he frowned" and move on. You can
tidy things up on the second draft. Chances are, a lot is going to change from the first to the
second draft, just concentrate on laying the foundation of your story.

2. Express the reaction through synonyms

For instance, instead of writing "She smiled" you could write "She grinned" or "She
beamed" or "She laughed". All of those communicate pleasure/happiness.

3. Express the reaction through internalization

Ask yourself: Why is the character smiling? If she realizes a cute guy likes her you might do
something like: Sue tried to look at Rob without being obvious. He is kind of cute, she
thought.

4. Express the reaction through dialogue

Mary nudged Sue, "Hey! I think the cute guy in the corner was staring at you."

5. Express the reaction through movement

Janice Hardy suggests, "Her lip twitched," or "her eyes sparkled," rather than "she smiled".

8. Express the emotion through subtext

Here is an example from The Italian Job. John is on the phone with his daughter.

John: I'm sending you something.

Stella: Does it smell nice?
John: No. But it's sparkly.
Stella: Does it come with a receipt?

75