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

The Flame in My Eyes

Flames in the reflections of my eyes, broken glass in my hair, but most importantly, exorbitant terror in my heart.

Such little time, what do I do? Where is my family? What happened? Why am I so hot?

I immediately dash for the stairs to get away from the scolding hot flames on my soft skin. Careful, the railing is on fire. I gasp, yet all I inhale is the smoke permeating through the air. My vision is blurred but my only option is to attempt to make it down the stairs. If I lean too close to the railing, I either touch fire or fall off the stair case. If I lean too close to the wall, I face extreme burns. This is was a tortuous obstacle, though I keep my thoughts quick, and smart. I run through the fire, down the stairs, and exit the scene through the garage where I search for my family.

Flames still in the reflections of my eyes, but now with tears as I see my sister being carried out by firefighters. I yell to the firefighters, no response. I yell to the neighbors watching from across the street, no response. Just when I realize no one can see or hear me, I see myself being carried out of the fire, unconscious, and hear the screech of my mother's cry as I float away.

~ Kelly D.

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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 1:43 PM

    The story makes it such that you almost feel the physical pain of the character while reading. And the last two words leave a painful conclusion to be made by each reader.

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  2. Mikaela CattoJanuary 6, 2016 at 5:48 PM

    I like how you used so many different ways to describe fire.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 1:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 1:25 PM

    I thought your story was very impactful. You described everything very well, and the buildup for the ending was great.

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 1:30 PM

    I thought that your story was short but to the point, and the ending was really moving and creative. - Sebastian H

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 1:32 PM

    I like how you describe the characters emotions and reactions towards the fire.

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2016 at 1:33 PM

    I really liked when you used italics as thoughts
    -NG

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