Problem
I. In the video above, Cisneros states that publishers rejected "Eleven," her editor stating "it was not for children." However, Cisneros argues this is the story "children understand the most." Do you agree with the publishers or with Cisneros? Cite two examples from the story. Be sure to explain how each example supports your argument.
II. In her many interviews, Cisneros has been quite outspoken about how as an author, she doesn't "fit in" to the typical American literary cannon. While in college, she realized how different she was from her classmates. Instead of allowing the university to press her writing style into a traditional mold, she defiantly created a new writing style that combined narrative and poetry together, all while using the unspoken, sometimes shameful truths of her culture as inspiration. As Cisneros stated, "that's when I intentionally started writing about all the things in my culture that were different from them-the poems that are these city voices-the first part of Wicked Wicked Ways-and the stories in House on Mango Street. I think it's ironic that at the moment when I was practically leaving an institution of learning, I began realizing in which ways institutions had failed me (Dasenbrock).
i. Do you agree with Cisneros that universities / colleges try to force students' writing into a traditional mold? If they do, does that necessarily mean that these institutions "fail" their students? Explain your argument with at least one personal example.
ii. Do you agree with Cisneros that her writing doesn't "fit in" with what we typically expect "American Literature" to be? Consider her stories' content, language, structure, imagery, etc. Then, choose one example from "Eleven" and one example from House on Mango Street to support your argument.