“My painting carries with it the message of pain.” Powerful words once spoken by the world-famous artist Frida Kahlo. A quote that is so simple yet at the same time so unique. Like Kahlo, Sandra Cisneros in her book “The House on Mango Street” uses her writing as a way to show the ‘pain’ that Esperanza Cordero and others amongst her feel day in and day out. Regardless of the fact that these two do not share the same type of pain, both of these artists confine in their work as a way to escape from the sad realities of life. “The House on Mango Street” carries such a powerful message to its reader no matter what age, what race, or what gender, one will be touched by its words. The book is written in a way that the one reading it could never get …show more content…
bored or lose interest. Through numerous short stories, Cisneros delves into time periods of Esperanza’s life specifically around the time of living in her house on Mango Street.
Speaking through her memories as a child growing up in poverty, she tells stories of Esperanza and her friend’s problems at home, discrimination of Latinos and other colored people, along with the mistreatment of women. The book is so meaningful that after reading it, one should not expect to attain the same idealism as the next person. Cisneros does such a good job of making it a book for everyone that it appeals to each individual in its own special way. “The House on Mango Street” is not only the story of Esperanza Cordero, but anyone, who grew up without all the opportunities that one should be so fortunate to have, yet never stop fighting for what they believe in and continue to strive towards their …show more content…
dreams. When first jumping into “The House on Mango Street” as the reader I was not used to the consecutive short stories and indirect style of writing Cisneros used in writing the book. But when I look back now I think there was no better way it could have been done. Cisneros makes it very clear that she did not want to write a book like all the authors she had been exposed to during school and growing up. An unordinary book for the ordinary type of person is the best way to put it. Right off the bat in the introduction of the book, Cisneros states “She wants to write stories that ignore borders between genres, between written and spoken, between highbrow literature and children’s nursery rhymes, between New York and the imaginary village of Macondo, between the U.S and Mexico… She doesn’t want to write a book that a reader won’t understand and would feel ashamed for not understanding” (XVI-XVII). And that is exactly what she does and does not do. Speaking in third person about herself, Cisneros points out to its reader that this is not going to be your average book. Not only does she prepare the audience to expect an extravagant book but she also leaves them wanting more. This says so much about the author because she is so concerned about making something for the reader so they can feel some type of way. In the quote she mentions that she wants her story to “ignore borders between…the U.S and Mexico”. This in its own way is extremely significant and takes away any misconception one may have that the book was written only for Mexicans. Furthermore, Cisneros goes on to write “She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty that is there to be admired by anyone…She thinks people who are busy working for a living deserve beautiful little stories, because they don’t have much time and are often tired. She has in mind a book that can be opened at any page and will still make sense to the reader who doesn’t know what came before or comes after” (XVII). This quote follows shortly after the other, going hand in hand with it, and further explaining what the writer is trying to do with “The House on Mango Street.” She is implying that her work is not only for people who love to read, but also for the working class. A class of people who often forget or just don’t have time to admire the beautiful things in life. To most this idea would be mind blowing because hardly anyone focuses on the working class and speaks out for them. But this is a world and lifestyle Cisneros is far too familiar with so instead of keeping quiet about it she has took it upon herself to reach out to those who will not speak up and allow them to speak through her. Going deeper in the book I found portions that would leave me confused up until the ending where it would hit me all at once and the meaning would become clear. Surely anyone who reads “The House on Mango Street” would find that the true meaning lies between the lines and is not all out there in the open. Sandra Cisneros allows her reader to reflect on what she is saying in hopes that they will be able to relate. At one point in the story titled Those Who Don’t, Cisneros writes “All brown all around, we are safe. 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. Yeah. That is how it goes and goes” (28). Truly potent words written by the author, and at the same time very relatable. For someone who is described as brown skin, such a statement can mean a million different things. The quote shows that the Latina/o people were not safe to travel outside of the brown colored neighborhoods because segregation and discrimination ran rampant. These daunting words are sad and disturbing but are the absolute truth and Cisneros dishes it out like it is. Anyone who was not white growing up in the early 1900s all the way through the 1980s living the United States were victims to this type of life. Esperanza just like so many others was too a victim of this mistreatment. Furthermore, some of the stories more than others stood out to me, but it is safe to conclude that was exactly what Cisneros had intended. The book does a great job of playing with its reader’s emotions, from one moment reading a story that makes its reader entirely happy and then shorty after bring them down to a state of awe. Bottom line the fact that she speaks through a child’s mind during the story makes the details matter so much more. As a child there was no way for Esperanza to completely understand everything that was going on around her, and one can sense this when reading through. In one of her stories Cisneros recalls the ‘Vargas kids’ who Esperanza claimed were “bad” because they had “only one mother who is tired all the time from buttoning and bottling and babying, and who cries every day for the man who left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come”(29). She later goes on to state “nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just like a falling star, and exploded down to earth without even an ‘Oh’”(30). Again another very touching script, and all together when read is very deep and stereotypical. It is nothing new to hear or see big families where the father has deserted them and it’s all left on the mom who struggles to make ends meet. This is no joke and is a reality that people still deal with today. But moreover, hearing it from the mind of Esperanza Cordero when she was a child the story is much more sugarcoated and soft. It is obvious Esperanza did not get it then but understands now that this was another hardship that families like hers were going through not out of choice but because they were forced into these situations. Cisneros knows life for girls like Esperanza is not always pleasant, and it is in her writings where she gets to reveal this to the audience so this girl’s story does not go unnoticed.
