The Women on Mango Street In the book Mango street by Sandra Cisneros, some things that are often seen with the woman on Mango Street is abusiveness and controlling towards the woman and it is usually by a man along with that they barely have any freedom to leave the house. On page 79, it states, “And then Rafaela who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away..”. This evidence shows that the woman don’t want to just be cooking or just doing nothing in the house they want to do something bigger or better. Unfortunately, though they are kept inside, ineligible to go outside unless they are going to school and after kept inside the house, by either
Characteristics are what define us as human beings. When comparing and contrasting one person to another, characteristics is used to do so. Characteristics such as physical appearance or emotional perceptions help define how a person is perceived, and how we do, or do not compare in such ways. Authors use descriptions of physical characteristics to help us paint a picture in our mind of characters’ appearance from their books while, characteristics of a character’s mentality help develop a personality for us to relate to. It is important for authors to develop personality so readers can relate or understand the differences from themselves and the characters of their stories. The house on mango street is a book written by Sandra Cisneros which, is about main character Esperanza coming to age. Esperanza speaks frequently about having a house she can be proud to call her own. The house in this story represents both physical and intangible wants and needs of the main character. I cannot compare myself physically due to the difference in sex but, Esperanza and I do have similarities
Cisneros depicts Mango Street as a rough neighborhood, but she also conveys a sense of community. She writes down that “we are safe,” (Cisneros, 28) to indicate that she can find the sense of community. Even if the author does not think she belongs to Mango Street, she does not deny that her community lives there. At the beginning of The House on Mango Street, Cisneros states that “I had to have a house. A real house,” (Cisneros, 5) illustrating that after knowing the American society’s evaluation criteria of success, she wants to follow the upward mobility and be viewed as a successful figure not only because she wants to be appreciated but also because white people will change their stereotypes of Hispanic people if they see that a Hispanic woman can be as successful as other whites. Her ambition triggers her to want to explore the meaning of being a Hispanic girl in the real world. Furthermore, in the “My name” session, the author depicts her great-grandmother’s life. “She looked out the window her whole life… but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” (Cisneros, 11) Cisneros wants a marriage formed because of love, like most white people do; her desire indicates that she wants to live like the whites, so that they will respect her and the Hispanic race later. In addition, Cisneros points out that she
The most notable issues she talks about in her works is how women in Mexican culture are treated and how they are depicted. In the short story woman hollering creek. She illustrates women as weak and helpless due to both cultural oppression and their helplessness as immigrants in the Unites States. During 1980s there was an immigration reform and major racism against foreigners developed in the United States (Dávila & Mora, 2001). Another social issue that was prevalent during this time was the child poverty rate in the United States from the late 1960s to early 1980s Mexican children made up 30% to 25% of the children in poverty (Jennifer, Brown & Maxwell, 2004). Although in the book The House on Mango Street she does not come and says she instead expresses it through the book in her
As she tours her hometown, one can see the horrendous circumstances in which her community thrives in, for example, to get from one side to the other they must cross a makeshift bridge where the water has begun to change color such as black, green, even beginning to foam. Numerous health problems have arisen due to the toxic waste that is being dumped into the streams that therefore leading to runoff when it rains such as sores developing on feet and legs, weakened immune system, spots that appear on the limbs, etc. Lujan, a third world feminist (could also be known as an environmental feminist as well) exposes the unsanitary environment in which she lives in, desiring a greater community where her children can live in without the worry of diseases or the contamination of their water sources. Though she was not always a promotora/advocator it was not until Lujan came face to face with a sign inviting women to participate in a health survey furthermore learning about the health risks that she made the decision to be outspoken about the cause. She took workshops to help her better apprehend labor and women’s rights in order to promote laws and speak out against illegal acts conducted by businesses. Therefore, it only makes sense that women would be the most outspoken group of the maquiladoras since they make up eighty percent of the
Clara Barton’s ‘The Women Who Went to the Field’ describes the work of women and the contribution they made on the civil war battlefield in 1861. Barton highlights the fact that when the American Civil War broke out women turned their attention to the conflict and played a key role throughout as nurses. Therefore, at first glance this poem could in fact be seen as a commemoration of the women who served in the American Civil War as its publications in newspapers and magazines in 1892 ensured that all Civil War veterans were honoured and remembered, including the women. However, when reading this poem from a feminist perspective it can be seen instead as a statement on the changing roles of women; gender roles became malleable as women had the
In Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 short story “Sweat,” Delia Jones a washwoman and house owner is portrayed as an abused wife. Even though she has a job and owns the home she occupies, it does not change the fact that her husband still holds power over her. Women are stereotyped by society as housewives, which make them feel repressed of freedom. Women are repressed by society’s views and are limited in freedom, thus women such as Delia are unable to get what they desire.
