It’s much easier for the male characters to live up to their gender roles than it is for wom-en. Esperanza perceives beauty to be a major source of feminine power. But she also notices that beauty is not a weapon, and that it can backfire. In her struggle to define her own femininity, Es-peranza seeks new forms of feminine power – ones that will allow her to maintain her indepen-dence.
Esperanza makes a lot of good points throughout the story to prove her point about gend-er roles. For instance, she makes many references to the women that stay home and look after her family without a man to support them. In Vignette 3, Boys and Girls, Esperanza explains to us how the boys and girls are almost never seen together. They live completely different lives. Es-peranza wishes to have her own best friend, like everyone else in the neighborhood, but for now, she’s a “balloon tied to an anchor” (9). I think what she means by this is that she wants to find someone just like her. She wants to have a best friend that she can talk to about everything with-out being judged or considered “different”, even though she is. Since the boys and girls aren’t allowed to be seen together, she doesn’t talk to them until much later in the story. She wants to find someone that will
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accept her and who wants to leave Mango Street just as much as she does. Until she finds the right friend, she's stuck in her own bubble. Many men have left their wives and leave them to take care of their kids. In Vignette 13, Esperanza introduces us to Rosa Var-gas. Rosa Vargas’ husband had left her after having many kids. Now she has to support herself and them without any help. “The kids bend trees and bounce between cars and dangle upside down from knees and almost break fancy museum vases you can’t replace. They think it’s funny. “They are without respect for all things living, including themselves” (29). I think that everyone in the neighborhood needs to understand that this isn’t really anyone’s fault. Rosa has to look after all those kids, it’s not easy. But everyone in the neighborhood gave up on keeping them out of trouble. If something happens to those kids, mostly everyone ignores it. Esperanza talks about the abuse that the women and kids have gone through. On Mango Street, the men in the neighborhood either leave their wives and kids or abuse them. It’s very rare to find a man and wife still together. A lot of families have been abused by their fathers, mentally, emotionally, and physically. One person I noticed Esperanza talk about a lot was Sally. Sally has gone through a lot of abuse by her father. In Vignette 37, Sally talks about the abuse. She convinces herself that her father doesn’t hit as hard as everyone thinks he does, and that the cuts and bruises aren’t as painful as they look. “Until the way Sally tells it, he just went crazy, he just forgot he was her father between the buckle and the belt” (93). Sally’s father’s sisters had run away when they were younger and he’s afraid she’s going to do the same thing. He has also said that “to be this beautiful is trouble” (81). I disagree with Sally’s father. It’s certainly not her fault she is beautiful, but her father surely makes it seem that way. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing is wrong. He gets sad when he remembers his sisters and won’t let Sally go outside. He’s basically taking out his anger on Sally, and I think that’s unfair. Not only does Sally get abused by her father, many of the boys in the neighborhood have taken advantage of her and she lets them. In Vignette 38, Tito and his friends take Sally’s keys and wouldn’t give them back. “Your son and his friends stole Sally’s keys and now they won’t give them back unless she kisses them and right now they’re making her kiss them” (97). What I found most appalling in this vignette, was his mother’s reaction. “What do you want me to do, she said, call the cops?” (97). The men and boys have an unfair advantage over the women and girls. They get away with so much trouble they cause while the women and girls suffer. What’s really intriguing is that Tito’s mother didn’t do anything. She simply does not care, which makes me wonder, if that was her daughter, what would happen? Would she defend Sally or do the same thing she did? Lastly, I noticed that not only do the fathers abuse their kids, but the older men in the neighborhood take advantage of the girls. They know what they’re doing is wrong, but they won’t stop, either because they’re drunk, or simply don’t care. In Vignette 21, Esperanza’s mother had gotten her a job at a place called “Peter Pan Photo Finishers”. For the first few days, Esperanza would either eat alone in the washroom or sit on a bench in the coatroom, until she met an older Oriental man. “Then he asked if I knew what day it was, and when I said I didn’t, he said it was his birthday and would I please give him a birthday kiss. I thought I would because he was so old and just as I was about to put my lips on his cheek, he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard on the mouth and doesn’t let go” (55). I think this is when Esperanza truly realized that she has to be careful with who she calls her friend. She has to be careful around men of all ages, because if they had the chance, they would take advantage of her. No one really cares about if what they’re doing is right or wrong. From this book we’ve learned many things.
One important thing I learned was that Espe-ranza is not a big fan of the gender roles. She has learned that they keep the women in her com-munity oppressed. Also, the men beat their wives and children and force them to stay at home. Just being a woman is sometimes enough for abuse. Not only was Sally abused, but Esperanza was raped. Esperanza offers us an insight of the way men treat the women and children, and re-fused to conform to the expectations of her getting married and/or acting in a feminine way. In this neighborhood, remaining independent is an act of rebellion, and considered a source of pow-er. This is also another reason she wants to leave Mango
Street.
