Furthermore, her proletariat status contributes into her family’s interpellation, which can be seen through the commodification and conspicuous consumption of the home. According to Ann Dobie, interpellation occurs when “the working class is manipulated to accept the ideology of the dominant class” (86). Therefore, readers see how Esperanza becomes disappointed in the sign and exchange value of the house on Mango Street when Sister Superior guesses and points to “a row of ugly three-flats, the ones even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into” (Cisneros 45) is Esperanza’s home. Esperanza claims the row of ugly flats as her own because she is more embarrassed by her family’s actual home on Mango Street. Essentially, she recognizes that their …show more content…
However, Esperanza is a victim of conspicuous consumption as readers can identify when she says, “I knew I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to” (Cisneros 5). Therefore, she values the sign and exchange value more than the use value. Essentially, the sign and exchange value of the house is a part of the repressive ideologies of the European-American bourgeoisie; the house is part of the bourgeoisie’s manipulation that takes place “by reinforcing capitalistic ideology through its arts… however, the arts of the privileged are not all the arts that exist” (Dobie 86). Therefore, the family is manipulated into believing that the home is not suitable for living based on the values of the bourgeoisie, which exhibits the bourgeoisie’s power and the proletariat’s inferior …show more content…
Patriarchal Chicana culture can certainly contribute to the feeling of confinement for female characters, such as Mamacita, Esperanza’s great-grandmother, and Rafaela, as they “lean out the window and lean on [their] elbow and dream” (Cisneros 78). Furthermore, readers see how Rafaela “gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” even though “Rafaela wishes she could go dance” (Cisneros 79). Therefore, she “submit[s to] the hegemony of the man and the society by which [she is] encompassed” (Kalay 119) due to her husband’s machismo. However, Esperanza serves as an example of women who view the home as a symbol of liberation and independence. For example, Esperanza claims that she does “Not [want] a flat. Not an apartment. Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s house. A house all on my own…Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody’s garbage to pick up after” (Cisneros 108). Therefore, her house is an expression of independence because she recognizes “her power is her own,” and “She will not give it away” (Cisneros 89). Therefore, she views owning a house of her own as a symbol of success, independence, and liberation from her patriarchal culture and proletariat status. Certainly, the house represents the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status through its foundational and
...ifferently in both. In American culture, Esperanza was a foreign, not a true American. Similarly, In Mexican culture but also defined to still being a woman whose roles are predefined by a male privilege driven community. Secondly, there is no female solidarity or female authority who rescues Esperanza or her friends from adoption erroneous ideas about her identity and value as a woman. Because she is alone, she has no choice but to accept what the perverted and male chauvinist ideas she is presented. Esperanza’s story is unfortunately a representation of many female minorities. Esperanza’s character however, offers hope. Esperanza suggests she will find her way out through writing as well as female solidarity. A space of one’s own is essential; a place where one can reflect and peacefully identify oneself without the loud incorrect expectations of one’s oppressor.
In conclusion, Esperanza makes the ultimate change of becoming independent. As Sandra Cisneros wrote The House on Mango Street, she too further realized her role as an influential woman of her heritage; this realization mirrors Esperanza’s journey to womanhood. Esperanza is “alienated from the rest of society in many ways (Hannon 1).” But she uses this alienation to become “strong and inspirational (Hannon 1).” Esperanza is a very strong woman in herself. Her goals are “to not forget her reason for being . . . so as to achieve a freedom that’s not separate from togetherness
In the book, “The House on Mango Street” Esperanza possesses many aspects of her identity that affect her life. The most prominent being her socioeconomic class. In the book Esperanza is describing her old home and says, “We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick, the water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them because the house was too old.” (4) She later states “Our house would have running water and pipes that worked.” when describing her dream house. It’s clearly proven here that her family has been living in a place where there was no running water. Esperanza views running water as a luxury and not a basic human need, whereas wealthier people can easily obtain running water while she cannot. Secondly, Esperanza describes her neighborhood
Patriarchy is a form of social organization. Sandra Cisneros, a writer who was one of seven children and the only girl, has written extensively about the Latina experience in the United States. “The House on Mango Street” contains many of her family members and friends, which are Esperanza, the narrator; her mother and father; Sarah and Lucy, her best friends; Nenny, her little sisters; and Carlos and Kiki, her youngest brother. “The House on Mango Street” is about a family that grew up very poor in Chicago. Her family always wanted to move, but she wanted this move to be her last move. Although they moved don’t mean that she was satisfied with it because she wasn’t and she hated her living conditions, she wanted to be independent and on her own; she wanted things to her way. She prayed for better days and for a better life, so one day she took it upon herself to leave. “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros, addresses the topic of Social Issues through her use of Ambiguity, allegory, and anecdote.
