Personal+Narrative+2

= ENGL. 9 Oral Communication: PN#2 = = Those Things You Say Will Always Stay =
 * Length: 500-750 words, 12-point Times (word count recorded in heading), manuscript form**
 * Points: 50**

Throughout our lives we have all come across individuals who have said something to us that really resonated. In the midst of life’s business, we took a moment to truly listen and the words remain with us even today. Esmeralda Santiago uses aphorisms as chapter sub-headings in both Spanish and English. Read through the list and see if one or several remind you of a saying that you have heard from someone in your own life. What story does this saying inspire? Consider the person who said the aphorism in question. What effect has he or she had on your life? Highlight the circumstances surrounding the moment he or she offered this short saying to you. How has your knowing this person changed you? Perhaps you changed the way that you think about something; perhaps you changed the way you approach a particular task or person; perhaps you look at yourself in a new way. These are just a few of the possibilities.

Once you have chosen the person and aphorism around which you would like your essay to revolve, you must decide how to focus your narrative. What do you need to share in order for the reader to understand the effect this person and what they said has had on you? How can you bring those details to life using show, don’t tell? Remember: **Action; Dialogue; Sensory Details!** **SHOW** the effect the individual had on your life; don’t just TELL us. (i.e., //her blue lips quivered in the chilly air// vs. //she was cold// ).


 * //Barco que no anda, no llega a puerto.// A ship that doesn't sail, never reaches port.
 * //Al jíbaro nunca se le quita la mancha de plátano.// A jíbaro can never wash away the stain of the plantain.
 * //Enamorado hasta de un palo de escoba.// He falls in love even with broomsticks.
 * //Borrón y cuenta nueva.// Erase and start over.
 * //Lo que no mata, engorda.// What doesn't kill you, makes you fat.
 * //La verdad, aunque severa, es amiga verdadera.// Truth, although severe, is a true friend.
 * //Con el agua al cuello y la marea subiendo.// With water to the chin and the tide rising.
 * //Escapé del trueno y di con el relámpago.// I ran from thunder and hit lightning.
 * //Con la música por dentro.// With the music inside.
 * //Ahí fué donde la puerca entorchó el rabo.// That's where the sow's tail curled.
 * //Dime con quién andas, y te diré quién eres.// Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are.
 * //Te conozco bacalao, aunque vengas disfrazao.// I recognize you, salted codfish, even if you're in disguise.
 * //El mismo jíbaro con diferente caballo.// Same //jíbaro,// different horse.