Sandra Cisneros Four Skinny Trees

“They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong here but are here.” (74) This is a quote from ‘Four Skinny Trees,’ a chapter in Sandra Cisneros’ novel “The House on Mango Street.” Cisneros makes use of a unique type of writing known as vignettes to portray Esperanza’s, the main character, point of view. Her book contains a series of what may seem like detached poems, but by the end they are many little stories that flow together to describe Esperanza’s experiences while living in the little red house on Mango Street. In the vignette, “Our Good Day,” Cisneros really shows how a major part of Esperanza’s character is how

She also talks about the opposing point of view, in which white people are scared of brown people, and how it makes Esperanza feel. She states, “They think we’re dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives. They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake… But we aren’t afraid… All brown all around, we are safe.” (28) It seems as if Esperanza’s tone is offended, and also condescending towards white people. She does not understand why people of her culture are expected to be criminals, and this bothers her. On the other hand, Esperanza talks about how when brown people go into a different neighborhood, they are just as scared, if not more. “...But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake and our car windows get rolled up tight and our eyes look straight. That is how it goes and goes.” (28) Esperanza knows that in this period of time, her culture is at a disadvantage, because not only do people of other nationalities expect Esperanza’s people to be bad, but they also do not want them mixing in their neighborhoods and towns. This fact is what scares Esperanza’s people, and why she simply says “That is how it goes and goes,” as she cannot do anything about it. It’s a time where Esperanza is pondering more and more on why her culture isn’t

Sally is a beautiful Egyptian girl whom Esperanza met, and her background gives her a lot of limitations. Sally’s father does not let her out of the house, as he says that having her beauty is dangerous. She walks straight home from school, and does not dare to go elsewhere. This gets Esperanza to thinking, “Sally, do you sometimes wish you didn’t have to go home? Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street… And you could laugh, Sally. You could close your eyes and you wouldn’t have to worry what people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you’re strange because you like to dream and dream.” (83) This seems to be a situation where Esperanza is unloading all her inner feelings onto Sally and wondering if maybe Sally feels the same way. She is looking for emotional comfort, as she wants to leave Mango Street but feels as if something is holding her back. Cisneros shows this through only Esperanza’s thoughts on Sally and who she is and who she might