“You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street. You can't erase what you know. You can't forget who you are” (105). No matter what, Esperanza’s experiences on Mango Street have become a part of her and she cannot change it. In the novella, The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, the author introduces Esperanza, a resident of Mango Street, who constantly dreams of becoming an independent woman with a house of her own ideals. As she and her family purchase a house and become a newcomer into a new neighborhood of a crowded and poor Latino area, Esperanza faces mental and physical changes that affect how she sees the world. Sadly, the characteristics of the house consist of nothing of her desires. Due to her …show more content…
“In the movies, there is always one with red red lips who is beautiful and cruel. She is the one who drives the men crazy and laughs them away. Her power is her own. She will not give it away” (89). Later in the novella, Esperanza wants to transform into the gal of the movies by attempting to be more desirable to men as well as being able to be herself. The lass takes her first shot to begin a “quiet war” by refusing to wash the dishes and pushing her chair in to be like a man that increases the hassle and work for other women, or in this case her mother. Although until later in the book, her mother advises her to be a “smart cookie” to stay in school and depend on herself than anyone else instead of having a childhood that would not lead her to her true potential. Esperanza later on befriends Sally with the same intentions of being sexually bold. Unlike Esperanza, Sally consistently hangs around boys who force her to do wrong things. Ultimately, the protagonist was manhandled, making Esperanza rethink her decision on converting into the movie girl. Not to mention that an identity, is nothing without the people and place one is born or lives with. The location and family around one helps shape them to be who they are. The people on Mango Street helped Esperanza become who she
Growing up on Mango Street, girls had to take two steps backward to take one forward. Just like ballroom dancing, women let men take the lead and sacrifice an extra step to continue moving on the floor. When Sally escaped from her father and married the marshmallow salesman, she had to give up her youth and femininity.
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.
The Novel, The House on Mango Street, was based on the writer Sandra Cisneros. She was writing this when she was living in Chicago. She was like Esperanza. She want though poverty. She has been heartbroken and deeply joyous. She inventing for herself who and what she will become. This is the life of Esperanza Cordero and based on Sandra Cisneros to all women out there.
The polarizing thing about Sally is she herself is enduring a hardship of her own. Esperanza can empathize with how women should be able to freely do as they wish. She is a family women like so many throughout the novel, continuing to persevere on. However, Sally is kept captive by her abusive relationship nonetheless. To the point where her own environment and outer surroundings induce and strike fear. Actually, she is afraid to “look out her own window” (102). In essence, her soft feelings convey the reality of the situation. Not being able to be independent and forge one’s destiny is quite scary indeed. Her incessant fear to creep out of the vale of a toxic relationship represents the inferiority of women in a
Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street tells the story of a young, teenage, Latina girl named Esperanza, living in the late twentieth century. Esperanza takes her readers through her life and adventures through each chapter of the novella where each time she learns something. She faces the troubles of racism, friendship, and strange neighborhoods and most importantly, figuring out how she wants to spend her life. Through her race and wealth, Esperanza has created her identity as a shy, poor, and ambitious person.
To begin with, Esperanza always saw this great distinction between the genders. Esperanza’s innocence causes her to be ignorant towards sex, so much so that she even goes out to say that the two genders “live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours.” (cite? pg #)She isn’t quite ready to leave the asexuality of childhood, however when Esperanza and her friends put on the shoes and walked around the town showing them off the to men they realized how much power they really had. (great! text quote maybe?Due to Esperanza’s hatred of(reframe-hatred of) her reality she was eager to use the power of physical beauty to escape.Though this power may seem significant at first, it is really worthless because men only take advantage of the women through trickery and force. The first instance of this was when the bum man asked Rachel for a kiss in exchange for a dollar.The girls realize this as an act of assault due to his insistence and the idea that he can easily take as what he is asking for scares them off before any actions
In a series of vignettes, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, covers a year in the life of Esperanza, who is about twelve years old. During the year, she moves into a house on Mango Street. It is the first home her parents actually own, however she has had a plethora apartments in her life. However, the house is not what Esperanza has dreamed of, for the reason that it is run-down and cramped. For the duration of the vignettes, the readers watch Esperanza struggle but overall mature. In the rest of the vignettes, the readers receive a glimpse of the lives of the women on Mango Street. When reading the readers get to learn and understand these women. They are extremely important because they act as character foils to help the readers better understand Esperanza. During the novel, the women on Mango Street are confined and go through many struggles. The reader also learns about Esperanza's identity.
