Introducing the Story

Literary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

Reading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading

Geraldo No Last Nameby Sandra Cisneros

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Geraldo No Last Nameby Sandra Cisneros

The moment one accosts a stranger or is accosted by him is above all in this life the moment of drama.

—Haniel Long

Geraldo No Last NameIntroducing the Story

Geraldo No Last NameIntroducing the Story

Marin is a young Mexican American woman. She meets Geraldo at a dance, but she doesn’t get his last name.

• How will Marin be affected when this man she barely knows gets hit by a car?

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Geraldo No Last NameLiterary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

Style—the particular way a writer uses language to express ideas and feelings.

• Sometimes a writer’s style is so well-defined that an experienced reader can identify the author after reading just a few sentences.

• The stories of Sandra Cisneros have that kind of distinctive style. Listen for it as you read “Geraldo No Last Name.”

Geraldo No Last NameLiterary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

Style is largely created through

• sentence length and structure (long and complicated? short and simple?)

• word choice (everyday words? fancy words?)

Diction—a writer’s choice of words—is one of the main ingredients of style.

Geraldo No Last NameLiterary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

• Writers select their words carefully to express their thoughts, feelings, and attitude.

• Diction can be

and so on . . .

Diction plays a large part in creating tone—the writer’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Geraldo No Last NameLiterary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

• The tone of a literary work can be

and so on . . .

As you read “Geraldo No Last Name,” notice

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Geraldo No Last NameLiterary Focus: Style, Diction, and Tone

• the diction Cisneros uses

• the tone created by her choice of words

Good readers stop from time to time to make sure they understand what they have read. They ask questions such as

Geraldo No Last NameReading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading

• what has happened so far?

• when do the events take place?

• can I visualize what is being described?

• what can I make of the characters’ decisions and actions?

As you read the story, stop to ask questions about

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Geraldo No Last NameReading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading

• the meanings of unfamiliar words

• any descriptions you find confusing

• the character’s thoughts and behaviors

Keep in mind: Sometimes a writer leaves out information intentionally, in order to invite questions.