House On Mango Street Identity Essay

Sandra Cisneros, the author of House on Mango Street conveys her thoughts throughout the whole book. In the book, she has a large family of seven, while in reality she has a family of 9. Both of these families are large, and this allows for the author to express her feeling toward these large families. There are two sides to the story that Sandra Cisneros tries to state. First is the identity already planned out by the people around her including her grandma, neighbors, and family. Then, there is the identity Esperanza tries to make for herself throughout the story. Growing up in an underdeveloped family, Esperanza finds it very hard to express her own thoughts. Esperanza dreams for this intangible idea of escaping poverty, but the siblings needing her help force this unrealistic dream to be unimaginable. “Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor,” (Cisneros 9) clearly shows what the author is trying to state; Esperanza wants to dream her own future but just does not have the power to do so. Living in a home that feels like hell, Esperanza wants to escape the ropes society has placed on her and live life the way she wants to with her own unique identity.

The Author Sandra Cisneros shows growth in Esperanza throughout the story and by elaborating on this, she’s able to express a unique self-identity evolving as Esperanza ages.

By showing the young, innocent view of Mango Street, the reader is able to grasp the idea of the stereotype inside mango street and show why Esperanza is a requirement in the family. Nenny is a huge part of this, and because she is the only sister, Esperanza has this huge urge to protect her. “If you get them you may turn into a man,” dumbfoundedly spoken by Nenny is soon recovered by “That’s right,” to show Rachel and Lucy, Nenny is not dumb.(Cisneros 50) This shows that Esperanza knows the reason she is needed in the

family.
As the innocence starts to fade away, we see the biased feelings against Mango Street slowly appear in Esperanza. She starts to realize the conditions surrounding her, starting with her friendly neighbor Marin. (Cisneros 26) “Since you always get to look beautiful and get to wear nice clothes and meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house far away”. Marin’s strategy to get out of poverty and hardship is through the exploitation of the human body. Marin uses female sexual appeal in order to try to overcome a male-dominated society. This is just one example of the escapes of people in mango street and as Esperanza grows she experiences these ideas more, helping her shape her own unique identity.
On Mango Street the role of the woman seem much greater than the role of a man, because of the compact cultures. Cultures have this idea of woman being “less than” males. It is shown through the stories of many women that life is easier with a man. “My mother says when I get older my older dusty hair will settle and my blouse will learn to stay clean, but I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain.” (Cisneros 88) This quote shows how Esperanza is not willing to follow the stereotypical woman's idea of having a guy. She also isn’t as attracted to men as her friends even through her adolescence. When she took her first job in a photo factory, Esperanza learns she will be spending the rest of her life without a guy, contradicting a normal stereotypical Mexican woman in Mango street. This was because the guy at the factory started to abuse her for the sex she was.
Looking back at the story, in the beginning, Esperanza states “I inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” this clearly shows that she wanted a husband in the beginning. Her grandmother's place in the window is closely tied with the relationship of her not wanting a husband. When Esperanza states that she does not want her place by the window like her grandmother, she is stating that she wants a husband. However, as her innocence starts to disappear, she soon learns about the facts of society. When looking through all these vignettes with her grandmother, Marin, Alicia, Sally, and Sire Esperanza as well as the reader learns that the world is a scary place, and because of this Esperanza wants to be independent. Her independence gains a blaze when she gets her wish taken by the 3 sisters. The 3 sisters tell her that she will probably be able to leave but she would also be the same mango street.
Home, a place taken for heart and emotion, whereas house, a physical place; this is what the 3 sisters speak of. Mango Street will always be Esperanza because her childhood was shaped abound this place. She can physically change her house out of the area, however, her “home” and heart will always be with Mango street. The identity of the people around Esperanza are the same, including her parents. All the woman fall under the men and the children just grow up to take over the role as the parents. Esperanza breaks this thought barrier and wants to escape Mango street to become the independent person that she is with a unique identity. The ropes of society that held Esperanza down startled her own identity, but throughout the story she is able to prove that she is an independent woman.