Esperanza was ashamed of the house she lived in, the clothes she wore, her appearance and even her name. Esperanza’s confidence was already extremely low. For instance, she was talking to a nun at her school about being able to eat lunch at school because she lived to far away to walk home and eat. The nun glared out the window and pointed at a rundown house and asked if Esperanza lived there. Even though she did not live there, Esperanza replied, “Yes.” After the nun made this rude remark, Esperanza cried because she was disappointed that the nun thought it was her house. She let the nun get the best of her. It is crucial to keep a positive attitude and try your hardest to make the best of your situation, as it will enable you to live a happier life and be more successful in what you do. Although at times Esperanza was humiliated and embarrassed, such as when Tito and Sally started to laugh at her when she tried to stop them from kissing Sally, she didn’t let these situations keep her down. Esperanza was sad that one of her good friends would do such a thing to her, when she was only trying to protect her, but continued to persevere and made the best of the
The novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisnero, expresses on a series of vignettes, a year in the life of a Mexican-American twelve year old. Throughout the year, Esperanza moves into a new house on Mango Street. The house is run-down and small, and in Latino neighborhood in Chicago. The House on Mango Street describes the life of a young girl, Esperanza, and the struggle in finding herself; however, Esperanza’s enviornment, friends, race, and gender allow her to find a sense of identity. Esperanza
In the "The house on mango street" by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza is most likely to embrace her Sexuality. She receive's more messages of sexual empowerment. For example, the way she think and about Sire and his girlfriend. "Everthing is holding its breath inside me.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a novel that talks about the life of Esperanza, meaning "hope" in English and a Chicana (Mexican American girl). Esperanza brings us into her world through short stories of when she lived in Mango Street. A perspective of the Latino neighborhood, family, friends and into maturity where Esperanza expresses the challenges she faces such as having her first crush and sexual assault. The House of Mango Street is extremely simple and easy to read, making the words flow smoothly.
Furthermore, Esperanza had to pay for her friend. She wanted anyone to be her friend whatever that cost her. For example when Rachel and her sister said to her, “If you give me five dollar I will be your friend forever” (14). Rachel and her sister were the free prisoners who save her Esperanza. They show her how the life is when you have friend. They hanged out with each other. Discovering the neighborhood. Sharing a bicycle. They should her the meaning of life. Although the fact that Rachel and her sister were profiteers, they were the sun that bright Esperanza’s way to get out of the friendless cave. Esperanza hold Rachel and her sister’s hands until the last of the story. It’s true that Rachel and her sister might be not available right
When I see the word "community" I think of two things: a group of people who live in the same area and a group of people who share a bond with one another. Foremost, I believe that having a sense of duty to ones "community" has a deeper meaning when the "community" is made up with those who share a deeper connectivity then just living in the same place. For Esperanza, though, I believe that they are close to being one in the same. I think that if she looked at the word "community" means to her, she would think of those who live on Mango Street, not all of those who live in the same city as her. Those who she lives next to share a bond made from similar economic and oppressive experiences. I think that if we look as "community" as a group of
“Regrets are illuminations come too late.” Sandra Cisneros, author from Chicago, Illinois, touches on regret in her writing. Specifically in vignettes, “Edna’s Ruthie,” and “A Smart Cookie,” which make up apart of her novel, The House On Mango Street. Cisneros develops characters, and ultimately themes: hard work pays off and kindness isn’t always reciprocated through the use of dialogue.
Reading the House on Mango Street was very interesting. It was fascinating to read someone else's story and be able to relate to someone with a completely different life than me. It also compelled me to look at life through a different culture and growing up experiences than mine and challenged me to think about things I initially would not think about. I enjoyed reading it because I was able to mentally create a timeline of all the different vignettes, each of them showing me different little snippets of her growing up and figuring out how to exist in the world. There was a reason for each story. Some of them had very clear lessons that she learned, others were experiences she went through that she never forgot. Some were happy, others not so much. All of them combined made the story of her life growing up in the house on mango street. This is why I think the dominant theme to this book is growing up. The struggles and the experiences one goes through to figure out themselves and the world around them. A lot of the vignettes she wrote seemed to be her retelling parts in her life from a very young age all the way into adulthood, but there are three in particular that stood out to me as stories that revealed her growing up.