Analysis Of The House On Mango Street

Have you ever felt like the place you belonged to didn’t belong to you? In The House on Mango Street, this is how the main character, Esperanza, felt. The author, Sandra Cisneros, did a good job in portraying a girl who couldn’t find her place. She had a problem accepting where she was from, The House on Mango Street is heartfelt novel and is great to pass the time. In this story, you will be shown the lives of Esperanza, her sister Nenny, their two best friends Rachel and Lucy, and the many people who lived on Mango Street. This book is about a girl who went from denying her place to accepting it.

In the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Esperanza is the main character who is the protagonist. Esperanza is a thirteen-year-old child that has been faced with more tragic events from the age of nine to thirteen than some may experience their whole life time. Her character is very smart, determined, and compassionate just like some of the kids you may know. The author does a great job with allowing the reader to get inside Esperanza’s head to understand her thinking and logic. The author uses Esperanza life to encourage children who may be going through some of the same experience, that they could make it through to. Although Esperanza is just a normal kid trying to have fun, the constant tragic events in her life forces her to mature instantly becoming a strong young adult. This paper will discuss how Esperanza grew up and some of Esperanza reactions that shows her growth in maturity, while exploring some of the conflicts Esperanza experienced that causes her to change her thinking.

Esperanza’s maturity and growth, physically and mentally is very evident in the vignette “Hips”. There are two distinct focuses in this vignette. One focus is about the body and the other topic is about sisterly love. • When Esperanza and her friends discuss the topic of hips, the thought is a mature one and not a mocking one, especially when the statement of “what I’m saying is who here is ready? You got to be ready to know what to do with hips when you get them” (50).

In all aspects of life, women are pressured to be someone they are not. They are put in situations that force them to chose a path of life. In “The House on Mango Street”, Esperanza is forced to think about leaving Mango Street in the future, because she is surrounded by women who are pushing her to become an adult.

Have you ever gone out and felt attractive, and wondered what others thought of you? Did this thought ever make you think things like, what is this guy or woman thinking of me? This thought is one that slowly takes away what makes you innocent. In Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, she writes an upsetting coming of age story that shows the progression of young Esperanza as she loses her innocence. The first time Esperanza

Even the girls’ dress-up game becomes dangerous as they walk down the streets in the high heels, past a wide variety of men. Some men, like Mr. Benny, try to warn the girls of the potential dangers of wearing those shoes around this neighborhood, saying “them shoes are dangerous” (41). However, the girls are too excited about being a grown-up, they ignore his warnings and continue walking down the streets. Other men, like the bum man, try and take advantage of the vulnerable girls young age by persuading them to do things that are inappropriate. No one should be sexualizeing you girls due to their pretty shoes and young boys wearing fancy shoes would have never been in that position because most people believe women to be passive, but men to be aggressive.. Even Esperanza's has a heard a thing or two about women being placed in submissive roles “She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female – but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong.” (10) The fact that she is most likely right due to the submissive position both cultures put women into only added to the pressure Esperanza must be feeling about being different and more

The vignette “Beautiful and Cruel,” conveys the impact it has on Esperanza. In this vignette, Esperanza feels that she is “an ugly daughter” and “the one nobody cares about” (Cisneros 88). She does not need, or want, a man to lead her life, unlike the women she knows. She does not need, or want, a man to make decisions for her. Unfortunately, she still feels the pressure to look gorgeous and stunning: “Nenny has pretty eyes and it’s easier to talk that way

The first time Esperanza makes an appearance in the book, she is younger and easily manipulated, especially by her friends. Esperanza meets a girl named Cathy, a snobby girl that lived on Mango Street. When Cathy tells Esperanza “Okay, I’ll be your friend. But only until next Tuesday. That’s when we move away.” Then as if she forgot I had just moved in, she says the neighborhood is getting bad” (13) This was a racist statement towards Esperanza and her family, something she doesn’t quite understand yet because Esperanza thinks Cathy forgot they moved in, yet she was actually being racist. This is the first time Esperanza is exposed to racism in the book, therefore exposing her to the outside world. Later in the book, Esperanza meets Sally, a beautiful girl with shiny black hair, that all she seemingly just wants is to love, and Esperanza wants to be just like her. “I like your black coat and the shoes you wear, where did you get them? I want to buy shoes just like yours.” (82) Sally and Esperanza become friends, but later in the story, in the chapter Red Clowns, Esperanza is put in a dangerous situation where Sally walks off

you know. You can't forget who you are” (Cisneros 105). Esperanza has to face the fact that her

The novel, The House on Mango Street, focuses on a young girl who strives to figure out her identity. She continuosly struggles to find her confidence, along with who she is. People tend to struggle with self-acceptance due to society. Society analyzes each person and dissects every one of their flaws, making them want to change themselves to fit expectations. Moving to her new home, Esperanza began to spend all of her time embarrassed. She was ashamed of her new home, and also uncomfortable with her outside appearance. She felt as if her outside didn’t convey the true personality hidden inside her. All Esperanza understood was that she didn’t fit in, and that she is different. Esperanza tries to find the person she truly wants to

Throughout the novel, “The House on Mango Street”, Esperanza experiences “Coming of Age”. She matures and develops as the book continues and towards the end, she starts to find who she really is. In the vignette “Hips”, she starts to realize a difference in her body and sees that she is physically changing. One day Esperanza notices that her hips are growing and says, “The bones just one day opened (Cisneros 50)”. This shows “Coming of Age” because here she realizes that she is growing up to become a woman, her body is going to experience new things, and she will not stay a kid forever. Although she transforms and experiences physical changes, she also goes through mental changes. In the vignette “Red Clowns”, Esperanza gets raped and it changes

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros uses many rhetorical devices to push her viewpoint of how sexual maturity and individuality come with age and experience. Cisneros’ effective use of symbols, syntax, and tone convey and persuade Esperanza’s upbringing.

Everyone has challenges in their life, their feelings behind their actions make them who they are. In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros there are many conflicts which explore the characters, to get to know them closer. The internal conflict is used to discover the identity of the main character, Esperanza.

(91). She also has motivation, like not wanting to turn out like the other women on Mango Street. Esperanza has multiple friends, one of them being old enough to attend college,

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, is a novel about a young girl adapting to her neighborhood and forming opinions on what she observes. To her, Mango Street has a negative connotation. She wants to have a better life than what it is now. One of the themes that appears most often is the hope and dream of a better life. She is being held back by financial shackles, keeping her from achieving her dreams. She is not the only one who dreams of a better life. Many other residents of Mango Street are hoping that something to happen or waiting for someone to come save them from their current life. Esmeralda uses her experiences to plan her life when she grows up. She is able to see what she wants and sets goals to achieve it.