Potomac's eighth grade English students read and discuss The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The book is a series of short vignettes that together capture the characters, setting, and stories of a particular neighborhood in Chicago. The vignettes are written from the perspective of a fictional narrator and are based loosely on Cisneros's own experiences as well as those of her students. Some of the vignettes are humorous or action-packed; some are heart-wrenching or shocking. All are deliberate in their use of figurative language, poetic elements, grammar conventions, and pacing.

Each eighth grader composed at least one vignette for inclusion in this digital collection. They wrote in the style of Sandra Cisneros, as they interpreted it based on their notes and our class discussions, yet they set it in a time and place of their own choosing. While some of these vignettes are based on the author's personal experience, many of them are purely fiction, an imagining of characters and circumstances that seemed ripe for this assignment. Students also used this assignment to experiment with new vocabulary words and techniques involving punctuation and sentence structure.

We encourage you to leave comments below vignettes that strike you in some way. Please keep your comments positive and specific; this is not the place for critiques or suggestions. Enjoy the creativity and vibrancy of these students' literary efforts.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

A Little Leaf

I was just a leaf. On one tree. In one clearing. The tree’s roots held firm to the ground. Branches cast about connected through years of familiarity and friendship. The leaves constantly changing appearance through the seasons; but still the same leaves. The tree grew taller and prouder, but it was still remembered as that little sprout all those years ago.

Then one day. An extraneous force was felt throughout the forest. Slowly stumbling through the forest were the men dressed in their hardhats and jumpsuits. They came yielding axes and saws. They soon arrived at the base of the tree, and their saw slowly started up as the high-pitched whine grew louder and louder as it sprang to life. Cutting deeper and deeper….and deeper into the trunk of my beloved tree.

Then all of a sudden the forest paused in a sudden silence….

WOOSH! BANG! CRACK! Then the tree came crashing down and so did my world.

This scattered all the leaves, Including me. All over the forest; gone with the leaves were the branches that kept everyone together. I was lost in a world of strangers and hopelessness, wondering how I could ever be the same.

So now me, a little leaf... had to find a new tree to grow on. That tree was Potomac. They took me in with open arms and before I knew it I had found a nice branch on which to prosper. And every once in awhile I will see one of those leaves that I used to know. Shimmering, shifting, shaking on a tree with bark like Emery, still holding fast to those Spring Hill memories.

~ Erik R.

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22 comments:

  1. Luke TJanuary 5, 2016 at 9:09 AM

    The way you connected the cutting down of a tree made your piece much more fun to read

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:41 AM

      Thank you! It was kind of hard to piece together the analogy of the tree but once I found a rhythm to my writing it started to flow better. ELR

      Delete
  2. Colinj$January 5, 2016 at 9:20 AM

    I like how you didn't say what the tree was until the very last sentence. Good job!

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:42 AM

      Thanks that's exactly what I was going for! ELR

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:09 AM

    I really like how you connected your story to you coming to Potomac and leaving Spring Hill. I also liked the words you used which mad the vignette much more interesting.
    - E.L.

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:43 AM

      Thank you that connection was what I was going for! ELR

      Delete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:18 AM

    i liked the way you used the analogy of the two different schools - CB

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:46 AM

      Thanks, that was what I was trying to accomplish! ELR

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:46 AM

      square up

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:21 AM

    The way you connected a small idea of a tree being cut down to a big idea of you changing schools was really interesting.

    MD

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:21 AM

    I like the metaphor used throughout the story because it gives more depth to moving schools. - CE

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:32 AM

    I like how you used the whole story as a metaphor about your schools.
    -KW

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:37 AM

    I really like your vignette and how it was a metaphor for you changing schools. It gave it a lot meaning than if you were not to use a metaphor.
    -K.C.

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:49 AM

      Thanks, I really feel like I achieved that deeper meaning! ELR

      Delete
  9. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:49 AM

    Thanks, I really feel like I achieved that deeper meaning! ELR

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:51 AM

    Truely amazing. - CHicago news

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM

    That's really cool how you related the leaf to your school experience. That's awesome Erik, you done good kid. You done good.

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  12. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 1:44 PM

    This is really good Erik. I like the way you related changing schools to leaves scattering.

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  13. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 10:57 AM

    I really like how you connected the idea of changing schools to leaves on a tree. It really helped to bring out your emotion on how you felt when switching.

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  14. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 8:10 PM

    This is a very clever metaphor, and it is good that you did not give it up at the end, it was a metaphor all through.

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  15. MFJanuary 7, 2016 at 10:28 PM

    Erik, I shed a tear while reading your final paragraph.

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