Summary Of Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen

In “The House on Mango Street” gender socialization is a major theme incorporated throughout the novel. Accordingly, Esperanza expresses her own feminist views through her storytelling of her female friends and role models that are in her life. These women help Esperanza build her own identity through giving her awareness of what is expected of women and therefore helping her embrace women empowerment and the breaking of gender roles.

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. Because his mother was Jewish and his father was not, he was often bullied in school. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, so his Jewish peers mocked him for standing out and being different, and his peers at school teased him simply for being Jewish. His own internal conflict with his identity sparked his interest in identity formation and development. Although he never actually received a degree in medicine or psychology, he became friends with Anna Freud who helped him study psychoanalysis. Erikson supported and was influenced by many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas. Freud had a theory on development, he called it the 5 stages of psychosexual development, this is one of the theories that Erikson

“She walks, she talks, she cleans, she works, she IS, but she is NOT, all at once. She is here, but part of her is elsewhere for eternity” (Anonymous). This quote by an anonymous person illustrates a woman who is rooted in who she is but dreams to be someone else. She dreams to be another person, far away from her dreary life. Sandra Cisneros establishes that many young girls within the Hispanic culture represented in The House on Mango Street are forced into roles they do not wish to take, resulting in a loss of identity and ultimately, a sense of powerlessness in the girl without anyone to show her how to be powerful.

throughout his life was going through an identity crisis. “In Erik Erikson 's stages of

In The House on Mango Street, one of the themes discussed is gender inequality. In fact, most Hispanic cultures have this problem, for example, the man must be in charge, especially in the house, and he must get a job, etc....and

Throughout The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros puts plenty of examples of powerful and meaningful imagery. It helps to contribute to the overall tone and message the stories are trying to exude. In the vignette “A Rice Sandwich” Esperanza is sent to the headmaster’s office after trying to get into a lunch line that she wasn’t usually in, even when she had a letter from her mom that she was supposed to be there. The headmaster eventually becomes aware of where she lives: a rundown, raggedy house in an even worse neighborhood. The headmaster allows Esperanza to return to the canteen and began to eat. However, she is not welcomed by the other kids and is watched by “lots of boys and girls… while [Esperanza] cried and ate [her] sandwich, the bread greasy and the rice cold” (45).

The culture of Mango Street lends itself to espousing two main gender roles for women, most importantly the role of mother and caretaker, and less significantly, as sexual figure. Women on Mango Street commonly embrace or are forced to embrace at least one of these roles. Marin, a woman who takes care of her cousins by day and sits outside smoking by night, easily embodies both roles. Sally particularly exemplifies that women cannot get away from the gender roles that bind them. In her family, being a female means becoming a vulnerable person for the man to control. However, Sally prefers to ignore this gender role and advertise herself as a seductress. As she agrees to give “a kiss for each” boy (Cisneros 97) in exchange for her keys back, “beauty is linked to sexual coercion …; there are no promises of marriage here, only promises of giving back to Sally what is already hers” (Wissman). Her family rejects his role, though to some extent accepted by Mango Street. By accepting the alternate gender role, Sally tries to break away from the gender role her family expects of her. However, she is unsuccessful. To escape from her father, Sally is “married before eighth grade” (Cisneros 101) to an equally controlling man who “won’t let her talk on the telephone” or “look out the window” (Cisneros 102). The marriage is a way

The House on Mango Street is a bildungsroman about a young Latina girl, named Esperanza Cordero, who has various struggles while she is searching to determine who she is and where she belongs in this world. The author, Sandra Cisneros, addresses several themes in the book of which three are significant; language barrier, self discovery, and gender roles.

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen and Moonlight shadow are Japanese novellas in which the protagonist is followed during their grieving period. In order to accurately depict the nature of significant loss and its aftermath, the stories follow distinct structures to that of western literature. Yoshimoto intensifies unexpected losses in a young woman’s life with the non-linear structure and the deficit of foreshadowing. The structure supports the story’s themes of lack of control in life and the unexpectedness it withholds.

People from all over the world change, change in either mentality, thoughts, maturity, physically, mentally, appearance, feelings and etc. What causes the transformation of that person is important, but how much did it affect them is also crucial. In Sandra Cisneros novel, entitled The House on Mango Street,the story depicts a Latina girl who transform throughout her time being on Mango Street. The girl named Esperanza is to faced obstacles of female oppression that she witnesses in the life of women on her street who they depends on men to bring them out of the street. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros uses characterization to express the

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.

Sandra Cisneros’, “The House on Mango Street” focuses on the narration of Esperanza, a young adolescent growing up in Chicago. Throughout the novel, Esperanza strives to develop her own sense of identity, while searching for the means out of her poverty-stricken neighborhood. With the help of her friends and family, Esperanza discovers how the world works, and what she needs to do in order to successfully better herself. The novel features several concepts of gender and sexuality studies including that of class structures, red-lining, gender, sexuality, intersectionality, and beauty. Those listed are simply a few more prominent features, as each character Esperanza introduces displays many more concepts within each scene. The concept of gender is portrayed widely throughout the novel and creates a foundation for the expectations the girls are about to face as they grow. Intersectionality interplays within the daily lives of each girl, and is seen within every page of the novel. Finally, beauty standards play an important role in the transition from adolescent to young adult each girl faces. Together, gender, intersectionality, and beauty standards, make up the novel, as it portrays the importance of each of these three core concepts of gender, women and sexuality studies.

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.

Mizuki says in a soft voice, “You know, my friends were always saying that when you and Yuuji are walking together that they can't keep their eyes off of you because your guys are so perfect.” Akihisa smiles and says cheerfully, “Your friends sound pretty nice. You should keep them around.” Mizuki then says, “They also are pretty sure that you're the doughnut to his banana.” Akihisa replies back in a monotone voice, “You should lose those friends.” The lines “you're the doughnut to his banana” is a form of taboo humor due to its sexual nature. The phrase suggests that Akihisa and Yuuji Sakamoto are in a homosexual relationship. The “doughnut” refers to how Akihisa will be the one receiving, and the “banana” refers to how Yuuji will be the one who does the penetration. The juxtaposition is due to the unusual combination of a doughnut and a banana. The use of taboo and juxtaposition helps create

Growing up is one of the most confusing times in one’s life, as you are not completely sure of your interest. In Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask, Kochan is going through one of the hardest times in his life, as he is accepting that he is a homosexual. Kochan tries desperately to be normal and convince himself that he does in fact like women. However, that is to no avail, as he soon becomes infatuated with a fellow student named Omi. In this essay I will discuss how Kochan’s love for Omi, ends up being only lust.