Symbolism Of Hope In Sandra Cisneros's The House On Mango Street

712 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conflicts in the novel the house on mango street

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. People living in an urban house, is the meaning of poverty and vandalism of the residents; this is the stereotype of those who represent a pure image in society (Randy Ribay 48). Esperanza experiences the shame when the nun asks where …show more content…

According to Deluzain, the meaning of a person’s name is symbol of identity of the individual and represent the history of the future life (3). Hope is what Esperanza has in her soul. Cisneros writes that Esperanza should own a proper house, and it is not the one her parents has already, actually she is waiting for something better (7). Esperanza builds an image of a passive woman, defined by the destiny in a clearly macho society. The name of Esperanza is a very positive connotation, where wait means progress, jumping obstacles, confident that the change is positive.
Image and symbolism in The House on Mango Street, goes beyond the simple fact of living a life in an urban city. Living in a little house not presentable to the society, brings the hope of many people waiting for a better up coming life. Cisneros also opens up her life to the world through the main character, Esperanza, reaffirming that is hope above everything. Life symbolize freedom and independence of what to be. Its not matter in what place a person live but the ability to go father to be a better

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Figurative Language In The House On Mango Street

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    When Esperanza is struck by the realization that she is not accepted in society, she aspires to bring a more hospitable environment to fruition. At the beginning of The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is questioned by a nun about where she lives. The condemning tone of the harridan shakes Esperanza, causing her to state, “There. I lived there… I knew then I had to have a house. A

    Read More

  • House On Mango Street Symbols

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, many symbols, themes, and motifs appear while analysing the story of Esperanza growing up on Mango Street, a poor neighborhood. Symbols are a very big part of this book, because without deeper consideration of the text, this book would just be a series of dull, unrelated stories. One of the most prominent symbols in this story is the symbol of shoes representing our main character, Esperanza, maturing and adjusting into womanhood and her sexuality.

    Read More

  • House On Mango Street Belonging

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Sandra Cisneros Use Repetition In The House On Mango Street

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    Esperanza, the main character of The House on Mango Street, a novella written by Sandra Cisneros in 1984, has always felt like she didn’t belong. Esperanza sought a different life than the ones that people around her were living. She wanted to be in control of her life, and not be taken away by men as so many others around her had. Esperanza wanted to move away from Mango Street and find the house, and life she had always looked for. Through the use of repetition, Sandra Cisneros conveys a sense of not belonging, that can make a person strong enough to aspire to a better life.

    Read More

  • House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is about a girl who struggles finding her true self. Esperanza sees the typical figures like Sally and Rafaela. There is also her neighbor Marin shows the “true” identity for women on Mango Street. She also sees her mother is and is not like that at the same time. The main struggle that Esperanza has is with beauty. This explains why most of the negative people that Esperanza meets on Mango Street, and her gender, helped her see the mold she needed to fill in order to give herself an identity.

    Read More

  • Entrapment In The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The House on Mango Street” emphasizes on this issue, even broadens to explain other controversial matters such as abuse, misogynistic views, and stereotypes. The protagonist, Esperanza Cordero moves to Mango Street where she must witness the abuse affecting her friends, neighbors, and family. Either Sally a close friend, Mamacita a neighbor, or her own mother handling 4 children. Over the course of the novel Esperanza changes physically and mentally. Through the use of imagery as well as complex, descriptive vignettes Cisneros epitomizes the misogynistic views within Esperanza’s

    Read More

  • Symbols In The House On Mango Street

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.

    Read More

  • Control In House On Mango Street

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Esperanza wishes she could change where she lives. Even though Esperanza moved to a nicer house, she still does not like the house on Mango Street. Esperanza’s parents made the house they were moving to seem luxurious. Upon arrival, Esperanza realized “the house of Mango Street is not the way they told it at all. It’s small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you’d think they were holding their breath” (4). Even though the house on Mango Street is an improvement, it is still not good enough for Esperanza. Esperanza says, “I knew I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn’t. the house on Mango Street isn’t it” (5). She dreams of one day having a bigger and better house. The new and improved house will be a place for others to come and stay, “some days after dinner, guests and I will sit in front of a fire. Floorboards will squeak upstairs. The attic grumble. Rats? They’ll ask. Bums I’ll say, and I’ll be happy” (87). Dreaming of moving to a new house not only gives Esperanza the feeling of control and independence, but makes her

    Read More

  • Diversity In The House On Mango Street

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The House on Mango Street, Cisneroz agitates the theme of diversity through her use of characters and setting. Cisneroz paints a multitude of events that follow a young girl named Esperanza growing up in the diverse section of Chicago. She is dealing with searching for a release from the low expectations that the Latino communities often put women whether young or old are put against. Cisneroz often draws from her life growing up that she was able to base Esperanza's life experiences on and portray an accurate view on Latino societies today. Cisneroz used the chapter “Boys and Girls” and “Beautiful and cruel” to portray Esperanzas growth from a young curious girl to a wise woman. She came into her own personal awareness and her actions that she has to now be held accountable for.

    Read More

  • Gender Norms in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Beauty in The House on Mango Street

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Someday, I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without me having to explain them” (9). These are the longing words spoken by Esperanza. In the novel The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is young girl experiencing adolescence not only longing for a place to fit in but also wanting to be beautiful. This becomes complicated as Esperanza becomes more sexually aware. Throughout the novel, Cisneros argues the importance of beauty and how Esperanza deals with beauty as a part of her identity. When Esperanza meets Sally a new friend, Esperanza’s whole world is turned upside down. Esperanza’s views on beauty change from a positive outlook to a negative one by watching how beauty has damaged Sally’s life.

    Read More

  • What a Home Really is in The House on Mango Street

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Esperanza in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    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....

    Read More

  • The House on Mango Street Cultural Values

    415 Words  | 1 Pages

    Esperanza dreams of someday having a satisfying life. She doesn't want her path of freedom to be cleared by having a baby or finding a husband. She has no desires to fall into the trap of dependency. As the author writes, "Her power is her own. She will not give it away" (Cisneros 89).

    Read More

  • House on Mango Street: Esperanza's Journey of Self-Discovery

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Symbolism Of Hope In Sandra Cisneros's The House On Mango Street

Open Document