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Title: The House on Mango Street
Author: Sandra Cisneros
Main Characters (Protagonist/Antagonist), Title, & Traits:
Esperanza – narrator – writer/storyteller, matures throughout story (dynamic/developing character), outcast, confused, growing/maturing/coming of age
Mama – domestic, safe place for Esperanza, somewhat clueless
Papa – boss, strict, “straight”
Nenny – Esperanza’s younger sister, they are more alike than Esperanza likes to admit, childish
Alicia – forced to grow up/act as mother of house – controlling father – wants to have knowledge – wise
Sally – Esperanza’s “friend” – sexually curious – uses sexuality to escape controlling, abusive father only to marry an older, controlling, abusive man – secretly rebellious
Setting:
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Throughout the novel Esperanza resents the Chicano community because for women it means taking the backseat to male control. While trying to remain independent and denying her rightful role as woman, Esperanza battles with who she is on the inside, eventually allowing herself to be expressive through writing. Esperanza matures greatly throughout the novel as she transforms from a naïve little girl to an understanding young
Another example of optimism portrayed by Esperanza was that despite her horrible first experiences with the opposite sex, (as in chapter 21, The First Job and chapter 39, The Red Clowns) she still has dreams of sitting outside at night with her
The third is Sally, who shows Esperanza all the dangers and scary things of adulthood. Esperanza can share almost all her feelings with Sally. “Sally, do you sometimes wish you didn’t have to go home? Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street, far away and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you.” (Cisneros 82). This is something Esperanza never even told her family, and shows that she had a big desire to leave Mango Street, but cannot yet. Sally introduced Esperanza to situations in life that Esperanza realized she is not ready for yet, and is still afraid of. “Sally, you lied. It wasn’t what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn’t want it, Sally. The way they said it, the way it’s supposed to be, all the storybooks and movies, why did you lie to me?” (Cisneros 99). All the situations Sally introduced to Esperanza influenced her the most because Esperanza listens to her advice, and she is closest to Sally. Finally there is Minerva. Only a little older than Esperanza, Minerva already has two kids and a husband who has left her, causing Minerva to regret her life on Mango Street. “Minerva cries because she is so unlucky.” (Cisneros 84) Seeing this makes Esperanza think about how if she stays on Mango Street, She will be trapped
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
In the novel, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the theme of growing up is prevalent throughout the book. Throughout the novel, a young mexican girl named Esperanza goes through experiences as she matures that involve her friends, society, dangers that expose her to the outside world and help her to realize what the real world is like.
Hook: In the coming-of-age novel, House on Mango Street, the main character Esperanza narrates the story through her perspective of the situations she encounters as she grows older in her new neighborhood.
Often in literature, authors create plot by writing about characters maturing throughout the story. One work that explores childhood to adulthood is The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. In this novella, Esperanza Cordero is a young girl who lives in a poverty stricken area in Chicago. During the story, Esperanza grows up from being an adolescent to a young adult. In the novella, the theme is that losing innocence brings about maturity. Cisneros expresses Esperanza growing up by juxtaposing vignettes. Tone is also used to enhance the change in Esperanza’s thoughts while maturing. Both the juxtaposition of vignettes and tone support the theme that the loss of innocence and the gaining of
The art connects to The House on Mango Street because it’s a representation of the beatdown street Esperanza and her family has to live on. From the cracks in the road and potholes, it’s obvious that this is a lower class street. It gives off the vibe of alarming or frightening to other people driving through the street because others would think that gangs live in those houses, instead of Esperanza and her nice family. The Cadillac that Louie's cousin had parked along the street revealed the gap between poor and rich that Esperanza doesn’t want. She wants to not be considered ‘lower class’
The Power of Words in The House on Mango Street The House on Mango Street is about a young girl named Esperanza. She lives in the neighborhood of Mango Street, where she writes about her different experiences there. Even if she has never liked her house on mango street, she knows it will always be a part of her. Esperanza starts to realize in her small neighborhood how important words are and how they can shape a person. The pivotal moment for Esperanza is in the vignette, “No Speak English” where she explains the isolation of Mamacita and comes to realization that words mean much more than they are thought to be.
"My Grandparents, My Parents and Me." My Grandparents My Parents, Mis Abuelos Mis Padres, Frida Kahlo, C0160. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May
Esperanza has a variety of female role models in her life. Many are trapped in abusive relationships, waiting for others to change their live. A female role model or friends seems to be important to Esperanza. Some of the women that are her role models are, Esperanza's great-grandmother, Marin, and Rafaela. Even though she may not have known these women very well they still impacted her life immensely , some showed the way that Esperanza did not want to live in her life to information about boys she found interesting.
The House on Mango Street is an important coming of age story that observes the life of a young "Chicana" (Mexican-American) girl through her creative use of words and storytelling over the course of one year. It is an interesting style to read because of the way it paints several pictures then leaves the reader to bring them together to see the bigger image of the area in which the protagonist, Esperanza, lives.
Esperanza Cordero is a young twelve year old girl, growing up in a place, in a house, where she feels as though she does not want to be, or even belong. She often remembered her great-grandmother, from whom she had gotten her name from, as a way of relating her hopelessness to someone. Esperanza usually felt hopeless, which she found ironic considering that the name itself means hope. She reminisces about her great-grandmother from the stories she had been told, saying that she was a “horse woman,” who was free-spirited until she had gotten married and tied down. Esperanza only had this
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.
Thesis statement: Esperanza has a variety of female role models in her life. Many are trapped in abusive relationships, waiting for others to change their lives. Some are actively trying to change things on their own. Through these women and Esperanza’s reactions to them, Cisneros’ shows not only the hardships women face, but also explores their power to overcome them.
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.