Answer :
In Sandra Cisneros' short story 'Eleven', Rachel is a young girl experiencing her eleventh birthday under difficult circumstances. Here are some ways to describe Rachel, aside from being intelligent:
Vulnerable: Rachel shows vulnerability, especially when she is unable to express herself fully about the situation with the red sweater. She struggles with her emotions and this highlights her sensitive nature.
Innocent: She possesses a child-like innocence in how she views the world and people around her, evident in her simplistic explanations and reasoning.
Frustrated: Rachel becomes clearly frustrated during the incident with the sweater, as she feels trapped and misunderstood.
Reflective: She spends time thinking about age and identity, contemplating how it feels to be eleven and how different ages are part of her.
Emotional: Her reaction to the events—crying and being upset—demonstrates her emotional depth and the intensity of her feelings.
Timid: Rachel often seems hesitant to speak up, showing a certain timidity in the classroom situation with her teacher.
Thoughtful: Through her internal monologue, we see that she is quite thoughtful, analyzing her feelings and reactions.
Self-conscious: She is sensitive about how others perceive her, evident in her distress about the sweater situation.
Imaginative: Rachel has an imaginative way of explaining her emotions, like the analogy of having different ages inside her.
Honest: Despite her struggles, Rachel is honest about her feelings even if she cannot always verbalize them to others.
Compliant: She often follows what others say, like when she reluctantly takes the red sweater, indicating a compliant nature.
Rachel's character is richly developed through her experiences and internal reflections, making her relatable to many readers.
