Prejudice In The House On Mango Street

Everyone has fallen victim to a form of prejudice regardless of whether they're considered as a minority in their society. Around the world, minorities are viewed as forlorn and impotent by the upper-class who look down on them. As of 2014, about 37.9% of the United States population is deemed as a minority. However, the jobs people refer to as high paying and provide financial stability are principally being dominated by the majority groups in the United States. For example, data from the U.S census shows that 8 out of 10 lawyers are white. Why are minorities confronted with such injustice when they have the potential to become as capable as everyone else? One reason is the psychological influence an individual impresses upon themselves. Most minorities accept that exceeding the

expectations of your skeptics are impossible because a minority is not accustomed to the same treatment as the dominant groups in society. While even though that is sadly true to an extent, the far substantial picture lies in the mental aspect of a minority. The characters in assorted works of literature such as Anthem and The House on Mango Street delineate this repercussion.

Individuals who experience racism and classism live in a paradoxical world since, while these factors only cause an internal barrier within them, it remains their task to overcome such prejudices and to achieve their goals regardless of whether it is beyond what's expected of their capabilities.
In Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, Esperanza experiences the negative impacts of racism and classism on Mango Street, as well as how those two factors impact the way minorities perceive themselves in her society. At the beginning of the novel, when Esperanza is commencing feeling the burden of Mango Street and is contemplating escaping, she says, ”until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor”: the color of the balloon suggests that Esperanza feels isolated from the rest of society since the color red is distinctive and glaring (Cisneros 41). Furthermore, Esperanza uses the term “balloon” to express that she feels she stands out where everyone can see her which increases her vulnerability. Esperanza perceives Mango Street as an anchor in which her

financial class and her racial identity coerce her to stand out and are concurrently weighing her down. However, she comes to discern that her negative self-interpretation of how she confronts her prejudice is what genuinely prevents her from attaining her aspirations. Esperanza believes vanishing from Mango Street will elevate her status. Nevertheless, Esperanza eventually understands that her actions prove her belief’s inconsistency because of her unknowingly persevering to fulfill her ambitions. Towards the end of the novel, Esperanza talks to her friend Alicia about how Esperanza feels embarrassed to live on Mango Street by saying, “No, this isn’t my house I say and shake my head as if shaking could undo the year I’ve lived here. I don’t ever want to come from here” (153). Esperanza now acknowledges and accepts her belonging on Mango Street despite not wanting to come from there. She has now permanently overcome the mental pressure that was self-inflicted while simultaneously taking a prodigious amount of steps forward to effectuate her dream of becoming a writer. Esperanza demonstrates that the surmised limitations that Mango Street held on her were only a mental endeavor and her acceptance of who she is, lifts an insurmountable leverage off her shoulders. Throughout the course of the book, Esperanza learns what it authentically means to exist as a victim of prejudice and uses her experiences to learn, grow, and eventually accomplish her dreams.
In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, individuals who prepare themselves to stand up for their beliefs regardless of the consequences that confront them exemplify that their given social class has no impact on how successful they could become. When Equality goes to the council of scholars to bestow on them his new creation, the council asks who he his and when Equality tells them, they respond with, “A Street Sweeper! A Street Sweeper walking in upon the World Council of Scholars! It is not to be believed! It is against all the rules and all the laws!” (Rand 62). The council underestimated Equality’s knowledge but Equality proved your designated social class is not your permanent place in life and with determination, a person can overcome the barriers of the prejudice that they are facing. Even when the council had sentenced Equality to become a street sweeper, he did not let that stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a scholar. But when he created electricity, the council would still not take him seriously because of his social class. Towards the end of the novel when Equality apprehends his freedom from society's prejudice, he says, “I think. I am. I will” (104). Equality did not let the collectivist society he was living in hold him from realizing his true identity while concurrently ignoring the assumed limits his social class presented to him. Equality had always possessed a desire and determination to acquire knowledge that the council considered greater than his ability. However, he did not let his peers dictate his future and accomplished his main objective to help civilization. Equality is a prime example of how an individual can receive the prejudice they face and use it as motivation to achieve their goals and exceed the expectations of their peers.
Victims of prejudice who let the discrimination they are faced with consuming them live a contradictory lifestyle since, although these factors only cause a mental challenge within themselves, it is completely possible to overcome such prejudices and through desire and determination, achieve their goals even if it is beyond what is expected of their abilities. Characters in Anthem and The House on Mango Street epitomize this commonality by realizing their dreams by rising above the idea of their presumed failure due to their race or their social class. As minorities, the characters in the novels understood the difference between prejudice being a mental and physical limitation, despite being constantly told that their race or class will decide their place in life. A truly resourceful minority will reverse the pressure that their identity puts on them and use their race or class as fuel as an incentive to grow. Perhaps it's time for a law firm to consist of qualified and respectable minorities in the United States.