First Paper: “The House on Mango Street”

In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros creates the theme that when a young girl is growing up without role models and a community that doesn’t support her development, she will have uncertainty in her identity and will search for her way out of the endless cycle. Cisneros does this through the main character, Esperanza. Cisneros creatively weaves the uncertain identity though many of the vignettes, but the vignettes that have the strongest meaning are number one and four. In vignette one, “The House on Mango Street,” Esperanza describes the places that she’s lived before

Sandra Cisneros is a Latin originated American female writer. However these obstacles, she became a writer, surely one of the first female of her ethnicity. In THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, she explores her own past through the eyes of Esperanza, a Latina youth growing up in the Barrio in Chicago. In this novel, she engages the readers through a variety of different literary devices such as Imagery, Personification, and even Simile.

One of the ways that Cisneros leverages the symbol of houses is with her recurring use of them in the vignette, Alicia and I talking on Edna's Steps. In fact, Esperanza emphasizes her morose mindset by saying, “No, this isn’t my house I say and shake my head as if shaking no could undo the year I’ve lived here” (Cisneros 106). This excerpt demonstrates that Esperanza dislikes her current home and wishes she could go back and tell her parents to move someplace else. However, as much as she would like to deny it, she is unable to ignore her home, because she lives there, and that is not something you can easily change. As Esperanza’s thought process moves on, she constantly mentions not belonging to her house. The aforementioned house’s recurrence further proves that one really can’t escape from their roots. Additionally, the text states, “...today she is listening to my sadness because I don’t have a house” (Cisneros 106). In this quote, Esperanza is reminded of her home by her friend Alicia, and she goes into a downward spiral of apathy. This example relates to the thesis by stating her need to go away from home. It also showcases the main symbol in this story: a home. Esperanza’s countless attempts to get away from home end up in her going in a circle. For example, in the vignette The Monkey Garden, Esperanza tries killing herself to escape her home, but, “not even the monkey garden would have me” (Cisneros 96). In addition to the other statements, Esperanza does not let herself believe that she is a part of Mango Street. The end of the vignette informs the readers of her stubbornness by telling the readers, “...but me, I never had a house, not even a photograph...only one I dream of” (Cisneros 107). This section

Utilizing a series of vignettes, Sandra Cisneros follows the significant moments in the life of a young Mexican girl named Esperanza in her coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street. The book records a year of Esperanza life, in which her family moves into a rented house on Mango Street in Chicago. While searching for her independence, Esperanza and her friends meet the issues of racism, sexuality, and male dominance. Esperanza forms the realization she will have to leave the toxic environment on Mango Street for her future, however, she plans to return and help those who are unable to remove themselves from the poor conditions.

In The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, a little girl from a Latino heritage is given birth to. Not literally, but in the sense of characterization. Esperanza is a fictional character made up by Cisneros to bring about sensitive, alert, and rich literature. She is the protagonist in the novel and is used to depict a female’s life growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Cisneros creates the illusion that Esperanza is a real human being to communicate the struggles of growing up as a Latina immigrant in a modern world, by giving her a name, elaborating her thoughts and feelings, and illustrating her growth as a person through major events.

Most people let society shape who they are and stick with the standards they are given. The stronger individuals don't let society rule them. Society shapes us by influencing the expectations of women and showing us false and true perceptions in one's identity.

During the novel, The House on Mango Street, author Sandra Cisneros relives a childhood similar to hers, where the main purpose of life is having the ability to dream. Most characters that live on Mango Street, such as Esperanza Cordero, dream of having a better life and deserting their past of poverty and struggle. Cisneros constantly makes this apparent to the reader because without struggle and pain, the reward of “escaping” the neighborhood is not as meaningful. Throughout the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros develops the subject of dreaming through Esperanza’s relationships female family members, the symbol of writing, and the motif of houses.

