Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Few things in life are more awesome than a nice big slice of cake, especially when that cake follows a happy, off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" by your closest friends and relatives. It's that kind of comfort that the cake and birthday represents in "Eleven," good old-fashioned comfort.
When Rachel is first given the red sweater, she thinks:
Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you (12).
Clearly, the thought of cake and presents are meant to provide comfort for Rachel as she contends with the humiliation of the red sweater.
Unfortunately, the red sweater incident gets even worse when Mrs. Price forces Rachel to wear it. This causes her to break down and cry in front of the whole class. Needing more of that comfort, Rachel again conjures the images of cake, presents, and birthday well wishes but finds "it's too late" (21).