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Esperanza description in the house of mango street character analysis
Esperanza description in the house of mango street character analysis
House on mango street themes of identity
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In “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros, a little girl named Esperanza struggles with loneliness and low self esteem. Esperanza just moved to Mango Street. She was expecting a nice house and a nice neighborhood. “They 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.” (Pg. 4) Esperanza was not happy when she saw the house. The bricks were crumbling in places and the door was swollen. Esperanza then knew she would be judged based by the looks of her house. Esperanza met a nun in her neighborhood, and she asked Esperanza where she lived. When Esperanza showed where she lived the nun said “You live there?”(Pg. 5) That comment made Esperanza feel bad about …show more content…
“I was so scared to eat alone in the company lunchroom with all those men and women looking.”(Pg. 54) She is worried about being judged by others that she can’t eat alone. She doesn’t think she belongs. “Most likely I will go to hell and most likely I deserve to be there.”(Pg. 58) She doesn’t believe in herself and doesn’t think anyone believes in her. Later in the story, Esperanza and Sally were hanging out with a few boys. Esperanza wasn’t comfortable and told Sally to come hang out with the younger kids. Sally ignored Esperanza and got into some trouble. The boys took Sally’s keys and said she could only have them back if she kissed all of them. Sally, being her daring self decided to kiss all the boys. Esperanza did not want Sally to kiss all the boys and went to one of the boy’s mother’s. The mother didn’t do anything and left Esperanza. When Esperanza came back they all told her to go home. Esperanza having no confidence to stand up to them, ran away. “I wanted to will my blood to stop, my heart to quit it’s pumping; I wanted to be dead, to turn into the rain, my eyes melt into the ground like two black snails.” Esperanza’s self esteem was so low that just one person can make her burst into
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
he won’t let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn’t let her look out the window.” (Cisneros 101) Sally takes the in the influence of the other women around her that she thinks that marriage is the best thing for her. Esperanza saw this coming when she knew that she would not be able to save Sally. That is because it was already happening. Esperanza saw that Sally was tu...
When Esperanza tries to help Sally she tells Esperanza to go away and that she doesn’t need to be rescued. Esperanza feels ashamed and hides in the garden to cry by herself.
Esperanza begins as a very wealthy girl in Mexico, and doesn’t think about how lucky she is to have the privileges that she has. She can have almost anything she wants and has to do little work. Esperanza barely even thinks about the lower classes. They are not part of her life. But when her ranch is burned down and her father killed, she has to leave Mexico and enter the United States as an illegal immigrant. But by doing so, she is forced into contact with many people far less wealthy and well-off than her. When Esperanza enters Zacatecas to board the train, she is surprised that they are not in the fancy section. Instead, they are in a car with peasants and beggars. “Esperanza had never been so close to so many peasants before. When she went to school, all of her friends were like her. When she went to town, she was escorted and hurried around any beggars. And the peasants always kept their distance. That was simply the way it was. She couldn’t help but wonder if they would steal her things.” (p. 67). Esperanza has an obvious suspicion of the peasants during her train ride. She tells her mother that she cannot travel in this car , and that the people didn’t look trustworthy. A little bit into the trainride ...
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
Throughout life, many hardships will be encountered, however, despite the several obstacles life may present, the best way to overcome these hardships is with determination, perseverance, and optimism. In The House on Mango Street, this theme is represented on various occasions in many of the vignettes. For this reason, this theme is one of the major themes in The House on Mango Street. In many of the vignettes, the women of Mango Street do not make any attempts to overcome the hardships oppressive men have placed upon them. In opposition, Alicia (“Alicia Who Sees Mice”) and Esperanza are made aware that the hardships presented as a result of living on Mango Street can be overcome by working hard and endless dedication to reach personal hopes
Catcher in the rye: A 16 year old boy suffers from a mental illness. Holden Caulfield tells the story of his life from a mental hospital. Throughout the novel he learns to be dependable. The main theme is loneliness.
There was another time when Esperanza wanted to eat lunch in the canteen at school. She was not allowed to eat at school, because she lived close enough to walk home for lunch. But, Esperanza wanted to feel special like the other kids, so she convinced her mother to write a note to the nun in charge giving her permission to eat in the school canteen. The mother wrote the note, but the nun was not convinced. So, she made Esperanza go to the window and point to her house. She was too ashamed to point to the old-run-down home where she lived. This was one of her most embarrassing moments. Not to be outdone, Esperanza said, "I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to" (page5).
In the short story “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, make Esperanza the main character. Esperanza expresses herself in traditional words, her own feelings about life. The image of the The House on Mango Street is located in a poor neighborhood, where this young girl and her family present emotions becoming into a hope of a better life. These feelings led Esperanza convert the idea to own a beautiful house into an obsession. The image of Esperanza and her House becomes a symbol of different ideas such as shame, fantasy, independence, confidence and hope.
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.
“Home is where the heart is.” In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros develops this famous statement to depict what a “home” really represents. What is a home? Is it a house with four walls and a roof, the neighborhood of kids while growing up, or a unique Cleaver household where everything is perfect and no problems arise? According to Cisneros, we all have our own home with which we identify; however, we cannot always go back to the environment we once considered our dwelling place. The home, which is characterized by who we are, and determined by how we view ourselves, is what makes every individual unique. A home is a personality, a depiction of who we are inside and how we grow through our life experiences. In her personal, Cisneros depicts Esperanza Cordero’s coming-of-age through a series of vignettes about her family, neighborhood, and personalized dreams. Although the novel does not follow a traditional chronological pattern, a story emerges, nevertheless, of Esperanza’s search to discover the meaning of her life and her personal identity. The novel begins when the Cordero family moves into a new house, the first they have ever owned, on Mango Street in the Latino section of Chicago. Esperanza is disappointed by the “small and red” house “with tight steps in front and bricks crumbling in places” (5). It is not at all the dream-house her parents had always talked about, nor is it the house on a hill that Esperanza vows to one day own for herself. Despite its location in a rough neighborhood and difficult lifestyle, Mango Street is the place with which she identifies at this time in her life.
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....
Sandra Cisneros' strong cultural values greatly influence The House on Mango Street. Esperanza's life is the medium that Cisneros uses to bring the Latin community to her audience. The novel deals with the Catholic Church and its position in the Latin community. The deep family connection within the barrio also plays an important role in the novel. Esperanza's struggle to become a part of the world outside of Mango Street represents the desire many Chicanos have to grow beyond their neighborhoods.
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.
“Social” networks and loneliness are two very unlike things to be discussed simultaneously... The two are complete opposite of one another: “social” is associated to relating to one’s society, loneliness can be defined as “a complex and unpleasant emotional response to a feeling of isolation” (Ye and Lin 166). While loneliness can mean solitude, it also includes feelings of isolation and disconnection to other people (Ye and Lin 166). John Cacioppo is labeled as the world’s leading expert on loneliness. He proposed a thought provoking analogy: a car can be used to pick up friends, but one chooses to ride alone. Did the car make the person lonely? (Marche 68). Absolutely not. The car is simply a tool in the person’s everyday life. This relates