Esperanza And Education

Although Esperanza grew up in a very poverty stricken neighborhood, she didn’t let that define her as an adult and was able to be successful later on in life. Esperanza grew up in a place that was very looked down upon. On page 5, Esperanza was asked by a nun where she lived. After pointing to her house, the nun responded “You live there?” She was not only in an area that was clearly not nice, but she was also judged and she felt embarrassed about it. People who even just drove through her underprivileged neighborhood think of Esperanza and her neighbors as “dangerous. They think [they] will attack them with shiny knives. They are stupid people who got lost here by mistake” (18). This neighborhood wasn’t the type of place people wanted to be near or in. It was so run-down and such a seemingly threatening place, people would be scared just

Last but not least, Esperanza has changed maturely by going ahead and dreaming of her own house that she will get when she grow up into a legal adult. In the vignette, “A House of My Own”, Esperanza describes the house that she wishes to have. The vignette states, “...Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own...My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody’s garbage to pick up after.” (Cisneros, 108) This quote relates because she is describe how she would live her life if she had her own apartment, which shows responsibility. After all, responsibility shows

Esperanza shows us that someone can be very different from where they grow up, they just have to be willing to keep their lives on a very positive track. A comfortable life does not come easy because everybody has challenges, but it’s the willingness to overcome

Esperanza and her mother made the choice to leave Mexico and go to California to work and escape Tio Luis, which I believe to be a good decision. Before going, Esperanza was spoiled, rich, and quite full of herself, living in a high social class family, and in general thought of herself better than others. At first, she was against leaving everything she knew and loved, but in the end, found herself liking California. Esperanza made new friends, in particular, Isabel, who taught her many things, even though she was younger. She taught her how to appreciate what she had, and how to get a job done. She taught her how to deal with the fact that

Self-exploration is hindered in this book and my life. I can very much identify with Esperanza perspectives on societal issues that Latin women face. A society dominated by men and women relying on them, whether it is a father, spouse or friend. Men are considered the strong reasonable as where women are weak and emotional, in turn women need men for protection. A young girl may have two story paths, one where she relies on the protection of her father while she watches her mother cater to him or two, witnesses the struggles of a single young woman and absence for a father. This book describes marriage as priority for every girl or else how could she survive; appearances and physical features are highly valued traits. This attitude is not one that Esperanza agrees with, nor do I. For example, Marin she is the girl standing on the street just “waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life.” This character implies that she does not dream of actively setting life goals for herself and working to earn them, instead she will wait until a man makes it happen for her. The ideology behind this thought being that as a woman she must thrive to be as attractive as possible to heighten her chances of marriage and acquire

Esperanza is an only child in her family, and during this time it was not acceptable for woman to own land. When Esperanza’s papa gets killed there were no other men in the family, so the land that Esperanza had grew up on and loved would soon all be taken away, unless her mama sacrificers herself and marries the rude brother of Esperanza’s papa. This idea of men owning land is one main reason why Esperanza’s family must migrate to California. If Esperanza was male, this story would not exist because the land would be given to her. Since Esperanza is a female, the story has a complication in the plot that needs to be overcame. This is the first obstacle that Esperanza must triumph over: leaving home to somewhere unknown.

As a young girl, Esperanza is a young girl who looks at life from experience of living in poverty, where many do not question their experience. She is a shy, but very bright girl. She dreams of the perfect home, with beautiful flowers and a room for everyone. When she moves to the house of Mango Street, reality is so different than the dream. In this story, hope (Esperanza) sustains tragedy. The house she dreamed of was another on. It was one of her own. One where she did not have to share a bedroom with everyone. That included her mother, father and two siblings. The run down tiny house has "bricks crumbling in places". The one she dreamed of had a great big yard, trees and 'grass growing without a fence'. She did not want to abandon

