House On Mango Street Cisneros

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros told the story of a young girl named Esperanza Cordero. The story is divided into short vignettes, each focusing on a certain part of Esperanza’s life in her new neighborhood. She and her family moved into a Chicano barrio at the beginning of the novel. Throughout the story’s entirety, Esperanza has trouble conforming to her identity all while going through the difficult time that is puberty. Esperanza is a relatable character, one that experienced situations that could be reminiscent to the readers’ own lives. She had aspirations and goals for herself and she dedicated her life in trying to reach them after seeing that most of the women in her neighborhood were not able to follow their dreams. Through

the story’s unique structure and compelling protagonist, Sandra Cisneros was able to create a story that not only told the story of a young girl wanting to be free, but also of the mistreatment of women that prevented them from developing into self-dependent individuals.

The author’s purpose to writing such a short, yet sentimental, novel was to show the readers the life of a young girl living in a Hispanic neighborhood, as well as all of the problems that came with the life. The most notable issue that Esperanza observed throughout the novel was how the women were treated. By writing of different situations in which all of the women were suffering for one reason or the other, Cisneros effectively conveyed her point in the novel. This topic is introduced in the book earlier on, in the vignette, ‘My Name.’ In this part of the book, Esperanza reflects on her name and how she believes it to mean ‘sadness.’ She had inherited the name from her great-grandmother, a woman who was forced to marry her great-grandfather and became depressed because of the marriage. Esperanza knows that she does not want to end up like her great-grandmother nor does she want to end up like any of the women on Mango Street. This is evident in the text, when Esperanza states, “I have inherited her name, but I do not want to inherit her place by the window.” (11.) Other portrayals of women who were not able to find their places in the world can be in seen when Esperanza meets Alicia, Mamacita, Rafaela, and Sally. Each one of these women are trapped by someone in their lives, like a father in Alicia’s and Sally’s cases, or a husband like in Rafaela’s and Mamacita’s cases. Their lifestyles are pitied by Esperanza, because the young girl knows that their way of life is not ideal. The women mentioned can be compared to Esperanza’s own great-grandmother, as she was stuck by a window for the rest of her life, looking out to the world around her. Rafaela seemed to have been going through a situation similar to that, as it stated in the text, “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 since she is too beautiful to look at.” (79.) By the end of the book, after witnessing all of the women and their lives on Mango Street, Esperanza makes it clear to the reader that she is not going to end up like they did. She will not act obedient and tame, like the women around her did. Instead, she will do the opposite, in order to make a statement to herself and others that she will be distinct. This can be seen at the end of the vignette, ‘Beautiful & Cruel,’ where she states, “I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am one who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate.” (89.) Cisneros was able to show the struggles of a Latina throughout her novel, in the forms of all the women mentioned. It was in that way, of showing their hardships in an easily-understood way, did Cisneros express her point to be acknowledged by the reader. She was able to show that these women did not lead appreciable lives, and her purpose was to make the readers see that many Latinas in the real world are forced to live the lives she depicted in her novel. Many of those women are trapped, just as Alicia, Sally, Rafaela, and many others are in her novel.

Many of the lessons Esperanza learned throughout the novel can be tied back to the story’s overall message it is trying to communicate.

Thus, it can be rightfully said that the novel’s main message is about finding one’s true identity and accepting it in order to grow as a person. Cisneros did an excellent job of making Esperanza’s goals for herself clear to the reader, through repetition of similar events and Esperanza’s own self-reflection. She would always give her thoughts on the experiences she lived through, whether they were positive or negative. With such incidents, she was able to understand them profoundly and grow. Esperanza’s growing maturity as the story progressed allowed her to look at the most insignificant of objects and deem them worthwhile, a trait that can be used to further differentiate her from the rest of her neighbors on the street. A notable part of the book in which the reader can see Esperanza’s ingenuity is in the vignette ‘Four Skinny Trees,’ in which it states, “When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at the trees. When there is nothing left to look at on this street. Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be.” (75.) Esperanza compares herself to the four trees on her street, who grew despite the obstacles in her way. They reached for the skies in a way that she wants to and whenever she is feeling

hopeless, she looks to them for inspiration. Another difference between Esperanza and the rest of the women on her street is that she knows what she wants to become a writer and is determined to reach that goal. She ignores the remarks of others who find her intentions ‘out-of-place’ for a girl living in a Chicano neighborhood. It took her some time to realize the importance of becoming independent through her desired occupation, since the revelation came to her by the end of the book. In the vignette, ‘Born Bad,’ it states the following, “You just remember to keep writing, Esperanza. You must keep writing. It will set you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn’t know what she meant.” (61.) Her aunt, who was a talented swimmer before she contracted a fatal disease, reminds her the significance of being an independent individual, a virtue that many of the women on Mango Street do not have, unfortunately. Esperanza realizes the impact of her aunt’s words later on in the novel, when she finally comes to terms with who she is and what she wants to be. A summary of her experience on Mango Street can be seen by the end of the book, in the vignette ‘Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes.’ In this section, Esperanza states, “Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to that Esperanza? Where did she go with all those books and paper? Why did she march so far away? They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.” (110.) The final sentence of the book makes it clear that Esperanza wants to make a life for herself outside of Mango Street, but she will never forget the women still trapped and left behind in the neighborhood. Her persistent, diligent personality allowed her to eventually accept who she was as a person, and to grow beyond that in order to achieve her dreams. Esperanza also takes it upon herself to protect the other women in her community, since they were not able to make a life for themselves like she did. In this way, Cisneros expressed the theme of individuality, and that one cannot be free unless they understand their potential as a person. For Esperanza, she was able to accomplish her dream of living a life away from Mango Street, but she also made a promise to herself that she will go back to help the women who could not do the same.

With her novel, Cisneros was able to successfully convey her purpose and message for writing the book in the perspective of Esperanza Cordero.

The House on Mango Street was especially successful, due to its distinctive structure that presented the story to the reader as vignettes. The simplistic form of the book made it even more impactful, because it can be easily read and understood by anyone of any background, therefore spreading its message to a broader range of people. The vignettes in the novel each have their own story to tell, which then connect to the greater message Cisneros wanted to tell through her novel. To be self-dependent in a culture that disregards its women in despicable ways is making a powerful statement. Instead of conforming to society’s standards on how someone should live their life, Esperanza wants to become her own person all while helping the women she befriends along the way. By writing a novel that focuses on the ill-treatment of women, Cisneros was able to bring the issue to the mainstream light, and perhaps she was able to inspire other Hispanic women to follow in the steps of Esperanza, who grew past her obstacles and became the person she dreamed to be. If this novel was set up in the form of a typical story, then it would not have been as successful because Esperanza’s experience on Mango Street was meant to highlight the most significant events of her life. The vignettes allowed Cisneros to write Esperanza’s tale in parts, which allowed

the readers to see her development as a person more clearly. It may be possible that if Cisneros wrote her story in a different manner, her purpose for writing the story and her theme would have been more complicated to grasp by the readers. In its entirety, The House on Mango Street was an emotional story of a Hispanic girl who dreamed of being independent and free, with her life experiences and the people she meets assisting her in understanding her true potential as an individual. With her own success, she vows to help the women who did not have the same luck as she did. The ability of Cisneros to reveal Esperanza’s life objectives and her maturity as a person through the vignettes of the book made her purpose straightforward and clear. This, alongside the theme of individuality repeated and focused on throughout the story, made the novel not only an interesting read, but an impactful, inspiring story that resonated with many of its readers.