Why don't we have to use grammar rules when writing short stories

The short story, No Speak English, by Sandra Cisneros is about a hard working man who has just brought his mother “Mamacita” and her baby son to live with him. Instead of fitting in Mamacita stays inside her house all day because she is homesick for her country, language and her old house. It’s not necessarily true that we don’t have to follow grammar rules when writing short stories. However, incorrect grammar can be use as a technique by the author for the development of characters and plot. This essay will explore how the technique is use in creating various aspects in this short story.

Since the story focuses on characters that are immigrants from non-English speaking cultures, the use of incorrect grammar helps build up these characters. It allows us to know more about Mamacita as a character and her Spanish roots.

“No speak English, she says to the child who is singing in the language that sounds like tin. No speak English, no speak English, and bubbles into tears. No, no, no as if she can’t believe her ears”. Her limited knowledge of the English shows her connection with her country and how she refuses to adapt into the new society that she is living in now.

The author also uses the technique of incorrect grammar to develop the narrative through the narrator’s point of view. The choice of words that the author selected suggests that the narrator is probably a kid. “My father says when he came to this country, he ate hamandeggs for three months. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hamandeggs. That was the only word he knew.” By writing hamandeggs, the author is giving us a child-like sense.

By not sticking to the rules of grammar, the author allows the narrator to construct characteristics of his/her own. This is achieved through methods such as, run-on sentences and different uses of punctuations. “Home. Home. Home is a house in a photograph, a pink house, pink as hollyhocks with lots of startled light.” The repetition of the word “home” and “pink” gives the image of the pink house in the reader’s mind.

A short story is often a form of creative writing, it is a process of creating art through literature. Nowadays, people tend to care less about grammar when they’re writing stories. This is to allow the author’s creative process of thinking to work effectively. As mentioned above, not following grammar rules help emphasize the story’s theme of the resistance that other people can have on English culture.

Chapat Tiwutanond G.10

Why’s Mamacita homesick?

When everyone when to another country or you immigrant there, sometime you get homesick or you want to go back to your own country that you have left. Mamacita is also one of them, she come from the country that speak Spanish. She can’t speak English she know very little English vocabulary. She old women so she would have a great memory of her own country so she misses her old country, old friend, old neighbor and etc, so she would like to go back. A big reason why people and Mamacita got home sick because they don’t adapt the culture and change if you when to other country and you not accept to change you got homesick.

Mamacita is an old woman so her life would spend on her old country there be lot of great memory there. So went she move to the new country she likes to look though old photograph and etc. she wouldn’t like to travel or go to anyplace. Then she slowly got homesick or maybe she is too fat like in the story said so she wouldn’t want to go anyway accept home.

The second reason why Mamacita homesick because her English is really not strong because she comes from Spanish speaking country. She know only eight English words like in story tells, so she would shy to speak to any people. And she is already old so it hard for her to learn language easily not as her son that can learn it very easily.

Last reason is she don’t accept to change her habit she don’t adapt to their country culture only little by little also can, but she not trying to change any of the way. So she only stay at home, then she got home sick all of these three reasons make people who immigrant to get homesick and want to go back to their country.

So Mamacita is homesick because she stay home, don’t talk to anyone she don’t accept change in herself. She missing her old hometown plus with she know little of English words so she want to go back. The city she live in also have little people so it make her more lonely she feel bad about the country so she stay home look thought old photograph old song to remember her old environment and hometown.

Parat Ratanachaisuwan 10M, Aug. 29, 2010

Why was Mamacita homesick?

               Mamacita was from the Spanish speaking country as noticed in the short writing. And of course anyone that left their home town would be homesick and so was Mamacita. Probably because Mamacita missed or got used to live in the environment in her hometown which was obviously mentioned in the content, plus she could rarely speak to anyone since she didn’t know much English vocabulary. Likely that she didn’t have many friends to talk to and her son was speaking English though she didn’t like it very much.

               It seemed like Mamacita went aboard with her son, the man across the street. She didn’t belong to the place she was living, every once in a while she would let out a cry. She cried with the desirous of moving back to her pink house, pink as hollyhocks with lots of startled light in the photograph she looked at. Moreover, since she was fat and couldn’t climb down or up the stairs very comfortably so she was not a socialize person.

               Although she could rarely speak English but at least she got eight words. However, she wouldn’t feel fine to live in such a big city with the three sentences she knew. Which were: He not here for when the landlord came, No speak English if anybody else came, and Holy smokes for when she found a shock moment. She sat all day long by the window and played the Spanish radio show and sang all the homesick songs about her country which made her feeling more homesick.

