The excerpt drives a very keen idea that Estrella grows as a person in this short interaction with

people like Perfecto Flores and things like the red tool box. It would also be poetic in that way as
Estrella sounds spanish for star and stars are always high in the sky looking magnificent and
that is what seems to be happening. She goes higher and higher and will eventually be as high
as the stars. As she learns and develops as a character she becomes more refined and more
knowledgeable it really affects her development as a person. . How the author does this is with
selection of detail, figurative language,and tone.

With selection to detail it clearly shows her character development. In the beginning of the
excerpt is says she became very angry with the red tool box as there was nothing special about
it and she did not know any of the names for the tools. She even goes as far to call it a tool
chest as if she has never seen anything like it before. It is almost as if the author did this
intentionally to see how the audience would react and how much we could relate to the
character. This leads to her character development as in character six she becomes familiar
with the tools as Perfecto Flores teaches her what they are. Even then all of this was not for the
main purpose of that explanation. It was why she learned to read, because it has a value when
you take the time to know what it is and what it can offer just like with the tools.

Another way Estrella’s character develops is with the use of figurative language. One very
important piece that stands out is again in paragraph three. In that sentence she is being
criticized by her teacher for being dirty no matter what time she does get cleaned. “Words could
become as excruciating as rusted nails piercing the heels of her bare feet”. Her she is at the low
point of the excerpt feeling herself drag her by the feet until it bleeds or becomes numb. This
however changes in the passage as towards the ends is comparing them to tools again and
how they tear down, but they can rearrange and repair and hold it with pride ultimately
becoming proud of who she is. It was when they were able to overcome an obstacle had she
developed. She had so much she had started learning how to read.

The last tool that is used is tone, and the tone throughout changes from time to time. The
beginning has the tone as angry as seen by her getting frustrated when she didn’t know what
anything was or how they worked. Then is shifts to a sadder tone where she seems to
experience a bit of discrimination from her teacher. She learns how brutal the world can be and
really shows character development as she moves forward with it. Then the tone towards the
end becomes one of clarity. Estrella understands how things work and has a bit of a concept of
the world and how it works. But she uses that to motivate her instead of filling her with rage
again and she instead wants to learn how to read.
In conclusion Estrella develops into a more knowledgeable person as lives life day by day. She
learns the pain and the hard work it takes to get to your destination. In the end she really did
develop into a more refined character learning instead to not give up on something like the tools
in the tool box or wanting to learn how to read. After All no one is going to do it for you and so
you have to do it yourself. In the end she really did grow high and be amongst the stars.