Have you ever had that uncertain feeling inside that something is just not right and needs to be changed? Sandra Cisneros’s novel The House On Mango Street is about a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago who learns more about herself and what she will become in the future. Throughout the series of vignettes, the reader encounters many women who are constrained by poverty and inequality. Women confront situations where they are waiting for men to help guide them, or they get taken advantage of by men. Although Esperanza experiences and witnesses the struggles and hardships that come with being a woman, she eventually understands that being a woman can be powerful, and that she is able to shape her own future. Throughout the beginning of …show more content…
Esperanza talks to an old man, and he interupts her and asks, “If I give you a dollar will you kiss me?” Esperanza realizes that in the real world, there will be men who take advantage of women, and thinks, “We are tired of being beautiful.” (41-42) She understands that her beauty attracts men, and she does not want to get taken advantage of again. Rafaela's husband makes sure that she cannot do anything he can do. “And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at.” (79) Rafaela’s husband locks her in their house while he is gone during the day. He is worried that, “Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at”. This reveals how men take advantage of women, just because of the way they look. Rafaela’s husband knows that men will do this to Rafaela, and he doesn’t let Rafaela go out and do what men can do. Men do not allow women to have the same opportunities they do and trap them with a life as their wife, and nothing more. Minerva is getting abused by her husband, and “she comes over back and blue and asks what she can do? Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go. There is nothing I can do.” (85) Minerva’s …show more content…
Esperanza displays her independence when she announces, “I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am the one who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate.” (89) Esperanza is breaking gender stereotypes by saying that she’s “the one who leaves the table like a man.” Esperanza is now concluding that everything a man is allowed to do, she should be allowed to do it too. This shows contrast because earlier in the book, the women resigned and did not want to achieve much. In the quote, Esperanza is allowing herself to do everything men can do. Later, Esperanza sees a couple boys being rude to Sally. She goes up to one of the boys’ mom and declares, “Your son and his friends stole Sally’s keys and they won’t give them back unless she kisses them and right now they’re making her kiss them… They all looked at me like I was the one that was crazy.” (97) Esperanza realizes that Sally is being taken advantage of and tries to seek help, but the boy’s mom can’t help, and resigns like most of the women at the beginning of the book. The mom reacts as if it wasn’t a big deal because girls in society get taken advantage of frequently. Esperanza ends by thinking that she “was the one that was crazy” because usually people don’t do anything
“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
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.
Gabriela Quintanilla Mrs. Allen A.P English 12 12 March 2014 The House on Mango Street 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 woman as well as an artist throughout the novel through her encounters.
The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a fictional novel set in 1950’s Chicago. Centering around Esperanza’s Mexican American family and their neighbors on Mango Street, the story illustrates Esperanza’s growth and gain of experience. Throughout the story, Esperanza obtains insight on many diverse aspects of life, one being how different she is from the men and even the other women in her culture and society. She recognizes that many of the women in her life are opressed, and identifies that she craves to be different and more independent. Through the use of figurative language, Cisneros asserts that when women allow themselves to be dominated by men, they may be prevented from pursuing their aspirations.
“The boys and girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours. My brothers for example. They've got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can't be seen talking to girls,” exfoliates the truth that opposite genders live in different worlds and are usually not treated in agreement. The often theme throughout the novella that Esperanza would like to have a nice house and be better off in is important, representing that just because one is a child in poverty, one does not have to stay that way. Gender roles are not equal, the man is supposed to have the job, well Esperanza would like to have a job and accumulate money on her own. Not only does Esperanza want gender inequality, but also would like to strive further than her
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.
Despite Esperanza’s efforts to be independent of her parents, they do play a crucial role in her life. All around Esperanza are examples of bad parents: Sally’s father beats her, Minerva’s father left her mother, Minerva’s husband leaves his children, and the Vargas kids’ father has abandoned them. Similarly, Ruthie’s mother Edna shows no love for her daughter, and Tito’s mother does not care how Tito behaves toward girls. Esperanza’s parents at least set a good example and try to instill values in their daughter. They advise Esperanza not to hang around with Sire, a neighborhood punk, and Esperanza’s mother tells her never to be ashamed as she was in her youth. Her parents show that they value education highly by sending their children to
The act of sex is not what she was expecting and she blames the women in the Mango Street community for what happened to her and for lying to her about the realities of sex. Irony is present in this relationship because throughout the novel Sally transforms from a symbol of envy and aspiration to a girl that Esperanza feels pity for. Sandra Cisneros incorporates Sally’s static character as an opportunity to force Esperanza’s character to grow through experience and help Esperanza understand that she doesn’t want to define herself through empty sex. This ties back to Esperanza’s continuing challenge against gender norms and further enhances her need to create an identity for herself not defined by Mango Street.
The famous quote- "I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back” by Malala Yousafzai aptly summarizes the story- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros uniquely used vignettes as chapters focused on individual flashes of memories of the narrator-Esperanza's life. Since Cisneros writes about growing up which has many aspects attached to it, this book naturally has many themes. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros depicts the gender gap in between men and women as the central theme and portrays Esperanza-a determined girl in pursuit of wanting to stop stereotypes about women with the aid of a role model as the protagonist in the
However great this book may be, Sandra Cisneros puts deeper messages and meaning into every short vignette, making it even better than before. The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is important and in the book she suggests that women are oppressed in the world no matter what age. This is evident in many different vignettes in the book, such as in “Rafaela who drinks Papaya juice and Coconut water on Tuesdays”, “What Sally Said”, and in “Boys and Girls”. Cisneros uses mood, tone, and personification to convey thoughts ideas, and overall tell a beautiful story of trust, family, and friendship. You learn so much from every page, and in every chapter. In “Rafaela who drinks Papaya juice and Coconut water on Tuesdays”, you see how an abusive relationship oppresses a woman in a world where she can do nothing to get out of it. In “What Sally Said”, you see how a young girl is taken advantage of, nonetheless by her own father, and no one even bothers to blink an eye. In “Boys and Girls”, you see how gender roles and stereotypes are pushed on young girls and boys, even when they are as young as five years old. By reading this book you can see why we can no longer stand still. We have to get up, out of our privileged bubble we live in, out of the blatantly untrue lies the media tells us, and
In conclusion, “The House on Mango Street” manifests the differences between men’s and women’s roles in Mexican culture through Esperanza’s point of view. All of the female characters mentioned in the story are oppressed and overpowered by men, whether husbands, fathers, or even children. The story is both astounding and emotional, as it astonishingly reveals Esperanza’s process of growing up by observing and learning the valuable life lessons from her female neighbors. These women are portrayed as a negative role model for Esperanza. Unfortunately, most of them offer her the examples of a person she does not want to become. Yet, these women teach Esperanza many life experiences and have an important role in shaping her identity as well.
In “Minerva Writes Poems,” Esperanza explains how Minerva’s life makes her miserable. She says, “She is always sad like a house on fire—always something wrong. She has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving… Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what can she do? Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go. There is nothing I can do.” Minerva’s husband is the main cause of her misery. He is the reason she has a huge responsibility and insufficient resources to fulfill that responsibility. Minerva has much reason to kick out her husband and keep him out — but her lack of self-confidence and determination makes her afraid to stand up to her husband. Minerva’s husband has caused so much pain for Minerva, yet he is the one who controls her future. Minerva can not escape her husband; she does not possess the qualities necessary to do so. Sally and Minerva both demonstrate that if a person lacks self-confidence and determination, they will let others determine their
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.
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.