Cicada by Camille Acker

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says that winning just for fun, she replies that winning first place was indeed fun for her > Outburst (throwing Cicadas) on Loris Window shows Ellerys frustration at how she has been treated - Ellery is pleased with herself for not taking Lori's abuse silently Her parents: > take her to the wealthy Gold Coast on the other side of the city so Ellery can take piano lessons and not miss out on important experiences (!not the best financial situation!) >(proud of Ellery - mother cries after Ellery won > father: carrying, relaxed, proud > mother: strict, carrying, proud Antagonist: Lori Hansen About her: > in Ellery's age group > upper-class family (wealthy and privileged family) > described as: pretty, with a small nose, pink cheeks and blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and she is wearing a cropped, colourful sweater and spring dress, stud earrings, a tortoiseshell headband, and "a silver bracelet with a tiny silver tag hanging from it" > Lori always tries to act prim and proper > very skilled pianist who plays correctly (wins the second prize in the competition) > her behaviour is mean and rude (does not introduce herself to Ellery, lies to Ellery that Mrs. Hamilton is looking at her she she is not, downplays Ellery's performance) > sore loser (cannot handle not being the best: "Winning ist just for fun") > racist view: pics on Ellery out of everyone at the competition and makes racist comments on Ellery's hair > in front of her and Ellerys parents, Lori behaves nicely and congratulates Ellery (she keeps up appearances around adults) Flat characters Mrs. Hamilton: Ellerys piano teacher > had lived in Europe > believe in Ellery that she can win the competition (proud in the end) "She played it better than she ever has" Ms. Anita: Ellerys driver (has a piano) Cara: other girl that takes part at the competition (likes Ellerys performance) PLOT STRUCTURE, SETTING & THEME detailed Summary: The short story "Cicada" by Camille Acker is about a young black girl named Ellery who is on her way to a piano competition. The story starts when Ellery is in the car with her parents and Ms. Anita, who often drives Ellery and her parents since they do not have a car. Ellery takes piano lessons at the Gold Coast the wealthy party Ellery hometown. Between lessons, Ellery sometimes practices on Ms. Anita's piano while her mother does Ms. Anita's hair. Ellery enjoys playing the piano as she can lost in the music. Ms. Anita drops Ellery and her parents of the elegant synagogue where the piano competition is taking place. Mrs. Hamilton, Ellery's piano teacher, welcomes them and invites Ellery to sit next to the other contestants. A girl named Cara introduces herself to Ellery, while a pretty girl named Lori gives Ellery a backhanded compliment about her hair. The competition the starts, and one by one, the children go on the stage to perform. Lori goes up to perform, looking prim. Next, it is Ellery's turn to play and when she starts playing, she focuses on remembering what Mrs. Hamilton taught her, and gets lost in the music. When the song ends, people start clapping before Ellery gets up to bow. Ellery sees her parents in the crowd, looking happy and proud. When she leaves the stage, Mrs. Hamilton tells her that she played beautifully. Later, while they are announcing the prizes, Cara compliments Ellery's performance but Lori just downplays it. Lori wins the second prize and the first prize goes to Ellery. The first place includes a trophy and a check of 500$. Ellery is more interested in the check than in the actual win. Ellery gives the check her parents, so they can get a car. But actually the check is a saving bond and it will not be worth any money for a few years. Ellery is disappointed. After the competition Ellery and her parents are waiting for Ms. Anita to come and pick them up. Lori and her parents exit the synagogue. They are all well-dressed and have an expensive car. Lori congrats Ellery but she does not reply even when her mother encourages her to. When Loris's family gets into the car and starts driving away, Ellery runs after the car, picks up cicada shells and throws them at the car windows. Theme: > Black American female experience > racial discrimination > social class differences (Ellery: struggling financially and lacks basic necessities such as a washing machine or a car - Lori: well-dressed, drive an expensive car and wear expensive jewellery; also explored trough the Gold Coast) Structure: The story starts in medias res while Ellery and her parents are on the way to the competition ("In the dank of DC's summer heat, ...) flashback (beginning): shows one experience Ellery had with cicadas (= foreshadowing for following actions) climax: Ellery is waiting for the winners of the contest to be announced; she makes the first place anticlimax: she finds out that