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Esperanza’s Adolescence “I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees” (11). Adolescence brings on many changes in one’s life and is the time when a person is shaped into who they will be forever. Sandra Cisneros shows the experiences one may go through while growing up through this book. A child, especially during their adolescence, is a very moldable person. The situations they go through and their position socially can greatly impact who they become. Cisneros touches on the importance of friends, life at home, and experiences in the real world that can influence a child’s life. In The House On Mango Street, Cisneros uses strong descriptive words, first person point of view, and suspense …show more content…
to show what it is like to grow up these days. Esperanza is an adolescent girl growing up in a latino neighborhood in Chicago. As she is approaching her teenage years, she experiences many changes both physically and emotionally. These mold her into a mature person who feels the need to leave her residence on Mango Street. By using first person point of view, Cisneros helps readers to form a better understanding of Esperanza’s feelings in the story.
Esperanza encountered a few tense situations: “The seventh time we drove into the alley we heard sirens… real quiet at first, but then louder. Louie’s cousin stopped the car right there where we were and said, Everybody out of the car. Then he took off flooring that car into a yellow blur” (24). This being told by Esperanza makes the intense situation seem more innocent. The reader is put into Esperanza’s shoes while she is going through theses situations. This point of view expresses Esperanza’s feelings in a better way and gives the book some excitement in what would be dull places. It also helps readers understand what Esperanza is feeling and connects them to adolescent feelings. This helps the reader connect to Esperanza and her …show more content…
feelings. The tone of this book changes drastically from chapter to chapter, leaving the reader on edge as to what will happen next. Cisneros shows Esperanza’s tone when she says, “Everything is holding its breath inside me. Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas. I want to be all new and shiny” (73). The dark, deep tone of this passage stimulates the reader’s feelings. When Esperanza says everything is waiting to explode like Christmas, it confuses the reader, but is still understandable. It is understood subconsciously as a lot of readers may have felt the same at one point in their life. Readers can tell that she wants a new beginning and that she wants to have a fresh start with everything thats going on in her life. The tone of this book, alongside other literary elements, makes it enjoyable for readers. Cisneros gives readers a clear mental image throughout this book with the use of many descriptive words.
Cisneros uses descriptive words particularly well when she says, “At night Nenny and I can hear when Earl comes home from work. First the click and whine of the car door opening, then the scrape of concrete, the excited tinkling of dog tags, followed by the heavy jingling of keys, and finally the moan of the wooden door as it opens and lets loose its sigh of dampness” (71). The use of descriptive words in this passage gives readers a great mental image. It is easy to tell where Esperanza is and what she is experiencing. In this specific passage, Cisneros uses words that correspond with human senses. This keeps readers engaged in the book and keeps them reading. Imagery in this book helps readers know what Esperanza is going
through. Cisneros uses a strong vocabulary, innocent point of view, and tension to show what it is like to be an adolescent these days in The House On Mango Street. Cisneros portrays this through the young character, Esperanza. Esperanza goes through many experiences that shape her personality as she grows up. She gains friends, has emotional troubles, and experiences a police chase first-hand. This book teaches the readers what it is like to be an adolescent in this time period. Readers can get an idea of the type of experiences and changes an adolescent might go through at this stage in their life. From that they can gain a sense of empathy for adolescents and remember that they went through some of the same experiences.
When Cisneros fragments sentences in the chapters “The Three Sisters,” “The Monkey Garden,” and “A House of My Own,” she is conveying that when things stand on their own they can have more meaning that when following
Using repetition, Cisneros conveys a feeling of not belonging, that can make a person stronger. A sense of not belonging is created in the chapter,”House on Mango Street.” As Esperanza talks to a nun in this chapter about where she lives, Esperanza states,”The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there”(Cisneros 5). Esperanza repeats that she,”lived there” many times to show how important it is to her that she doesn’t belong, or want to belong, to Mango Street. In ,” The Three Sisters” this point is shown again. As Esperanza talks to three Aunts, they say to her,”You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street. You can’t erase what
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
Have you ever seen someone going from rich to poor? If not, then this might be new to you. I read about this girl named “Esperanza”, from the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, who has experienced this. She is a rich girl. She doesn't do anything by herself, her servants do everything for her. She only has her mom, dad, and her grandmother in her family. Her mom’s name is Ramona, Esperanza calls her dad “Papa”, and her grandmother’s name is Abuelita. She is living in Mexico. The change from innocence to experience can be painful.
