Gary Soto uses various literary elements such as contrast, repetition, pacing, diction, and imagery to recreate his experience as a guilty six-year-old boy. He contrasts himself to Eve from the Bible to convey his nervousness after stealing a pie from the grocery store. Soto's short sentences show his nervous pacing, while more complex sentences later depict his return to boredom. Descriptive words like "discus" and noticing a "window of light" on the grocer's forehead reveal Soto's nervous state of mind. Imagery of God "howling beneath the house" and Soto "perfuming the air" with a burp help convey his feelings of relief and guilt.

1. Gary Soto Essay
Throughout the autobiographical narrative written by Gary Soto, many different literary elements
are used to recreate the experience of his guilty six–year old self. Different elements such as contrast,
repetition, pacing, diction, and imagery. Soto narrates this story as a young boy at a time when he
seems to be young and foolish, Soto foolmaking mistakes, but at the same time hoping to learn from
them. Soto uses each of these devices to convey different occurrences in the narrative.
Contrast is used when Soto compares himself to Eve, a biblical character, when God punished her
for stealing an apple from a sacred garden. Also in the first line of the story Soto explains he "knew
enough about hell to stop me from stealing", but later in...show more content...
They are obviously used to show that Soto is nervous and moving around quickly because there is a
lot of action going on at the time. However, in the some of the last paragraphs there are many more
complex sentences, which are used to show that Soto has returned to his state of boredom and also
to express that there is not much going on inside Soto's head..
As mentioned before diction was used along with other elements to help bring out the heart of the
matter in Soto's story. When Soto says he held the pie like a "discus" it makes one think that
maybe he was ready to throw it like a Frisbee because at the time he was so nervous. Also, when
Soto first steals the pie, he notices that the grocer's forehead "shone with a window of light." It
seems because Soto is so nervous, he begins to notice every little detail of what is going on in front
of him. Another example occurs when Soto is eating the pie and he declares that his teeth were
"bathed with the jam–like filling." This makes him look as if he is relishing every moment of eating
the pie.
Finally, imagery is used throughout the story such as the "proximity of God howling beneath the
house" which seems to convey a dark image of God. Another example of imagery occurs when
Soto burps to "perfume the air." It gives one a sense that Soto is burping not just let out gas but to
give him a sense of relief and
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