Racism And Sexism In The House On Mango Street

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Dealing with racism and sexism is never any easy task, especially when you are at a rather young age when you are experiencing those things. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros tackles these issues through the view of Esperanza and her interactions with the people she encounters in her neighborhood. The development of different groups and people’s identity is formed by providing examples of racism and the various aspects that tie in with it. The themes of racism and sexism are also helpfully developed through Esperanza’s growing and changing views as she matures and comes to realize that everyone's stereotypes of the people who live in her neighborhood are unfounded and discriminatory. Racism is directly discussed in Esperanza’s neighborhood …show more content…

The outsiders that have moved in or just happen to drive down the streets “Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we're dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives.” (28). Before even meeting the people, the outsiders assume the residents are bad people ready to hurt others just from others discriminatory remarks. This, too, is one of the reasons Cathy and her parents consider members of their neighborhood to be “bad.” In “Cathy Queen of Cats,” Esperanza is introduced to Cathy, her first friend on Mango Street. However, Cathy can only be Esperanza’s friend until next Tuesday because “That's when we move away. Got to. Then, as if she forgot I just moved in, she says the neighborhood is getting bad. ” (13). Here, Cathy is implying that the neighborhood is bad simply because of the people that are moving in and living in it. The residents of Mango Street and the surrounding …show more content…

The man taunts her, saying “I love you, I love you little Spanish girl” (100). The man directly refers to Esperanza as Spanish rather than just calling her a young girl. Either way though it is completely repulsive and awful. He knowingly targets her a “little girl” and she cries and feels incredibly uncomfortable. The chapter indirectly hints that the man took advantage of Esperanza due to both her race and her status as a younger girl. Through this discrimination, Esperanza comforts the horrible realities of sexism and racism when before it was more passive. Though passive sexism and racism is not okay either, just because she gets sexaully assaulted doesn’t mean lesser oppression is

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