Salvador Late or Early

Personification is a rhetorical device in which human characteristics are given to something non-human, such as an object, animal, or idea. Cisneros utilizes this technique multiple times to emphasize extremes. First, the crayons that Arturito drops in the crosswalk are described as a “hundred little fingers” of color (Paragraph 2). This use of personification underscores childhood, which the crayons themselves represent. Yet, despite Salvador’s slight frame and young age, he is no longer a child and merely collects the personified crayons, suggesting that his extreme circumstances have caused him to grow up fast. Later, after it is implied that Salvador has endured abuse, within his chest “something throbs with both fists and knows only what Salvador knows” (Paragraph 3). The “something” that clenches its hands is unnamed, but by personifying this negative emotion as being ready to fight, Cisneros indicates its negative intensity and the power it holds over Salvador. His experiences and emotions are too intense to name, but their impact on him is profound. It is as if what Salvador holds in his chest is just as destructive and abusive as outside forces. The contrast between the personified crayons and the human-like feelings within Salvador emphasize just how much he has endured and how far removed from childhood innocence he is.

Synecdoche is a literary device in which a part of something is used to describe or represent the whole. When Salvador speaks, Cisneros notes that the boy is “inside the throat that must clear itself and apologize each time it speaks” (Paragraph 3). By noting that the throat, not Salvador, is the one “clearing itself,” Cisneros emphasizes the difficulty the boy has when speaking up for himself. In fact, when the throat does speak, it is in apology. This literary device emphasizes that although he has the responsibilities of someone well beyond his years, Salvador is still a child who is uncertain and timid. Instead of having confidence and authority like an adult would, Salvador struggles to speak; when he does, it is only in apology. Yet, in the same sentence, it is implied that the boy has learned to overly apologize as a way to stem the abuse directed his way. As a result, the synecdoche of the throat standing in for Salvador’s voice is a reminder of just how much he has endured at such a young age.