Whether Esperanza be a true person or reflection on Cisneros own past, she uses Esperanza to tell the story of so many out there who are living through life’s struggles of being poor and forced into prejudice environments. In the article ‘A Ride Down Mango Street’, English teacher Thomas F. O’Malley writes “Sandra Cisneros shows us the world through someone else’s eyes. Things like racism, sex, friendship, dreams, fears, and family are not just issues. They are experiences. My students saw that writing helped Cisneros deal with the very experiences that often seem to overwhelm them…Her narrator is trying to make sense of the world she lives in and invites the reader to experience her life” (35). O’Malley is stating how moved he and his students were by the ‘The House on Mango Street’. It is clear that anyone who reads the stories of Esperanza will be touched no matter if they are an English teacher or a 12th grader. Like stated before it is a story for all. If the reader puts in a little effort to grasp what the author is trying to get across they will be grateful for having the chance to read such work. What O’Malley is saying is that his students found someone they can relate to in Esperanza, almost like a friend who is going through similar problems. It helped them realize that they are not
alone in this world and showed them a way to deal with these issues. In addition, in his article O’Malley goes on to state “Esperanza shows us her neighborhood her family and ultimately, her dreams. My twelfth graders don’t live on Mango Street, but they all know what it’s like to want something that is just out of their reach. With Esperanza, they began to learn to appreciate the things that really matter” (36). To me this says a lot about how a simple book can mean so much too so many people in so many different ways. This is because Esperanza is a universal character, who like everyone has her own problems, and even though there is never a solution to each problem the reader goes through it with her. Having someone whom shares similar problems and issues can mean so much to a person and give them the clarity to open up and not keep it all bottled inside. Overall, the author Sandra Cisneros through Esperanza tells the story of a young girl in a big world who has her own dreams and aspirations of one day living the life she wants to live. Not what her parents want for her, or the lives she sees others living, but her own. Growing up she experiences things that most will not but she never forgets that is what made her who she is. In conclusion, in the book “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, the audience is introduced to Esperanza Cordero a Latina girl who lives in a life full of discrimination, crime, poverty, and mistreatment. While reading through one can expect to witness numerous experiences that the narrator goes through, and feel what she feels. Almost anyone who takes the time to read this book will find that they can relate somehow, regardless if they are not a young Latina girl. The central idea of the book is to tell the story of not only Esperanza but others all over the world who have no choice but to deal with life’s struggles. At times the book can be very sad and other times can be extremely cute but overall there is not too many works that can compare to this one when it comes to depicting the life of Esperanza. All in all it is a great book for all to read but also if the audience has a chance to listen to the story in audio where the author of the book Sandra Cisneros reads aloud. They will find an entirely different visual of what they pictured before because the author does such a great job of putting on a voice that matches Esperanza so perfectly. Either way the story of Esperanza is one of a kind and highly recommended to all who have never read it.
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.
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.
Esperanza sees all of the women around her, and most of them are the same. The overall idea of the women on Mango Street is they are property to their husbands. They cannot do anything unless their husbands allow them to. It also starts out at a young age. The young girls like Esperanza see the women that live around them and think that is the way to live. They admire them so they start to mature faster than they should. Sally is one of them. Sally loves the attention that she gets from boys, but her father does not like that. Sally grew up and got married at a young age.
“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
She was not a master of style, plot development or characterization, but the intensity of feeling and aspiration are evident in her narratives that overrides her imperfections. Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, written in 1984, and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers, published in 1925, are both aimed at adolescent and adult audiences that deal with deeply disturbing themes about serious social conditions and their effects on children as adults. Both books are told in the first person; both narrators are young girls living in destitute neighborhoods; and both young girls witness the harsh realities of life for those who are poor, abused, and hopeless. Although the narrators face these overwhelming obstacles, they manage to survive their tough environments with their wits and strength remaining intact. Esperanza, a Chicano with three sisters and one brother, has had a dream of having her own things since she was ten years old.
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.
In the poor slums of Chicago, a family living in poverty struggles to get by. In the book, House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza is a twelve year old girl who lives with her family in the Windy City. She lives with her three siblings and both parents on Mango Street. Esperanza has no control over her life and family’s poverty. People who have no control over their life desperately seek change. Esperanza seeks to change her name, her home, and her destiny as a way to control her life.
...m. Without the “struggle” which didn’t come easy she wouldn’t have any passion for the person she wanted to be, she would have built the identity she did. She was able to characterize herself through trial and error, the assaults, the poverty, and the abusive men. Without these experiences she couldn’t have defined herself any better than she has. Sandra Cisneros didn’t only write The House on Mango Street for fun or because it was about her life but because many people that come from the same Mexican-American society can relate, even people from other cultures. She states "You, the reader, are Esperanza.... You cannot forget who you are." And Cisneros is right, no matter what the struggle is that you’ve gone through you can’t hide it, you can’t just put make up over it and forget, it’s not possible. The only thing to do is accept it and move towards a better life.
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
“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.
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.
The idea of the alienated artist is very common in feminist works. Esperanza, the protagonist, is alienated from the rest of society in many ways. Her Latino neighborhood seems to be excluded from the rest of the world, while Esperanza is also separated from the other members of her community. Members of other cultures are afraid to enter the neighborhood because they believe it is dangerous. Esperanza seems to be the only one who refuses to just accept Mango Street, and she dreams of someday leaving it behind. She is considered an artist because she has an extremely creative imagination which creates a conflict with the type of liberal individuality she seeks. This creative "genius survives even under the most adverse conditions..." (Gagnier 137). To escape the pain of this division, Esperanza turns to writing. She says, "I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much" (Cisneros 110). Gagnier sees a "distinction of the writer who nonetheless sees herself as somehow different, separate..." (137).
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.