Essay On The House On Mango Street Lessons

997 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Feminist reading of the house on mango street

There are multiple lessons we learn throughout the years we live, whether it be from a book or our friends and family. The book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, is the coming-of-age story of Esperanza Cordero who goes through the hero’s journey. Throughout Esperanza’s life of living on Mango Street, she discovers the many realities life has to offer. Esperanza learns that sexual attention is dangerous and unwanted, to not stop what she is doing if she feels like she does not belong, and some things in life are not what you expect it to be through her own experiences and the experience the people and things around her go through. Esperanza learns that sexual attention is unwanted and dangerous through her experiences. For …show more content…

This can be interpreted in a positive and negative way. For example, in the chapter “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” Esperanza overhears Nenny and Gil talking about a music box she thought to be a pretty pink box with a tiny ballerina inside, but was only to find a wooden box that’s old and has a big brass record in it with holes and unexpectedly plays something so beautiful. This shows that Esperanza did not expect something beautiful to come out of something so old and dull looking. Through this experience she learns that she should not judge a book by its cover. In addition, in the chapter “A Rice Sandwich” Esperanza realizes the canteen in her school is not as special as she thought it was. This shows she expected greater things when she was finally able to eat in the canteen. Instead of a glamorous, special place Esperanza hoped that it would be, it turned out to be a place where tears were shed and hopes had disappeared. Esperanza learns that some things are not what you expect through the experiences she went …show more content…

For example, dressing appropriately in public knowing that certain things we wear attract sexual attention. This shows that the lesson of sexual attention being dangerous can be applied to our lives. Sexual attention is dangerous, especially for teens and little kids, and it is this lesson that will save them from being sexually assaulted. In addition, to keep studying in college/school even if you feel like you do not belong. This shows how the lesson of to keep keeping could be applied to our lives. There has been studies that college freshmen drop out of college because they feel like they do not belong there, but with this lesson and a little perseverance the college freshmen would be on their way to reach their goals. Also, for example, to not take first impressions for granted or to not judge a book by its cover. This shows how to apply the lesson of not everything you see is what you expect. Whenever someone new is introduced into your life, you always make a first impression of them, no doubt about it. Whether it be a good impression or bad impression, there is always something stopping you from talking to them or getting to know them because of one silly assumption we made, but who's to say that assumption is correct? With this lesson we would still make our silly assumptions about this person, but knowing this

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Figurative Language In The House On Mango Street

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    The House on Mango Street is a novel by Sandra Cisneros. It is set in a poor, Latino neighborhood around 1960. The main character, Esperanza, is expected to get married in order to support herself. However, Esperanza strives for independence, and seeks to end the cycle of abusive patriarchy that holds Mango Street in thrall. Through the use of syntax and figurative language, Cisneros establishes that a sense of not belonging can fuel an individual’s desire for a better future.

    Read More

  • House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Esperanza finally comes to the conclusion that she does not need to fit into the mold of Mango Street. She also realizes that by making her own world, she can do bigger and better things and come back to help others on Mango Street. Not everybody can fit into the same mold and Esperanza made her own. . Esperanza leaving shows that she is a leader and hopefully she will have the others from Mango Street follow in her path. Maybe other people will fit into Esperanza’s mold or they will use her as an example. Esperanza used the other women as an example to make something of herself so all of the negative people she meets and has in her life, they made her the person she wanted to be.

    Read More

  • Control In House On Mango Street

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poor slums of Chicago, a family living in poverty struggles to get by. In the book, House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza is a twelve year old girl who lives with her family in the Windy City. She lives with her three siblings and both parents on Mango Street. Esperanza has no control over her life and family’s poverty. People who have no control over their life desperately seek change. Esperanza seeks to change her name, her home, and her destiny as a way to control her life.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of The House on Mango Street and the producer of The Color Purple are able to integrate numerous important thematic ideas. Many of these ideas still apply to our current world, teaching various important lessons to many adolescents and adults. The House on Mango Street is a collection of vignettes written by Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican-American writer. The novel depicts many aspects of Sandra Cisneros’ life including racism, and sexism that she and the main character face. The novel revolves around Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl, who is growing up in Chicago as she faces the various struggles of living in America. The various vignettes reveal many experiences Esperanza has with reality and her navie responses to such harsh

    Read More

  • The House of Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    The plot of The House on Mango Street symbolizes an immigrant family moving to the United States in hope of a future with more opportunities. It is a story about a girl by the name of Esperanza and the retelling of the events in her childhood. Esperanza faces many challenges growing up in an underdeveloped neighborhood of inner city Chicago. Through her experiences at home, school, and with people she starts to blossom into the young woman she always wanted to be. Esperanza encounters many unjust acts as a result of living in an urban neighborhood. These encounters make her want to move to a different neighborhood because she feels like she does not belong on Mango Street. She feels trapped because she has a dream to attend college and become a writer. Her hope is that she will be able to live a prosperous American life and be able to come back to Mango Street to help those who cannot escape on their own. It is, most importantly, the story of a girl maturing into a woman an...

