Sofia Sidner, Option 2

Soundtrack to "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros
 

"Happy Birthday Blues" by Kathy Young

In the beginning of the story, Rachel talks about how her birthday isn’t what she planned it to be. Rachel talks about how you assume that on your birthday you will wake up and feel older and different. However, this doesn’t happen for Rachel. Rachel says, “…And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t” (Cisneros 1). This song by Kathy Young has lyrics that match Rachel’s feelings. Young’s lyrics say “…I planned just how this day would be for such a long, long time…”. This is exactly how Rachel feels – she planned how this day and every birthday would feel. The song later goes on and says “…my eyes are filled with tears, got the happy birthday blues”. Rachel does cry on her birthday and is feeling sad, which is perfectly in sync with the lyrics of the song and the emotions that the song implies.

 

"Mean" by Taylor Swift
When Sylvia Saldivar tells Mrs. Price that the red sweater is hers, it makes me think that Sylvia is saying that in spite of Rachel. The way it is written it makes it seem as if Sylvia is doing that to torcher Rachel – similar to a bully. This Taylor Swift song would go well with this certain situation. The lyrics talk about a person “picking on the weaker man”, just like Sylivia does with Rachel. It also goes on to say “you…with your humiliation”, which is exactly what Rachel is feeling – she is feeling humiliated by Sylvia because Sylvia says the sweater is hers.

 

 

"Crying For No Reason" by Katy B
This song matches well when Rachel has her experience when she starts crying. Rachel says “…that’s when everything I’ve been holding in since this morning … finally lets go, and suddenly I’m crying” (Cisneros 2). Similar to this point in the story, the lyrics of this song talk about crying and say “..I tried my best to hold it all together”. Rachel did the same thing. She tried to hold herself together and stay strong, but eventually she broke down and started crying. The lyrics also say “…I felt strong but I am breaking now…” Rachel is doing the same thing; she was strong, but now she is weaker and letting her emotions take over.

 

 

"Kite Song" by Rosie Thomas

This song reminds me of the end of the story when Rachel talks about how she wants to be far away, somewhere in the sky. The lyrics match up perfectly with Rachel’s thoughts – the songs says “…tie me to the end of a kite, so I can go on with my life”. Although Rachel doesn’t mention a kite, she does mention being tied onto a balloon and floating up into the sky, similar to a kite. The song goes on to say “…I just want to go away from here” which matches Rachel’s emotions of wanting to escape.

 

"You Gotta Be" by Des'ree

If there were credits to a story, this song would go perfectly. This song talks about all the traits you should have – “you gotta be bad, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger”. It also says “don’t be ashamed to cry”. I think this song is an encouraging one and it exemplifies the theme of the story – that you can act like your twelve and cry, but at the end of the day, you have to be tough and strong. The beat of this song starts slow and becomes upbeat, similar to how Rachel should be. Although she has a rough day, it is still her birthday and she will still celebrate with her family.