Cisneros’ Barbie-Q really stood out as a great piece of literature. Barbie-Q is a quick glimpse into the life of a poverty-stricken child and her way of life. Though my life as of yet has been rather short, my earliest childhood memories are overwhelmingly my fondest and her account really struck a chord. Sandra Cisneros’ accurate reflection of a young mind and intricate writing methods expressed great emotion. Her portrayal of a child’s mentality evoked my childhood recollections while her realistic tale of childhood bliss in the midst of poverty caused great empathy on my part making this my preferred work we studied.
Sandra’s tale brought back much nostalgia for my younger days. Those days when everything was much more simple and happiness came with almost no effort. Cisneros reminds the reader of infantile glee by repeating words, just like a kid would do. She writes, “please, please, please,” and “and there! And there! , And there! …” making almost an alliteration of words that realistically depicts the speech of a child who can think of nothing else at but what they want from moment to moment. Furthermore, Cisneros directly refers to the games that every person has played as a child.
Skipping”, “humming”, “loopity-loops”, and “pirouetting” are silly things that everyone has done as a child, including myself. These reminders set me in a time machine back to my favorite days when the only thing important to me was my own happiness. Another less obvious reflection of a puerile mind is the “same story”. In this tale of a young girl’s game, Sandra Cisneros refers to a pretend play the girls have made up for their Barbie’s’ to act out. This play is referred to as “the same story” and really hit on what childhood playtime was all about.
I remember doing the exact same thing as a child with my brothers (except we were cops and robbers), where we played out the same actions over and over, day after day. Cisneros recognized this to be common to all children and smartly places it for the reader to reflect on their past, as I did on my own. Sandra Cisneros evokes great sympathy for her characters, which added to my favor of the story. In a first few sentences, Sandra has already revealed to the reader the poor social status of the young girls and continues to do so throughout the tale.
She particularly points out their pauper way of life by repeating the small amount of toys the young girls have. She mentions all the girls could afford was “one extra outfit apiece” then one paragraph later recalls again “our one outfit apiece”. Also, Cisneros touches on the “sock dress” the girls made for their dolls three times in two paragraphs vocalizing the low income of the family over and over stealing more and more feeling from the reader. Also, Sandra cites the ignorant bliss of the young girls making them even more reader-friendly.
I really felt bad for these girls, forgetting for a moment they are fictional, as they were so happy with the toys they had regardless of their condition. Cisneros articulates the grunginess of the Barbie’s by using “water-soaked”, “sooty”, and “damaged” to describe their condition. Moreover, she her detailed description of these imperfect dolls is meant to be taken as symbolic of the state of the young girls, scarred and worn. Altogether, Sandra Cisneros really grabs the reader in her tale of two poor young girls.
By using well-placed language, including repetition and descriptive words, plus the admission of common childhood experiences, Sandra is able to invoke sympathy, caring, and nostalgia all at once. What’s more, Cisneros is able to do all of this in less than 7 paragraphs! Her writing style is exquisite, not to mention persistent, and allows the reader to get attached in no time at all. This attractive tale allows the reader to feel what the protagonist is feeling and makes for the best short story I have ever read.