Summary Of The Story 'My Name' By Esperanza

Esperanza was a little girl who always felt like she was destined to have more than what she had, which, quite frankly wasn’t a lot. She

A time in the story where Esperanza feels ashamed of her home is when a nun points “...to a row of ugly three-flats, the ones even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into" (94), and asks if one of the homes belongs to Esperanza. Even though the house did not really belong to Esperanza, she knew her real house wasn't much nicer than the houses the nun pointed to. Esperanza also shows negativity when she complains about her name. Esperanza didn't always like the name she was given, because she doesn't want to end up like her great grandmother, who was forced into marriage, and is basically trapped inside. Esperanza inherited her name, but "[doesn't] want to inherit her place by the window" (51). Esperanza also shows a negative attitude is when she explains that her name “...means sadness, it means

After Esperanza reads Aunt Lupe one of her poems, her aunt tells her that she might be able to use her writing to be set free and find her real identity; however, Esperanza didn’t figure out the real meaning of her aunt’s words until her aunt passed away. After her aunt dies, Esperanza is confronted by shame and guilt, which also happen to be the feelings that Aunt Lupe felt in the years that took her to pass away (she was embarrassed to be a burden on her family for so many

In the beginning of the book, Esperanza talks about the meaning of her name and how she feels about it. She tells how her name sounds like when you say it; it sounds like “...the Mexican records my [Esperanza’s] father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing," (Cisneros 10). Here, Esperanza uses the sense of sound to describe her name like the sound of sad songs and dreary long sobs. The sensory detail of describing the name like music or a sound helps the reader "hear" the sounds and understand the way that Esperanza feels about her name. This detail illustrates how Esperanza thinks of her name as something sad and dreary as opposed to a beautiful or bright and happy name.

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.

In English Esperanza’s name means, “hope” (Cisneros 10), but in Spanish, it means “sadness” (Cisneros 10) and “waiting” (Cisneros 10). The word “hope” (Cisneros 10) adds a positive connotation to her name, but the words “sadness” (Cisneros 10) and “waiting” (Cisneros 10), add a negative connotation to the name. Cisneros character doesn’t like her name because she has inherited it from her great-grandmother who she describes as a “wild horse of a woman” (11), who did not want to get married, but was eventually forced into it. She never forgave her husband and spent her whole life looking out the window. Esperanza states that she does not want to inherit her great-grandmother’s “place by the window” along with her name. She wants to change her name to something that shows her true, secret self. Esperanza says; “I would like to baptize myself under a real name, a name more like the real me.” (Cisneros 11) She decides that a name such as Zeze the X would be

In "My Name, "She looked out the window her whole life, they way so many women sit, with their sadness on an elbow". Abuse to Rafaela, again subtle because she does not go out, in fear of husband. Poverty on Loomis, Keeler and Paulina; poverty is a way of life. The impact is for all generations, the parents who cannot get out, the children that see it and the little ones who cannot know any better. The opportunities are limited in the barrio. Esperanza was embarrassed when she pointed to her house "there". "There?", as if there was no place for a girl to live. But survival is instinctive and there is a certain amount of barrio pride "Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we are dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives. They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake." The victim of being called a "rice sandwich". Hurt by the sister superior as she points to a row of ugly houses reminding Esperanza of the sin of being poor.

She says "I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more life than the real me, the one nobody sees"(page 11 My Name) Esperanza was a very

A poignant figure in Esperanza’s life is her own grandmother. In fact, Esperanza was given her birth name after her grandmother. A touching gesture that came from good faith. A name may have some value, but for Esperanza there was a high intrinsic quality to such a simple component. Despite, never encountering her own grandmother in person, Esperanza was grateful to have fond memories by carrying her legacy through her name. Life’s motto concerns dealing with adversity and carrying the legacy of one’s family eternally. Being confident and smart was the only way to live by. No man was needed to help raise and nurture herself. Her grandmother instilled in Esperanza a sense of fortitude and independence. It is sad that a regret of Esperanza is linked to her grandmother, further illustrating the physical and mental hardships one can endure in

In the novel,The House on Mango Street, Cisneros uses a powerful collection of imagery however, one of the strongest examples would be in the chapter My Name, which displays Esperanza’s insecurities in a land who struggles to accept her. “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting,” (Cisneros pg.10). Esperanza explains the meaning of hope for Hispanic people in a few simple words: sadness and waiting. For millions, it represents the wait of a new life, a better life for them. It’s sadness, knowing many reject them in a land they were promised opportunity. This motif of repudiation and racial discrimination appears frequently throughout the novel which greatly affects Esperanza’s life.

Esperanza began to feel like an outcast, like she was completely alone. She felt absolutely ashamed of who she was. Her identity was lost in her yearn to find comfort in friends to feel as if she belonged. “I want to be like the waves on the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but I’m me. One day I’ll jump out of my skin. I’ll shake

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 felt Alfonso behind her , putting his hands on her shoulders. She felt the blood drain from her face”. This quote showed Esperanza worried and thinking about what was going to happen next. She had already lost her Papa, she couldn’t lose Mama.. This was a major challenge that Esperanza had to face as an

It means sadness, it means waiting” (10). Not only is Esperanza’s name a way to trace her origin but it is also symbolic to the book as a whole. Her name illustrates how the Spanish inside her is sad and it is putting her in a position that is weighing her down and keeping her from becoming someone. The English counterpart is what is keeping her going and motivated to find a way to escape Mango Street and all it encompasses. Just like a genuine immigrants dream when they come to America, Esperanza’s name means “hope” and she uses this hope for a better life to “One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away” (110). Cisneros uses the name of her character to give her a place in a Latino setting and start expounding on her thoughts and feelings that come with that life.

A name is not just what you’re called, it is who you are. It is what you stand for and ultimately defines you as a person. Growing up, I used to think my name did not fit me and that nothing that my name stood for had anything to do with me. Now that I am older, I understand the real meaning of my name and how the traits that are connected with my name relate to the person that I have become and continue to develop into. My name represents who I am and who I plan to be.