               Lastly, Mamacita didn’t have many friends. Indeed, the only friend who she could talk to was her son. In addition, after she and her son had gone back to their own country, her baby boy had begun to talk and sung the Pepsi commercial she heard on T.V. and she didn’t like it at all. She told him neither to speak nor sing in any English songs. I guess she really hate English after all.

               To add up, Mamacita was homesick because she didn’t like the environment there that people spoke English all the time, plus she missed her hometown’s environment more than anything. Therefore, she had not got any friend while living aboard. The city Mamacita was living made her lonely and so she wanted to go home.

By: Narit Prayoonrat

Why is Mamacita homesick?

No Speak English

From The House on Mango Street

Sandra Cisneros

Why is Mamacita homesick?

Homesickness usually happens to the immigrants who had been far away from their homeland; especially old people who are living in the past about things those they familiar with. Other major reasons why people are homesick are because they doesn’t feel belong to the countries or places they moved in and they don’t know the language used in the new country. We can infer that Mamacita is homesick according to the story that her behavior that likely in case of the three reasons already been told.

It is such a normal thing that every immigrant is homesick, so does Mamacita who has left her house to live with her son in the third-floor front in the different country. Also the natural behavioral of old people is hard to be changed, unlike the young people like the baby boy who can easily adjust. Based on the story that Mamacita looks and sighs for her pink house in photograph showed that there must be plenty of old beautiful memory about her house which makes her want to go back. Because she is living in the place she doesn’t familiar and she is likely feel uncomfortable to have a new house, new neighbor, and more than that to speak new language. So Mamacita has the normally why she is homesick like another immigrant and worse than that she is too old to adjust.

Mamacita is a Spanish old woman who just migrated to town. She doesn’t belong to the town because she never known this place or anybody. Because she has no friends, she never come out of her room, and the only thing she does every day is to stays in the room for all day and cries by watching her familiar old house in the photograph. Whatever her son did to make the new house looks like the old one as much as possible to please her, it will never be replaced her old house and it will never stop her for missing her house. This is one of the reasons why Mamacita is homesick.

Since Mamacita speaks Spanish for her whole life, it’s such a difficult thing for her to speak English. Unless Mamacita speak English, she can’t communicate with her neighbors and that’s why she’s lonely and keeps thinking of her hometown. According to the story Mamacita sits all day plays Spanish songs and sings all the homesick songs about her country. Mamacita would feel kindly like she wants to speak Spanish with someone, like she did in her old town with her friends, but no one speaks Spanish to her because everybody in town speaks English even her own son. She also tells the baby boy not to speak English. When the baby boy who has begun to talk sings English commercial, it hurts her badly. Mamacita is homesick because of the difference in languages makes she unhappy to live there.

Old Mamacita is such an unhappy woman who lives in the third-floor front who sits all day by the window and plays the Spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs. Now we knew Mamacita is homesick. All the above can prove that Mamacita is homesick because of three major reasons which are she is an old woman who is an immigrant to that town and misses her past life and her old house like other old people who live in the past, she doesn’t feel belong to the place, and the difference in languages.

Done by: Natnicha Manomaikul (Nat) G.10M

Why do we not have to use grammar rules in writing short story?

Why do we not have to use grammar rules in writing short story?

In writing short story, we don’t need to follow grammar rules. By not following grammar rules, sometimes it gives more expression. Grammar rules sometimes destroy what is meant to say in the story. Grammar rules make reader receive lesser emotion then it should be. In conclusion, sometimes it is better not to use grammar rules in short stories.

Character expression and movement sometimes must be described in a way where grammar rules must be over look. For example: “Push, pull. Push, pull. Poof! “From No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros. A character show a movement and expression in some way where grammar shouldn’t be considered. This is one of the reasons why grammar isn’t needed in short story.

Grammar usually destroy what is it meant to be said in the story. For example: “Home.Home.Home.” From No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros. It describes a term which gives a boring sense where a character was bored. This is why grammar shouldn’t be use in the short stories.

Grammar usually makes reader receive lesser emotion then they should receive. For examples:” No, no, no as if she can’t believe her ears.” From No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros. With one No, the reader would felt as if normal, but with 3 no. It is as if really serious and a no way matter. With this lesser emotion has been express, so it is way better to use a wrong grammar.

In conclusion, as the short stories was written. It is better with grammar mistake to give off the expression in the story. Grammar sometimes could change an idea of the character. Emotion was hardly described out with grammar correction. Basically no grammar applies in story would create a better stories.

Tunyatorn Khongsereedamrong (Prow) 10A/10M