In the book, Esperanza doesn’t want to follow the norms of the life around her; she wants to be independent. Esperanza states her independence by stating, “Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own,” (Cisneros 108.) The syntax of these sentences stick out and are not complete thoughts, yet they convey much meaning and establish Esperanza’s feeling of not belonging. Esperanza’s feeling of not belonging is also emphasized when her sisters tell her that the events of her life have made her who she is and that is something she can not get rid of. Her sisters explain that the things she has experienced made her who she is by saying, “You will always be esperanza. You will always be mango street. You can’t erase what you know” (105.) What her sisters are trying to tell her is that the past has changed her but it doesn’t have to be a negative thing; it can be used to make her a better person who is stronger and more independent. Esperanza realizes that the things around her don’t really add up to what she believes is right, which also conveys the sense of not
In the story the house on mango street there are both young girls, Sally and Esperanza. Both girls desire adventure, love, and beauty. However, Sally is more outgoing and confident than Esperanza. She has confidence that she is beautiful. She play the role of a strong female that never get hurt by any boys. Esperanza admires and looks up to Sally. Esperanza does not want to be a "weak woman" and she sees Sally as her role model. Their home lives contrast also Ironically. Sally is physically abused by her father each time he catches her with a boy. On the other side Esperanza and her family communicates well. Sally sees her self as a women and not the type of women a person that isn't confident of herself and that's what Esperanza likes.
In an earlier chapter, Esperanza meets with a witch, whom she hopes will tell her future only to be told, “Come back again on a Thursday when the stars are stronger” (72). However, when speaking to The Three Sisters toward the end of the story, they tell her to make a wish and say “You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street” (113). Rather than seek out her fate, the Fates (three sisters from Greek Mythology) have come seeking Esperanza. It has been confirmed that her wish to leave will come true, but remind her to remember her experiences as they have shaped who she is. In the article, “Interview with Sandra Cisneros”, Cisneros will tell her students to “make a list of the things that make you different from anyone in this room...in your community...your family...your gender (1). Cisneros uses this very idea in her writings of Esperanza: Her individuality is key- Esperanza’s identity as a writer and her background give her a unique voice that will allow her to speak up for those who have no
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.
Esperanza is a young girl who struggles with feelings of loneliness and feeling that she doesn’t fit in because she is poor. She always wanted to fit in with the other kids and feel like she was one of them. She loves to write because it helps her feel better about herself writing about her life and her community. Writing helps her with
Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in the Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes. Over and over, Esperanza battled with how people perceived her and how she wished to be perceived. In the beginning of the book, Esperanza speaks of all the times her family has moved from one place to another. “Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler.
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
Esperanza builds her strength off the mishaps that occur while living on Mango Street. In the vignettes, Esperanza describes some very interesting things that take place on Mango Street. She recalls a time when Sally befriended her and told Esperanza to leave her alone with the boys. Esperanza felt out of place and was very uncomfortable and very ashamed to be in that situation. She wanted more from life than that, so she left the scene.
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
Esperanza is constantly influenced by the women in her own family including her mother, sister and other various family members. Even early in the novel Esperanza recognizes that the boys hold more powers than the girl. She states “The boys and the girls live in different worlds” and how once outside of the house her brothers will not talk to the girls (10). Her brothers recognize that if the other boys in the neighborhood see them with their sisters, they will be mocked. This signals that Esperanza has internalized that the men hold more power even from an early age and her male siblings hold mor...
In the society that Esperanza and her friends live in, love takes a back seat
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....
Esperanza is a very strong woman in herself. Her goals are not to forget her "reason for being" and "to grow despite the concrete" so as to achieve a freedom that's not separate from togetherness.
Esperanza dreams of someday having a satisfying life. She doesn't want her path of freedom to be cleared by having a baby or finding a husband. She has no desires to fall into the trap of dependency. As the author writes, "Her power is her own. She will not give it away" (Cisneros 89).
In the Book women are looked upon as objects by men whether they are boyfriends, friends fathers or husbands. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most important things to a woman. Cisneros also shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their husbands, and that a husband should have complete control of the relationship. Yet on the other hand, Cisneros describes the character Esperanza as being different. Even though she is born and raised in the same culture as the women around her, she is not happy with it, and knows that someday she will break free from its ties, because she is mentally strong and has a talent for telling stories. She comes back through her stories by showing the women that they can be independent and live their own lives. In a way this is Cinceros' way of coming back and giving back to the women in her community.