Analysis of Danny Santiagos - Essay Example

?Jose Luis Fernandez ESOL 0051 Rambow October 5, Analysis of ‘The Somebody’ Danny Santiago’s The Somebody is a first person narrative through the perspective of its protagonist Chato de Shamrock, a dropout and abandoned member of a gang with the same name he embraced, the Shamrocks. He tells about his escapades that primarily involve writing his name on walls, fences and other places that lead him to thinking the same attributes ownership in the same way that one writes on his book or documents as proof. He considered owning all the things, places and buildings where he signed his name and looked at himself as somebody, a popular person who has a reputation of his own. The language of the story and the use of figures of speech yield a vivid account of the life and times of Chato in the most personal sense that is through his own point of view. The main character’s Mexican identity and his gangster attitude led him to believe that unsophisticated English and thug lingo depicts strength. The narrator makes use of common phrases in shady neighborhoods like the almost trite expression ‘man’ at the beginning or end of the sentence. For instance, when Chato commented about what happened to the houses in his neighborhood, he said, “I hope that never happens to your street, man”. He used the phrase to speak to his reader or audience regardless of gender. The use of figurative speech is abundant in the story making it an interesting narrative, catching the attention of readers, letting them pause and think about what they could possibly mean. The figures of speech also stir the imaginations of audiences to picture what the author wants to paint in their minds, making the events and characters come alive. “The toilet roars like a hot rod taking off” (1) is a simile used in the story which portrays the whooshing sound made by the toilet bowl when it is flushed. The terms could also imply that the toilet sound is louder than it should be, making it appear in the reader’s mind that the setting is in a poor family’s house where repairs or change of materials are not done even when badly needed. Other figurative connotation used as a simile is “like a ghost in the graveyard”(2), which describes the narrators way of walking down the street, allowing the reader to imagine that he was walking alone in a dark, abandoned road. The figures of speech help the reader to have a clear picture of the images the author wants to portray through the words of the main character which was done quite successfully. About his writing, Chato describes it in the same fashion as, “It’s real smooth and mellow, and curvy like a blond in a bikini”(2). The comparison of two unlike things is used in this description which may have been an exaggeration but to the author, might have reached his goal of putting the penmanship of the character beside a curvy woman’s naked body to show how attractive his writing is. This too is consistent with the portrayal of the character of his attitude according to his own account. Metaphor was also used in the narration of the main character as he described the legs of her mother with the following phrase, “Her legs got those dark blue rivers running all over them”(2). He used the image of rivers to describe the varicose veins on her mother’s legs which could have been correctly represented because as the rivers carry water or fluid, the veins do the same however, they carry blood. This elucidates on how the author is able to transform something as mundane and medical as varicose vein and be able to relate it in an almost poetic manner. This further adds depth and dimension to Chato and how he is able to see things different from everybody else. The author also used personification in the story, making things perform human actions. For example, he said about the houses being destroyed by the bulldozers and wrecking bars of S.P. Railroads, “You could hear those houses scream when they ripped them down” (2). Houses cannot scream but the author used the word to inform readers about how the owners had no other choice but to let their houses be bulldozed against their will. It could also be that he was referring to the noise made in the midst of the wrecking of the houses, the sound of bars and hammerings and probably made a parallelism to how a person would react if one is ripped off or destroyed. In another part of the story, the author used the narrator to explain the figurative language used. When Mr. Calderon asked how the main character was referring to him as the ‘last of the dinosaurs,’ the narrator went on to explain that he meant they are extinct and that ‘the Shamrocks are as dead as giant lizards.’ This is a good style of placing the reader in a meditative mood, leading him/her to think likewise as the narrator continues with his story. It was a suggestive comment that the character he was currently speaking with uses figures of speech in his language and a listener or a reader has to read between the lines in order to understand what he is referring to, and might as well do the same with how he describes things. This can be indicated as he continues, “Then he goes into that voice with the church music in it”(3), meaning Mr. Calderon was speaking like a preacher giving his sermon, making him feel guilty or ashamed of himself so that he had to look away, ‘out of the window.’ The looking out of the window could also be an indication of a boring sermon which to the narrator is described as the ‘voice with the church music in it.’ The words used were simple but full of double meanings and were employed quite effectively in making clear pictures of the settings, characters and events in the story. The narrator used descriptions matter-of-factly, adding to the amusement a reader gets from the story. For example, he probably never attempted to give a picture of how poor they are and how full the house is of children or how dirty and stinky their place could be. Another example is in describing how the baby is vomiting on almost everything which shows that they are not able to hire help. Also, his description of his mother having varicose veins shows she could have been overworked and physically stressed in bearing children and constantly taking care of them as shown by the narrator who still waits to be served breakfast despite his age. The poverty of the family could be the main factor that drove Chato to be a dreamer that he is ‘somebody.’ That he is someone who is able to make things happen, although, this is merely wishful thinking. In this manner, he was able to escape the realities of their poverty and their hardships. His dream of becoming somebody was not achieved through honorable means but in an easy and worthless manner. The narration is full of figurative speech which probably was what made the story quite interesting, holding the attention of readers to finish the narration without getting bored. The story itself is not amazing or out of this world and it does not have any value that could be worth telling but the method the author used is quite commendable which is what made the storytelling interesting. The subtlety of the language and the point of view of the main character make it a worthwhile read. Works Cited Santiago, Danny. “The Somebody.” North of the Rio Grande: The Mexican Experience in Short Fiction. Ed. Edward Simmen. New York: Signet, 1992. Read More