    Read More

  • Oppression Of Women In The House On Mango Street

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    The House on Mango Street is the tale about a young girl named Esperanza who is maturing throughout the text. In it Esperanza documents the events and people who make up Mango Street. It is through this community that Esperanza’s ideas and concepts of the relationships between men and women are shaped. She provides detailed accounts about the oppression of women at not only the hands of men who make up Mango Street but also how the community contributes to this oppression. As the young girls and women of Mango Street try to navigate the world they must deal with a patriarchal society that seeks to keep them confined. By growing up in this environment where women are confined Esperanza seeks desperately to depart from Mango Street for fear

    Read More

  • Poverty In The House On Mango Street

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the vignette "a rice sandwich" Esperanza shows her embarrassment and sadness for her family's poverty. "That one? She said, pointing to a row of ugly three-flats, that even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes, I nodded even though I knew that was not my house and started to cry." (Cisneros, 45). This quote really portrays Esperanza's sadness. Even though, Esperanza knew that was not her house she started to cry

    Read More

  • Feminism In The House On Mango Street

    2668 Words  | 6 Pages

    The House on Mango Street depicts the role of woman as she grows up. Her poems demonstrate the role of woman in an unjust society. All together the stories of poverty, crime, sex, rape marriage all dealing with woman become the reason why she decides to stay connected with her cultural traditions, but also give her motivation to find a better life. She feels like she has a responsibility to return, because no one else will help these women. Esperanza dedicates this book to the woman, she addresses her book to larger community of woman. She wants them to find their place,their identity. As Esperanza accepts her past, she knows that she wil...

    Read More

  • Diversity In The House On Mango Street

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    Esperanza is relying on her childhood to help her through life she feels like “a red balloon tied to an anchor” (9,1,3) This passage describes that Esperanza singles herself out for her differences instead of her similarities and she knows it. She also sees her differences as a source of her isolating herself. She floats in the sky for all of the rest of us to see, dangling from a string. Esperanza is longing on for an escape like a balloon similar to her experiences with our society. However against the face that Cisneroz gives her a light voice, doesn't mean that it's not just as strong and

    Read More

  • The House On Mango Street Conflict Essay

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, conflict is utilized to present the notion that the challenges we face in our lives contribute to the shaping of our identity. This idea is presented early in the novel when readers are introduced to the root of Esperanza’s conflicts – her house on Mango Street. This street is where the novel takes place, and it is where a patriarchal society thrives, thus making it a primary conflict that Esperanza, along with other women, must deal with. This problem is first addressed when Esperanza explains the meaning behind her name: “It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female – but I think this is a

    Read More

  • The House On Mango Street Symbol Essay

    483 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are varieties of symbol that appears in the house on mango street, all of them have different use to the novella. Here are some representative symbols.

    Read More

  • The House On Mango Street Essay

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel of self-discovery called The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, guides the reader through a series of vignettes about a young girl named Esperanza Cordero. The novel focuses on how Esperanza deals with her everyday conflicts, and how she intensively learns who she is and who she wants to be. This novel includes many different perspectives of society and what role each individual plays. There are many stereotypes and beliefs according to society of how women and men are treated and how they should act. However, the victims in this novel are the women. An analysis of how women are treated in this novel reveals the hardships they face and what role they play in society.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Esperanza in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    At first, Esperanza is young, insecure, and immature. Her immaturity is apparent when she talks about her mom holding her, saying it is, “sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you and you feel safe” (Cisneros 6-7). This shows Esperanza’s insecurity because her mom is still a big comfort source to her. She feels a false sense of comfort because her mom is there and will protect her. In addition, Esperanza’s immaturity is shown through her dislike for outsiders of the neighborhood when she says, “They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake” (Cisneros 28). This indicates how defensive and protective Esperanza is towards her barrio by calling outsiders stupid for reacting the way they do, even though she dislikes Mango Street....

    Read More

  • House on Mango Street: Esperanza's Journey of Self-Discovery

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    In class we read the book House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza lives in a lower working class neighborhood and street called Mango Street dealing with poverty. Her house is an important symbol in House on Mango Street. It represents Eperanza’s process of maturing as a person and the change in her perspective of poverty and struggle being shameful, to it being something to embrace and use as motivation. This is a very important part of the story because it is in many aspects where we are from that make us who we become. This is interesting to see in the book as her opinions and perspective of things inside and outside of her neighborhood are shaped by her experiences.

    Read More

  • Importance of the Monkey Garden in The House on Mango Street

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life as a kid is effortless, where the only motive is to have fun. Some people never want to have responsibility and complexity that comes with being an adult as they realize they must take accountability sometime. Likewise in "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza tries her best to avoid is renegade against the normal expectations of women on Mango Street. Esperanza's only way to avoid having to become part of the adult world around her, is by entering The Monkey Garden where she gets to be a kid. Esperanza's depiction of the serene and carefree descriptions of the garden contrast the confused and disturbed attitude Esperanza has towards Sally and the boys' game. As she finally realizes she cannot remain a kid forever, Esperanza feel alienated and alone.

    Read More

More about Essay On The House On Mango Street Lessons

Open Document