the check of 500$ is actually a saving bond (disappointed) ending: Ellery's outburst - shows her frustration at being demeaned by Lori because of her race and social class (return to the motif of the cicadas at the beginning); winning the competition does not change anything for her (circular structure) Setting: > takes place in Washington DC in the United States of America durning the summer > Gold Coast seems very wealthy (and full of big and beautiful buildings, not something in the neighbourhood where Ellery lives) > the competition takes place in a synagogue (magnificent and impressive) CONFLICT internal concflict: Ellery is at the begging not confident enough to stay against the bullying and she is jealous of the wealthy and privilege family of Lori (does not appreciate her life and the thing what she has and the love that she got from her parents) external conflict. Ellery and Lori both want to win the competition Man vs Society: Ellery is confronted with a higher social class and also directly with rasism Man vs herself: in the begging she doesn't stay against the rasism and in the end she is not taking Lori's abuse silently = developement; she struggles with her social class (working-class) STYLISTIC DEVICES Ellery - Lori > Lori treats Ellery with contempt (Ellery is aware of this) = Ellery feels that she is still not completely accepted into their world(despite the talent) > Lori makes a racist comment about Ellery's hair and treats her also in generous rude and mean > Ellery is jealous of Loris life/social class (wealthy, Lori's family for example have a expensive car) Metaphor Cicadas (not just a metaphor also a symbol): > trees are covered in cicadas, with their shells on the ground, empty and useless - feeling of oppression, life/people being taken over by cicadas > cicadas are patient, wait for their moment to shine - Ellery will have her moment to shine when she plays piano at the competition and when she wins the first place > Ellery playing the piano is compared to the cicadas: feels like she is coming "out of the dirt, out from underground and into the summer sun" - Ellery, like the cicadas, in enjoying her rare moment in the sun, before returning underground, into the dirt > not long, and the cicadas will be gone for another seventeen years - Ellery's moment in the limelight is over after she won the piano competition > Ellery pics up the empty cicada shells and throws them at Loris car as it is leaving - Ellery is frustrated, feeling as empty and worthless as the cicada shells; Lori returning to her life of privilege and opportunity, Ellery left behind "when she played the piano, Ellery could find no edges to the world, no start and stop": shows Elley's passion of playing the piano; gets lost in the music and forgets about everything else around her Loris backhanded compliment about her hair (racist): "an ache somewhere her arms were too short to reach" - Lori's comment hurt Ellery's feelings; It could shows that she is aware of the comment's racist undertones, and realizes that, despite being as talented as the others at the competition, she still not fit in. "a new Mary Jane shoe fresh out of the box, buffed to a shine so you could see your own reflection in it": it suggests that Lori's exterior is perfect, wealthy and pleasant, the reality is that Lori's personality is not the same. Actually she's mean and rude Symbol car: symbols the financial situation (Lori has an expensive car: wealthy. Ellery has no car an dir es the bus or be driven by Anita: low-paid NARRATOR & POINT OF VIEW The short story "Cicada" written by Camille Acker is narrated by a third-person narrator LANGUAGE limited perspective: > presents Ellery's perspective: The limited perspective means that the reader only knows as much as Ellery knows. At times, this helps to create suspense In the story. For example, when the prizes are being announced, the reader only finds out that Ellery has won at the same time that she does > narrator helps readers to experience the events exactly as Ellery is experiencing them > readers can more empathize with Ellery's frustration and with all her feelings > not omniscient - just Ellery's thoughts The style of writing that Camille Acker is used to use in the story is mainly informal. The text also includes a lot of detailed descriptions. For example, Ellery describes the way Cara and Lori look like in detail: "Mrs. Hamilton gestured to an empty seat between two girls, both in coropped, colorful sweaters and spring dresses. Both had stud earrings, and one, when she touched a hand to her tortoiseshell headband, revealed a silver bracelet with a tiny silver tag hanging from it. They sat with their ankles crossed and their hands picking at a starched sundress collars." > the description helps to show that Cara and Lori are both nicely dressed and ladylike e > the description hints the contrast between Lori and Ellery's social classes