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

I Never Imagined

I never imagined being in the trunk of a SUV with duct tape covering my screams. It’s actually happening to me. Too much like the movies. I read an excerpt once that if you're kidnapped and transported to a trunk, that you’re supposed to break the tail lights by kicking them. That didn’t work. I’m a 5’2, 14 year old girl; not even 100 pounds yet.

Why won’t this car ride end? It’s been like 10 hours...

What else should I do? What? Fear isn’t my problem. I’d only be scared if this trunk was filled with spiders. Or with water. So what now? I die? He tortures me in some sadistic way after this tortuous ride ends? And even if I do get out, I’m scared for the rest of my life that something else will happen to me?

I’d rather die now.

Who will miss me? Mom and Dad have Gavin. Class president, straight A’s, starting quarterback. The stereotypical protagonist in every high school film. Of course he has the perfect life. Mine is inept of being anything like a movie.

That’s all I wanted. Maybe a romantic comedy. Even a action film? 

But. not. a. horror. movie.

Of course not like this. I can hear Mom’s voice saying, “Be careful what you wish for, Mia!” Yeah, maybe a rom-action would be nice. Except there’s absolutely NO EXCITEMENT in my life. Isn’t sad that I’m riding to my death in the back of a SUV and all I can think about is how less troublesome everything would be if my life ended now? It is. Just like the ending to my horror movie.

~ Moriah M.
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:11 AM

    i like how you broke up the paragraphs

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:25 AM

    You have a very eye catching beginning, it really hooked me into wanting to read more.
    - M.H.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:26 AM

    You have a very eye catching beginning, it really hooked me into wanting to read more.
    - M.H.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HeleneJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:42 AM

    I loved the style of your writing. It made the story more interesting to read.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:45 AM

    I really liked the beginning. It really hooked me into reading more.
    -K.C.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2016 at 10:56 AM

    That was intense from start to finish! Every time I read a line I just wanted to know where you would take the story!
    -C.S.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Katherine DavisJanuary 7, 2016 at 11:10 AM

    The entire vignette is super strong and intense and it really hooks you in.

    ReplyDelete

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