Jonathan Kirk

Period 2

Geraldo No Last Name

Cisneros' "Geraldo No Last Name" discusses an illegal immigrant who dies in the US without any relations or identification other than his name. An author possesses an arsenal of strategies when approaching a topic such as this. Cisneros' employs a diction which inaugurates a tone of insensitive irony due to the short sentences and subtlety of the words she uses when discussing such a pensive and morbid topic.

Her diction begins in the title. With a title of "Geraldo No Last Name" she provides an inkling to the reader that suggests that she will be very straight forward. She does this purposely. Through her bluntness she establishes her desired mood. Later, she deliberately degrades the mysterious Geraldo, "Just another brazer who didn't speak English. Just another wetback."Cisneros purposefully tries to cause a sense of guilt to the reader, and make them realize that no matter what race, Geraldo is still a person. And although he did not truly exist in flesh, Cisneros personifies prejudice through the incident with Geraldo. Her mood is that of bluntness which shocks the reader into understanding.

Cisneros also reveals her diction in the structure of her sentences. Her sentences are abrupt and uncaring- or so it seems, "No address. No name. Nothing in his pockets. Ain't it a shame." The author infers a tone of melancholy. However this time she uses not only the choice of words, but also sentence structure. Near the conclusion of the story, the author voices certain unanswered questions concerning the dead Geraldo, "Why does it matter?" Near the beginning the mood and tone were more melancholy, even guilt provoking. However, at this point Cisneros brings the mood and tone to sheerly mournful. The author's shift in mood and tone to the end of the story helps keep the reader hooked and prove her point.

Her writing style shifts from a subtle approach at the beginning, to an aggressive and depressing diction near the end. She displays this diction through her uncaring word choice and brief sentences. Doing this, she successfully keeps the reader hooked to the very end, while effectively establishing the point she desired to get across.