In the novel, The House On Mango Street Sandra Cisneros tells us a story of a young Latin girl named Esperanza, growing up in Chicago. She also describes the problems that women face on a day to day basis by having men constantly oppressing them and making them feel less worthy and as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men and abuses and mistreats their women and in which women are more interested in how they look. Cisneros wants us to see the different obstacles that Latino women must face in order to be treated equally and the role of women in that culture.
Throughout the book we see the different roles and how women are treated differently in this society. Women are taught that appearances are important, the men have
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total control of the relationship and must be loyal to their husbands. But we also see how Esperanza’s character is different from the rest of the women in this community even though she is raised and born in the same culture. She believes she will one day leave this community and be proof and show the women who think they are stuck living the way they are, that they don’t have to live like that. They can be independent and live their own lives the way they want to. Esperanza in the novel feels that she will be one of the few women who is able to get out and break that stigma and show the women that yes they can do it. In the novel women are really concerned with their appearances because they feel that if they are not pretty enough they will not be noticed by men.
They are raised to believe that they need a man in order to be happy. They are taught that you have to be dependent on men, and that their ultimate goal should be to get married so their husband can support them. An example of this is in the chapter called Marin. Marin talks about finding a real job downtown because you can dress up and look beautiful and maybe you can talk to someone and find someone to marry you and take you away. “ What matters, Marin says, is for the boys to see us and for us to see them. And since Marin’s skirts are shorter and since her eyes are pretty.” (Cisneros p.27) This quote shows us how the girls at such a young age are being taught that what men look for in a woman is for her to be pretty and how they must dress in order to be noticed by them. Again things that women hear and are taught about are what men want. They are never taught to be independent. Another example of this is when the girls are given a pair of heels and Esperanza says how she didn’t realize how much attention they would get by men by just wearing these heels. “Down to the corner where the men can’t take their eyes off us.”( p. 40) “On the avenue a boy on a homemade bicycle calls out: Ladies, lead me to heaven. But There is nobody around but us. Bum man says, yes little girl. Your little lemon shoes are so beautiful.” (Cisneros …show more content…
p.41) The girls liked the attention they were receiving because they had never before felt like they had been noticed but it also shows us how the men saw these young girls more as objects not people. Another chapter in which we see how the women in the novel are oppressed is in the chapter called Sally. Sally as described by Esperanza is a beautiful young girl “eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke. The boys in school think she’s beautiful because her hair is shiny black like raven feathers. (Cisneros p. 81) Again we see the importance of looks and appearances in this male dominated community. In this chapter we find out that Sally is kept locked in her house and not allowed out by orders of her strict religious father. Sally wears sophisticated clothes and makeup but takes it off as soon as she gets home. In the chapter what sally said we find out her dad beats her but she makes everyone believe that she just fell down the stairs and that’s how she got the bruises on her body. Her dad beats her really bad because he doesn’t like it when she talks to boys. In this chapter we see how the women think its ok that they get hit by men. They think its not a “Big deal” as sally said in the chapter. Women in this community felt they didn’t have a voice and whatever the men did was ok. In Audre Lorde’s article Age, race, class, and sex: Women Redefining differences Audre discusses the way women are viewed as inferior in society because of their age, race, sex and class.
She specifically talks about African American women and how the 2 main reasons they are oppressed is because they are black and because they are women. Just like Sandra Cisneros novel, both of these readings connect to each other in the way that they talk about the oppression women go through just for being a women in this society. Audre Lorde discusses the fact on how difficult its been for her being a black lesbian and also being judged by the black community. Both Lorde and the women in mango street are minorities that are oppressed and treated with inequality because of their race, sex, and
gender. Throughout the novel we see how the women believe that their purpose in life is to get married and find a husband to live with. They are taught that what the man says goes. They don’t have a voice in the community, what they think or want doesn’t matter. They are not taught to be independent but rather dependent on men. But Esperanza’s character shows us that there is hope for the women in the community. She did it and she was able to get out and be something as she mentioned in the last chapter. She refuses to be like the rest of the women on Mango. “One day I will pack my bags and paper. One day I will say goodbye to mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away.” (Cisneros p. 110)
The House on Mango Street is a novel by Sandra Cisneros. It is set in a poor, Latino neighborhood around 1960. The main character, Esperanza, is expected to get married in order to support herself. However, Esperanza strives for independence, and seeks to end the cycle of abusive patriarchy that holds Mango Street in thrall. Through the use of syntax and figurative language, Cisneros establishes that a sense of not belonging can fuel an individual’s desire for a better future.
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.
“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
As the chapter opens, the first impression of Sire is one of a James Dean type of character. Sire and his friends are just sitting on their bikes, pitching pennies, or in other words, gambling. Esperanza tells us that she is scared of them, which makes me wonder why she would be afraid of them? She then says how her dad calls him a “punk.”