The Story begins with a description of the house. The house in itself is a symbol of isolation women faced in the nineteenth-century. The protagonist describes the house as isolated and miles away from the village, but also described as “the most beautiful place” (Gilman 217). During the nineteenth-century, women were in a sense isolated from society, just like the house. The role of the women was to stay home and tend to the
In Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street,” Ezperanza Cordero relates her day-to-day experiences as she enters adolescence in a poor urban neighborhood. She introduces her family and friends, presenting their stories and giving a full picture of the community by doing so. The reader sees her grow significantly during the year – from a child content in the many adventures offered by the small Latino neighborhood
Real Women Have Curves and The House on Mango Street both center around a young Mexican-American girl growing up in a poor, largely Latino area in a major American city. The protagonists in the book and film, Ana and Esperanza, originally seek to leave their home for a better life and abandon the culture they were raised in. Although both Ana and Esperanza seem, or are able to, leave the area they were raised in for a home they desire they still carry their origins with them. The lessons both girls learned growing up in a Mexican-American society influence their actions and personality. Ana and Esperanza are both surrounded by a largely patriarchal society, however by rebelling against the cultural and gender norms that surround them and choosing to instead pursue an autonomous lifestyle they are better able to pursue a future away from the area they grew up in. In both Real Women Have Curves and The House on Mango Street, Ana and Esperanza take lessons from the “trapped” women around them to determine what they want to do differently to live independently of their culture. Their parents encouragement, or lack thereof, comes to either help or hinder them. In Real Women Have Curves for example, Ana only feels ready to leave her home life after her father gives her his blessing. However, when her mother refuses to support Ana’s rejection of a life close to home Ana has difficulty leaving for the airport. In today’s world young people like Ana and Esperanza still seek to
Who does not want a home? A shelter to sleep and a roof to dine under. Of course no one wanted to stay home forever, but once in awhile and even when far away, they will long to return to that sacred place, the place where they grew up and the place they have left behind, home. The desire for a home (or house to be precise, though there was not much of a different for this case) was realistically reflected through a fiction work of Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican American write, a story called The House on Mango Street, where we shall discuss about its setting, plot and character.
The Women of House on Mango Street and Bread Givers Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois. She was the only girl in a family of seven. Cisneros is noted for her collection of poems and books that concentrate on the Chicano experience in the United States. In her writings, Cisneros explores and transcends borders of location, ethnicity, gender and language. Cisneros writes in lyrical yet deceptively simple language.
Why do women choose to live in abusive and miserable relationships? Instead of taking actions and strive for happy life, women choose to stay silent. They have all the power to go against self-empowered men, but most of women renounce action. There are certain obstacle created by society and especially men that make it harder for women to stand up for themselves. The following articles explore and elucidate the idea of women’s silence and timidness to act. John Berger in his article “The Ways of Seeing” indicates women and men’s roles appearance in society and towards each other. The writer introduces the concept of surveyed and surveyor, where men play a role of an observant and women are an item that they observe. In the article “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” Audre Lorde discusses the importance of speaking out in order to show your true self. Silence only increases anxiety and feeling of oppression. The inspiring story in the excerpt “The Church and Slavery” by Harriet Jacobs tells us about slaves fighting for there freedom and equality through gaining knowledge of reading and writing. A lot of risks were taken to overcome the control of white man and oppression, but in the end those risks brought the start to the better future. Very illustrating and encouraging poster “You Body is a Battleground” shows the conflict that goes within abused women The light side of the poster shows the masked life of abused women, who pretend to live a happy life for others. The dark side illustrates women true feelings and emotions. The colors black, white and red, which were chosen by the artist Barbara Kruger connects us more to the poster, and makes us, share the pain of abused women. In the article “Once classroo...
In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros the protagonist, Esperanza, is exposed to a variety of potential female role models. By observing characters, like Marin, Alicia, Lois and Sally, Esperanza matures and gains a more complete identity. Esperanza and her friends admire Marin, the cousin of their neighbors, because of her seeming worldliness and maturity. Marin knows about themes foreign to the girls, like makeup and sexuality. Esperanza admires the fearlessness in Marin’s attitude towards boys explaining, “she looks at them without even blinking and is not afraid” [27]. Like Esperanza, Marin dreams of a better life and of moving away from Mango Street, however, where Esperanza hopes to escape through her own abilities, Marin imagines
Throughout The House on Mango Street Esperanza learns to resist the gender norms that are deeply imbedded in her community. The majority of the other female characters in the novel have internalized the male viewpoint and they believe that it is their husbands or fathers responsibility to care for them and make any crucial decisions for them. However, despite the influence of other female characters that are “immasculated”, according to Judith Fetterley, Esperanza’s experiences lead her to become a “resisting reader” in Fettereley’s terminology because she does not want to become like the women that she observes, stuck under a man’s authority. She desires to leave Mango Street and have a “home of her own” so that she will never be forced to depend on a man (Cisneros 108). During the course of the novel Esperanza eventually realizes that it is also her duty to go back to Mango Street “For the ones that cannot out”, or the women who do not challenge the norms (110). Esperanza eventually turns to her writing as a way to escape from her situation without having to marry a man that she would be forced to rely on like some of her friends do.
In the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the problems that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for what they look like, and not for what is on inside. In her Novel Cisneros wants us to envision the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated equally.