Seventh Grade

By: Gary Soto

Setting

• This story takes place in Fresno, California.

• Fresno is located in the San Joaquin Valley, southeast of San Francisco.

More about the setting…• Fresno, California’s climate:• Dry, hot summers• Cool, humid winters

• The climate is excellent for growing grapes

• A large number of Hispanics whose families are originally from Spanish-speaking countries are employed in Fresno’s vineyards

• 8th largest city in California• Biggest food producer in

the United States

• I couldn’t understand what my guide was saying because he spoke in a different dialect than what I had learned.

a regional variety of language. A variety of speech differing from the standard form.

Dialect

• Gary Soto– Born in 1952– Grew up in Fresno, California in a Mexican-American

community– Writes poems, essays, and novels– He also teaches and has won many awards

About the Author

www,umich.edu

1st Person – narrator is the character in the story-- Look for pronouns – I, me, we, us

Point of View – the perspective of the one telling the story

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2nd person – narrator tells story to someone• Look for pronoun – you

Point of View – the perspective of the one telling the story

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3rd person – narrator is not a character-- Look for pronouns – he, she, it , they, them

Point of View – the perspective of the one telling the story

Narration/Narrator• Omniscient – “all knowing” tells about other

thoughts and feelings• Limited – knows only what’s in the mind of

one major or minor character• Objective – does not discuss the thoughts or

feelings of the characters but reports only what they DO.

Conflict a struggle between opposing forces

• Internal Conflict: takes place inside the character

• External Conflict: a character’s struggle against a force outside himself or herself