Esperanza is faced with several major events that forces her to mature at a young age. In these events readers can see how she grows as her emotions change. In the beginning of the book, Esperanza’s father passes away (p. 22) and their family home on the ranch, El Rancho de las Rosas, catches on fire (p.40). This is the beginning of Esperanza's quickly changed young life. As a young girl she realizes life will never be the same. She once was wealthy and lived life with the help of housekeepers. Papa also had field workers to help with his needs on the farm. Raised with a positive perspective on life, her hopes and dreams are soon challenged. Esperanza is forced to leave everything she has ever known to move to the United States. The fire is symbolic because the family is forced start all over, in life, along with her social

With all of the bad things going on around Esperanza, she was very optimistic and made the best of everything she could. For example, in chapter one, Esperanza explain how she and her family had always grown up poor and that they always had dreams of one day owning a big beautiful house like the ones that they saw on television. One with a back yard and a basement. When Esperanza's family was forced to move her parents had purchased the first house that they could afford so they wouldn't have to continue paying rent. The house was nothing like what they had spoke of or dreamt about. But Esperanza states, "I then knew I had to have a house. One I could point to. But this isn't it. The house on Mango Street isn't it. For the time being, Mama said. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how those things go.." Within this paragraph it shows that Esperanza isn't exactly happy about where she is living but she is going to make the best of it and do what she has to do to get out of there and have a house of her own. One that she can point to.

This relates to the theme of the struggle for self definition, because at first Esperanza was under the impression she could change a man, but as she’s exposed to these horrible encounters she comes to the conclusion that boys and girls live in different worlds.

Esperanza's mother was also a very influential role model for Esperanza. Esperanza learns how important an education is by looking at her mother's situation. Her mother laments, “I could have been somebody, you know?” (91). Her mother could have had a better life and a better job if she continued to go to school, and she imparts this wisdom upon her daughter. “Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard” (91). Esperanza does not want to end up in her mother's situation. Without a proper education, a successful life is nearly impossible to achieve. Esperanza's mother teaches her the importance of being strong, educated, and independent: “Got to take care all your own” (91).

Esperanza is a shy but a very bright girl. She dreams of the perfect home now, with beautiful flowers in their luscious garden and a room for everyone to live in comfortably all because of the unsatisfied face the nun made that one afternoon--when she moves to the house of Mango Street. She thinks it’s going to be a “grand house on a hill that will have a bedroom for everyone and at least three washrooms so when they took a bath they would not have to tell everybody.” (Cinceros 4) Reality is so different for her when her dream is shot down in a heartbeat when she

Esperanza’s mother could have really been someone before she left school. She was smart and had lots of different talents that could have been used in many ways. Her mother left school because of the way that she looked as she says, “You want to know why I quit school? Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains” (91). Esperanza’s mother must have been poorly compared to the way other people and society dressed like when she was in school. The negativeness she was getting made her decide to quit school. The song Confident relates to the vignette because Esperanza’s mother is now saying that she regrets the decision of leaving and now has more confidence to fight against all of the haters that made her unable to be herself.

As stated previously, Cisneros' style in The House on Mango Street suggests to us that liberation can be achieved through an art form, rather than physically picking up and moving your residence. Esperanza overcomes her condition by creating the realm of literature, rather than the physical reality of another house in another time and place. In this way, she is able to distance herself from her community and family. But all the while, still holding on to her heritage and ethnicity. By affirming her own artistic ability, Esperanza is able to blend all of her dreams. Because of this we come to understand that one can achieve self-discovery and even independence through something so remote as literature. This is where I find Cisneros' influence the most powerful. I believe she is stressing a theme here, not just for Hispanics, but for all minorities as well. She lets them know that liberation can be achieved within several realms of the human experience.

For your content, I feel your essay is close to reaching its full potential except for a few minor areas of concern. The first issue I noted was that the essay seems to lack a unifying theme between your life and the experiences of Esperanza. Also after reading your introduction, it appears your thesis statement could use some revision. The great thing about revising your thesis is that it will help you create more topics that could develop into more body paragraphs for your essay.