“The boys and girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours. My brothers for example. They've got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can't be seen talking to girls,” exfoliates the truth that opposite genders live in different worlds and are usually not treated in agreement. The often theme throughout the novella that Esperanza would like to have a nice house and be better off in is important, representing that just because one is a child in poverty, one does not have to stay that way. Gender roles are not equal, the man is supposed to have the job, well Esperanza would like to have a job and accumulate money on her own. Not only does Esperanza want gender inequality, but also would like to strive further than her
Even though Esperanza's house on mango street is not the house Esperanza or her family has wished for, it makes most of the family feel safe. Esperanza says,” They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year… But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told us at all ” ( Cisneros 4). Even though Esperanza feels physically safe in the house, it seems to hinder her emotional stability. She is ashamed of where she lives and what her house looks like. These thoughts of embarrassment aren't made up.” Where
Back in Esperanza's time and community, women were treated as if they were objects, having attracting boys, marrying young, giving herself away to a husband as the goal of a girl's life. As years slip by, most women just sit next to a window and stare at the outside with eyes full of sadness, imagining a life with freedom and independent will. Nevertheless, they can only dreams of those fantasies, while staring into the nothingness of the walls at home. In the novel The House on Mango Street, we viewed this man-dominate society from the eyes of a young girl, Esperanza, who was expected to be the same housewives that most other Mexican women in her community are. Using simple words and vignettes, Esperanza showed us her keen observations of the struggles of the woman on Mango Street due to their culture
The type of location that the main character named Esperanza, is surrounded by is rundown and poor. Esperanza lives next to a Laundromat that had been robbed. A day later the owner had to put a sign up that said that they were still open. The owner of the store needed money whenever he could get some. This shows that the owner was also poor and living in poverty. Esperanza describes the house on Mango Street small with tight steps, small windows, crumbling bricks, and a door that needs to be pushed to get inside the house. Esperanza wants a “real” house instead of the house on Mango Street. What Esperanza means by a “real” house is a house with working water and pipes, real stairs, a basement, at least three bathrooms, trees, a big yard, and grass without fence. Cisneros states that “ But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all.” (4) Esperanza wants a nice home in a nice neighborhood. She wants the “real” house. The house on Mango Street is not the “real” house that she wants. The location that Esperanza is surrounded by is a symbol or
As it is written in the book, “Where do you live? She asked. There, I said pointing up to the third floor. You live there? There. I had to look to where she pointed-the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the window so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded.” (Cisneros). As can be read there in a small part of the vignette, it talks about how the nun is pointing as Esperanza’s house and says it kind of in an uncomfortable way. It makes Esperanza feel like she is a nobody, below everyone else, as she lives in the poverty state. This connects to the article by showing how miserable teens can be when their family live in poverty. Along-side that, another quote from the vignette, “But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all.” (Cisneros). The author explains in more detail how the house is nothing they dreamed of, and that it is all old and beat up. In attachment to the article, this also explains that some people can only dream of things that they can’t have, somewhat sending the teens into a depression. If they can’t have health care or in Esperanza’s case, a nice house, then they could start doing things that they don’t know is right or simply get things that are much easier to get, such as drugs or alcohol.
Annie O. Eysturoy in “House Symbolism in The House on Mango Street” discusses the idea that many parts of the setting described by Esperanza are a representation of her. The house makes her oppressive socioeconomic situation very apparent. Eysturoy also notes that at the beginning of The House on Mango Street Esperanza refers to we. “ We didn’t always live on Mango Street” (3). “It’s not the house we thought we’d get” (3). Eventually, as her discontent grows, Esperanza begins to talk in terms of I. “I knew then I had to have a house. A real house”
This novel is about the shame cycle and whether Esperanza will chose to grow from it or to let it ruin her. Esperanza didn’t know this, but she had to go through the most shaming experience possible in order to be forced to make a choice about how to use that shame. Other major themes of the novel include Hoping versus Waiting, Finding Freedom through Marriage or Education, and the Anchors of Race, Poverty, and Gender. Cisneros ties these themes together using the theme of The Shame Cycle, making it the most important. Esperanza hopes for a better life and chooses not to let her anchors stop her. To earn a better life, Esperanza decides to find freedom through education. She decides not to get married young as an escape. She decides to keep hoping and dreaming by not letting shame ruin her.The resolution and escape from the shame cycle helps Esperanza chose education,the rel path to freedom. Additionally, the plot of the novel only comes to a resolution when Esperanza finally overcomes her shame and escapes the
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.
Themes: Through the course of the story, Esperanza considers her home to be a part of herself. She defines her own identity with where she lives, which makes her want to move into her own dream home even more. “Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man’s house.
In the vignette titled “Hairs”, Esperanza compares the diverse hair found in her family. For every member, their hair is unique and individual amongst others. Her fathers is wild, her own is untamable, her brother’s Carlos’s hair is straight, her sister’s Nenny’s is smooth, and Kiki’s is furry. However, her mother’s hair is special. To Esperanza, her mother’s hair is comforting, sweet, and soothing. The way Esperanza views her mother’s hair, is similar to the way a child in general views their maternal figure-- a loving, warm, and caring presence. Through this excerpt of the novella, it is seen how much Esperanza loves her mother and how she, and the rest of the family, are associated with pleasant
Esperanza tries to rebel against the role placed upon her; she has no wish to become an inferior to men-“I have inherited her names, but I do not want to inherit her place by the window (11).” Hearing the tales of her grandma and seeing the fate of other women, Esperanza does not want to look out the window regretting her obedient silence, hoping and waiting her whole life to escape, but unable to do anything to change it. She has decided she will not get married young, but instead earn an education and work so that she can buy a house of her own. Not many girls have the ability or determination to defy the gender roles, many are stuck in the same never-ending cycle of abuse and stagnation instituted by the dominating males. At the end of the book Esperanza states that when she has leaves, she will not forget her experiences, but will one day return for those who cannot leave; she will return to free those who have been enslaved by gender