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Literature and society
Literature and society
Literature and society
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Sandra Cisneros born on December 20, 1954 grew up in Chicago settling with a neighborhood known with Hispanic immigrants. Until then her migrating with her six brothers, from different communities in Chicago, and visiting her grandmother in Mexico, she has never really make ones home in. Being the only girl with no sisters, Cisneros only way that would deprive her from loneliness, is by reading books where she found her talents in writing. Fast forwarding to college Sandra Cisneros worked on her master’s degree at University of Iowa Writers Workshop where found her interest as Mexican-American woman with a self-reliant passion and how being a Hispanic were different in the American culture.
Her family support was her greatest influences
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on focusing on her talents. Unlike, other girl parents, Cisneros mom did not make her practice the traditions of staying home cooking and cleaning. Instead she pushed her education by taking her to the library every day before she attends school, making her become a phenomenal reader. Plus her brothers pushed her too , in an interview she named one out of her six “Keeks” he was an artist too , so he tried all his best to support her because he had the idea and obstacles to become a great writer. Besides her family, Culture has also played a role in how Sandra Cisneros have shaped her writings.
She wanted to give a little sense to the audience on how her life was growing up. Aspired to her life Cisneros writes about conflicts dealing with feeling alone, disgraced, poverty and cultural reliability. As similar to Esperanza the character in “The House on Mango Street”, she would describe her penniless young child, who yearns for security in the house. Making a connection to the book moving for Cisneros was as a nauseated and unpleasant occurrence. Cisneros stated that relocating into neighborhood as in” France after the World War 2”. Meaning that the building was collapsing and the place were dead. In addition, Esperanza had no voice when it comes to authority meaning that she is pressure of being married than having an education. This shows a connection because her father wanted her to go to college just for finding a husband. She stated, “All that college wasted, and still no husband” she had realized that she has been disgracing her father’s approval in chasing her dreams than chasing a man. Prior to her life experiences the novel, the characters were a variety of people who she had encounters at different times in her
life. In her lecture she stated that she wanted a book with her name on it, to prove to her family she could be successful and still be part of the family Cisneros. And she did prove it with many short stories and poems she has written about in Hispanic Culture. Having a Mexican background filled with much traditions including marriage when you’re not ready for Cisneros is a tremendous, talented writer and was determinate to show her father that she do not need a husband to be happy and successful, with her literature works she has been honored numerous awards including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The American Book Award for “The House on Mango Street, and many others
Reading is similar to looking into a mirror: audiences recognize themselves in the experiences and characters on the pages. They see the good, the bad, and are brought back to experiences they had overlooked to learn something more about themselves. Some characters touch readers so intimately that they inspire readers to be better than they already are. House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, follows a young girl named Esperanza and her experiences while living on Mango Street. She is introduced with her desperate wish to escape her poor mostly-Latino neighborhood and live in a house of her own. Esperanza compares herself to her family, innocently knowing what she wants from a young ages. She is observant and holds insights into the lives of others, learning lessons from each person she encounters. While
Esperanza was able to provide the audience with an image that was vivid of her surroundings through her diction and tone. Esperanza presents a series of stories that she deals with in her neighborhood as she grows 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 on 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.
The author of The House on Mango Street and the producer of The Color Purple are able to integrate numerous important thematic ideas. Many of these ideas still apply to our current world, teaching various important lessons to many adolescents and adults. The House on Mango Street is a collection of vignettes written by Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican-American writer. The novel depicts many aspects of Sandra Cisneros’ life including racism, and sexism that she and the main character face. The novel revolves around Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl, who is growing up in Chicago as she faces the various struggles of living in America. The various vignettes reveal many experiences Esperanza has with reality and her navie responses to such harsh
Who does not want a home? A shelter to sleep and a roof to dine under. Of course no one wanted to stay home forever, but once in awhile and even when far away, they will long to return to that sacred place, the place where they grew up and the place they have left behind, home. The desire for a home (or house to be precise, though there was not much of a different for this case) was realistically reflected through a fiction work of Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican American write, a story called The House on Mango Street, where we shall discuss about its setting, plot and character.
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.
“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.
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
Writing in the 20th century was a great deal harder for a Chicano than it was for a typical American at this time. That did not stop this author, Sandra Cisneros. One of her famous novels, Woman Hollering Creek, was a prime example of how a combined culture: Mexican-Americans, could show their pride and identity in this century. In conjunction, gave the opportunity for women to speak their voice and forever change the culture of Latino/a markets. Not only did it express identity/gender roles of women and relationships, but it used these relationships to combine the cultures of Mexican and American into a hybrid breed.
“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 House on Mango Street” was peaceful, easy reading for me. After trudging through many short stories documenting eye-narrowing love affairs, I was slogged down, and began to despair of ever finding a decent story that I could relate to. The main character, who is also the narrator, in Sandra Cisneros' story is never named, and the characters' physical and personality attributes are never described. However, their circumstances are made clear. Her family, like mine, has moved around to different rental houses, and now owns their own home. They had to leave their latest rental in a rush, due to plumbing issues, I too have fled a rental house because of complications with leaky pipes. Finally, the protagonist realizes that each time her family moves, another member is added, which I see as a potential allegory to my own life, as far as making new friends as a result of transitions in my life. I feel as though I can relate with her, due to our similar life experiences.
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.
There are varieties of symbol that appears in the house on mango street, all of them have different use to the novella. Here are some representative symbols.
Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we are loved and where we can love,” Martin J. Ashton. A home is a place that everything should feel safe, and a place that makes anyone want to come not leave. The House On Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, shows that a home doesn't always have that feeling of security and safety. Some characters are able to live freely while others are scared of even doing anything. Sandra Cisneros describes houses in a way to show the feelings of the people that live in them. The houses on Mango Street hold many feeling among them, one of those feelings is not being secure or safe in one way or another in their homes.
Cisneros left home to became a writer. As Latina, we have a taboo that we do not left home except when we get married. Living home before getting married is something wrong in our culture. For her was too hard because she was the only girl in the family. She was the first one to do it in the family; that is why she says she broke the taboo. Her father didn’t want her to left the house, but she putted in her two feet and left. however, his father not even want her to became a writer. Finally, she went to a prestigious university; therefore because of this taboo we cannot complete our dreams, but she made it.