The House on Mango Street is filled with beautiful and relatable stories that foretell the development of the main character. In Valdes’ review, she makes a strong analysis of how Cisneros creates “human presence that transcends the time, place, and condition of the composition to create a literary metaphor for a woman coming of age” (55). Valdes explains how Cisneros creates a “metaphor” in which she express and examines her feelings and emotions in an elegant way. Valdez also shows that Cisneros creates a setting in which shows the reader how to become free in a lonely environment that many young women, especially those who are a minority, can relate to when they are
Sandra Cisneros once said “'Hispanic' is English for a person of Latino origin who wants to be accepted by the white status quo. ’Latino' is the word we have always used for ourselves.” In the novel I read, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros the main character a twelve-year-old Chicana (Mexican-American girl), Esperanza, saw self-definition as a struggle, this was a major theme in the novel through Esperanza’s actions and the ones around her. Esperanza tries to find identity in herself as a women as well as an artist throughout the novel through her encounters. Esperanza was able to provide the audience an image that was vivid of her surroundings by her diction and tone. Esperanza presents a series of stories that she deals with in her neighborhood as she is growing up. Esperanza arose from poverty and always dreamt of having a house of her own. Sandra Cisneros' strong cultural and gender values have a tremendous influence in The House on Mango Street. Cisneros feels that the Mexican-American community is very abusive towards the treatment of women because men are seen as the powerful, strong figure. Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in a Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes.
However, each work is special and focuses on a different aspect of life as compared to the other. In addition, the thematic ideas between the two works are often correlated and often overlap between the two. Moreover, the multiple thematic ideas in the novel and the movie can still apply to the people of today as they also go through many hard times much like Celie and Esperanza. The House on Mango Street is able to focus on abuse of women, and discrimination of the female gender much like The Color Purple. However, The House on Mango Street is able to elaborate on the topic of maturity especially through the various experiences of Esperanza. Nevertheless, many important lessons can be learned from both the novel and the movie, among these include treatment of women, discrimination, and maturity. The novel and the movie do a wonderful job at emphasizing and focusing on these relatable topics that are vital to the growth of
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.
Cisneros depicts Mango Street as a rough neighborhood, but she also conveys a sense of community. She writes down that “we are safe,” (Cisneros, 28) to indicate that she can find the sense of community. Even if the author does not think she belongs to Mango Street, she does not deny that her community lives there. At the beginning of The House on Mango Street, Cisneros states that “I had to have a house. A real house,” (Cisneros, 5) illustrating that after knowing the American society’s evaluation criteria of success, she wants to follow the upward mobility and be viewed as a successful figure not only because she wants to be appreciated but also because white people will change their stereotypes of Hispanic people if they see that a Hispanic woman can be as successful as other whites. Her ambition triggers her to want to explore the meaning of being a Hispanic girl in the real world. Furthermore, in the “My name” session, the author depicts her great-grandmother’s life. “She looked out the window her whole life… but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” (Cisneros, 11) Cisneros wants a marriage formed because of love, like most white people do; her desire indicates that she wants to live like the whites, so that they will respect her and the Hispanic race later. In addition, Cisneros points out that she
Born in Chicago Illinois, into a family of seven children, being the only daughter Sandra Cisneros is a Mexican American novelist and feminist writer. She has been one of the first Mexican American women to receive recognitions for her writing and has sold to date million of copies of her well known book, The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros is an inspirational woman who writes about heroines, strong women who overcome stereotypical barriers. But also gives life to characters who dream and long for economic independence, such as Cleofilas in Women Hollering Creek. Cisneros grew up in the “barrios”, or ghettos of Chicago and moved back and forth thanks to her father’s homesickness and love for Mexico. Being the only woman in the family, other than her mother, she lived a suppressed childhood, wanting to be just as independent as her brothers an...
The House on Mango Street is the tale about a young girl named Esperanza who is maturing throughout the text. In it Esperanza documents the events and people who make up Mango Street. It is through this community that Esperanza’s ideas and concepts of the relationships between men and women are shaped. She provides detailed accounts about the oppression of women at not only the hands of men who make up Mango Street but also how the community contributes to this oppression. As the young girls and women of Mango Street try to navigate the world they must deal with a patriarchal society that seeks to keep them confined. By growing up in this environment where women are confined Esperanza seeks desperately to depart from Mango Street for fear
Esperanza, a strong- willed girl who dreams big despite her surroundings and restrictions, is the main character in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza represents the females of her poor and impoverished neighborhood who wish to change and better themselves. She desires both sexuality and autonomy of marriage, hoping to break the typical life cycle of woman in her family and neighborhood. Throughout the novel, she goes through many different changes in search of identity and maturity, seeking self-reliance and interdependence, through insecure ideas such as owning her own house, instead of seeking comfort and in one’s self. Esperanza matures as she begins to see the difference. She evolves from an insecure girl to a mature young lady through her difficult life experiences and the people she comes across. It is through personal encounters and experiences that Esperanza begins to become sexually aware and acceptance her place and self-definition in her community.
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 the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the problems that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for what they look like, and not for what is on inside. In her Novel Cisneros wants us to envision the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated equally.
This is a scary experience for Esperanza and her friends. In the vignette, it is stated that, “We are tired of being beautiful.”(Cisneros, 42) The girls say this because they were wearing high heels around, when an old man came up to them. He attempted to molest the girls, and they were very afraid. This was because the girls all looked older and more attractive in the shoes, so he was more attracted to them. This taught them to look out for themselves and be aware of what others would think about what they were wearing, so they could be as safe as possible in a world where women are often assaulted. Esperanza also learns from her past experiences from her financial