The House on Mango Street explores a year of Esperanza Cordero’s life and those around her in a series of vignettes and how it shapes her as an individual. Esperanza is a young, Latina girl, whose father is Mexican and mother Latina. Esperanza and her family moved from the other side of Chicago to a home in a Latinx community in which Esperanza describes as small and red, with tight steps in the front and windows so small, you would think they were holding their breath (Cisneros, 2009, p. 4). The home is in no way how Esperanza imagines, but it is an improvement from where they were staying. During the year in Esperaza’s life, readers see how she matures socially, emotionally, and sexually. She has an ultimate goal, which is to leave Mango

For my project I decided to draw a picture of Esperanza’s dream house where she can go to write about her experiences on Mango Street. When I was drawing the picture of the house, I made the house to fit Esperanza’s dream of what will bring her happiness and an inspiration for her passions. This house acts as a safe place where she can write about her true emotions about Mango street. “I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free” (110). This chapter and project reveals Esperanza’s true feelings about Mango Street and how she can make use of those feelings. A deeper meaning that is explored in this chapter is that women do not need a man to be happy and productive because when Esperanza thinks about this house, a man is not in the picture.

As in life, Esperanza’s maturity evolves and grows during the course of the vignettes as she develops and gains new experiences. Throughout The House on Mango Street, maturity is a dominant theme for Esperanza as she goes from a girl who wants a new house purely for superficial reasons, to someone who wants independence by making everything dependent upon how men see her, to someone who wants the independence of her own home and who has accepted Mango Street as a part of her. In the beginning, Esperanza is focused solely on how others see the house, and the embarrassment that comes with claiming it. She feels the judgment from the woman asking her, “You live there?

For this book assignment I decided to read the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros uses a series of vignettes to tell the story of Esperanza Cordero and a year of her life on Mango Street. Esperanza is a 12 year old Mexican-American girl, or Chicana, living in a congested Latino neighborhood located in the more poorer area of Chicago. The story begins with Esperanza’s family moving to a new house on Mango street which she describes as an upgrade from their previous house but it is still not the home her heart desires. Esperanza has big dreams of eventually leaving Mango Street and owning her own real house with a big yard and multiple washrooms, just like the ones she sees on television. Esperanza’s journey into maturity and development is described through these interestingly written vignettes. She begins writing poetry as a way of expressing the events happening in her life such as developing friends, puberty and sprouting hips, and even dealing with sexual assault. The first half of the book begins with Esperanza wanting to continue to play in her little child bubble but is pushed into the world of adulthood when dealing with the deaths of her grandfather and Aunt Lupe and when she is abruptly kissed by an older man while at her first job. Esperanza also writes about her neighbors and happenings of the neighborhood to paint a picture of the different paths in life that are available to her. She switches her interest to the older women of the neighborhood who each

Esperanza, a young girl is a narrator of The House on Mango Street (Cisneros, 1954). Since she was very young, her family have moved place a lot as much as she does not remember where she used to live. This story talk about houses she used to live and house she and her family desire to live in. The main character is Esperanza, and the narrator is also she. The author uses first person point of view in this story.

In Sandra Cisneros’ “The House On Mango Street”, Esperanza was faced with multiple struggles while living in her house on Mango Street, the theme of gender roles and expectations formed Esperanza in a negative way. From the beginning Esperanza never felt that sense of belonging in the neighborhood because she felt like she wasn't like others in the neighborhood. Almost all of the women on Mango Street had expectations on relying on a man to keep them successful. Yet Esperanza conforms to these expectations of being a women in Mango Street by learning from other girls in her community’s mistakes. This forms a jittery feeling for Esperanza to remain independent. The expectations of being a woman in Mango Street are powerful because most of the

Esperanza is girl who is the main character of the book “House On Mango Street” and the author who writes vignettes about her. The author of this book is Sandra Cisneros and gives us facts and thoughts about Esperanza’s life and more. Esperanza is 12 years old and lives in a house in a street called Mango Street. All of this contribute to the topics observation, friendship, and family. Observation, family, and friendship will give more gifts and trust to one another and become as one.

The house on Mango Street became very sentimental to Esperanza to which at the beginning she did not feel that way “It’s not the house we’d thought we’d get.” Cisneros 3. Living in a poor