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Analysis Of Sandra CisnerosThe House On Mango Street

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Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street tells the story of a young, teenage, Latina girl named Esperanza, living in the late twentieth century. Esperanza takes her readers through her life and adventures through each chapter of the novella where each time she learns something. She faces the troubles of racism, friendship, and strange neighborhoods and most importantly, figuring out how she wants to spend her life. Through her race and wealth, Esperanza has created her identity as a shy, poor, and ambitious person. Through her race and wealth, Esperanza feels limited to opportunities that she may want to try. To begin with, Esperanza is very shy when it comes to her race and wealth. She knows that people like her should not speak up because they have very little power in society. As stated in the text, “Everything is fine until the nun who knows all the canteen kids by heart looks at me and says: You, who sent you here? And since I am shy, I don't say anything, just hold out my hand with the letter” (44). This demonstrates how Esperanza wants to eat lunch at school like all the other kids, but since she is seen as an impecunious person, she had to cry to be able to stay. She was too shy to speak for herself and as a result was full of melancholy while eating her lunch. In addition, the financial state of Esperanza and her family contribute to a factor that has shaped her identity. Esperanza is not pleased with her wealth and wishes for more. In the first chapter, she describes her home starting with a good, optimistic tone but as she explained more, her tone felt ashamed: “Out back is a small garage for the car we don't own yet and a small yard that looks smaller between the two buildings on either side. [.....] and the house has only one washroom. Everybody has to share a bedroom-Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny” (4). This shows that the family does not have enough money to live a sustainable and comfortable life. Later in the book, it mentions how there is a desire for “white people” homes and towns with large homes and space. Although, Esperanza does not admit that she is poor, she surely hints to it multiple times throughout the novella. Lastly,

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