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
Throughout the course of Mango Street, Esperanza’s relationship towards her house change. As time passes her feelings about the house itself change and the emotional impact of the house of her changes as well. Esperanza’s house on Mango Street symbolizes her Mexican culture. For so long she has wanted to leave it. She envisions a different type of life than what she is used to - moving from house to house. “this house is going to be different / my life is going to be different”. One can look at all the things she envisions - the "trappings of the good life" such as the running water, the garden etc. as symbols for the new life.
Esperanza tries to be a good friend to Sally, but ends up appearing immature and silly. Esperanza feels shame, as she “wanted to be dead”, to “turn into the rain”, and have “my eyes melt into the ground like black snails” (Cisneros 97). With sensory-rich imagery, the author uses similes and metaphors to describe Esperanza’s feelings of utter mortification as she embarrasses herself in front of Sally. Esperanza becomes confused about her newfound sexuality and her loss of innocence when she begins acting strangely, yet awkwardly around boys. She doesn’t know whether to act like a child or an adult because although she wants to be mature and glamorous like Sally, and she gets exposed to the harsh nature of society. The disillusioned view of becoming mature and having boys notice her is especially realized by Esperanza when she gets raped at a carnival. Through detailed imagery, Cisneros describes the dirtiness of the boy, elaborating on “his dirty fingernails against my skin” and “his sour smell again” (Cisneros 100) and the confusion and anger from Esperanza. After this experience, Esperanza blames Sally instead for covering up the truth about boys and is heartbroken about the real truth of sexuality and men. It is clear that Esperanza vividly remembers this awful experience, and just reflecting on this experience causes her thoughts to
Sandra Cisneros uses personification and symbolism to affect the theme of the struggle self-consciousness and loss of innocence in a book full of short stories, The House on Mango Street. A young Hispanic preteen named Esperanza, uses a fortune of five dollars to buy a flimsy bicycle. Along with these two other young girls named Lucy and Rachel. The sense of owning a bike is a luxurious dream to them since they live near the poverty line. So, when they receive their bike, Esperanza loves riding it until she rides past her house, which is “sad and red and crumbly in places” (Cisneros 16). The author uses personification to bring down Esperanza to the reality of her situation by portraying her house negatively, which is a reflection of her
Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.
When Esperanza’s mother has to go to the hospital I wonder if her depression will get worse if she is away from her family. It is so sad that Esperanza feels like she failed her mother. That must be the worst feeling. I think that the mother is going to die and I don’t know how Esperanza is going to take care of herself. It is impressive that she starts to work.
Esperanza’s explains about Sally situation by saying “ Her father says to be this beautiful is trouble” (Cisneros 81). Cisneros uses tone to show that Sally was too beautiful that her father thought she was going to run away. Esperanza’s precedes to tell us how Sally is being held captive by her father. “She can not go out. Sally I mean” (Cisneros 81). Cisneros picks out specific choice of words when she says “ Sally I mean” to show how Sally is being trapped in her father’s house. Esperanza notices that Sally has changed and she wonders why as, she share her questions with the reader when she says. “You pull your skirt straight, you rub the blue paint off your eyelids. You do not laugh, Sally. You look at your feet and walk fast to the house you can not come out from” (Cisneros 82). In this quote, Cisneros utility of imagery helps provide an image in the reader’s head about the way Sally is seen through Esperanza’s eyes and how Esperanza could free her like prince charming saved rapunzel from her
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
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.
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....
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.