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The house on mango street character essay esperanza
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Societal Women Roles The novel of self-discovery called The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, guides the reader through a series of vignettes about a young girl named Esperanza Cordero. The novel focuses on how Esperanza deals with her everyday conflicts, and how she intensively learns who she is and who she wants to be. This novel includes many different perspectives of society and what role each individual plays. There are many stereotypes and beliefs according to society of how women and men are treated and how they should act. However, the victims in this novel are the women. An analysis of how women are treated in this novel reveals the hardships they face and what role they play in society. First and foremost, there are characters …show more content…
introduced in this novel that are metaphorically trapped in society. The women that have no control over their life, because of the circumstances, are forced to become the generalized definition of what role women are required to play. In the setting of this novel, the description of the role women play is: stay at home mom, cooks and cleans, does not receive an education, and raises children. The women, Rosa Vargas and Minerva, are relatable sources of women that fit into society’s expectations. In the chapter “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do”, Rosa Vargas is characterized as a helpless woman of no hope of escaping her lifestyle. “They are bad those Vargas, and how can they help it with only one mother who is tired all the time from buttoning and bottling and babying, and who cries everyday for the man who left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come” (Cisneros 29). Rosa Vargas is forced to raise her delinquent children all by herself, because a man left her with almost nothing to survive. She plays exactly the type of role society believes women should enact. With a similar experience, in the novel Minerva faces many obstacles, “Minerva is only a little bit older than me but already she has two kids and a husband who left. . . .She is always sad like a house on fire--always something wrong. She has many trouble, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving” (84, 85). Minerva is also another victim who was left by her husband and struggles to raise her children. Her role in this novel is to be a stay at home mom and just live and raise her children. Both Rosa Vargas and Minerva play the same role, the one society believes is the only role women play. With regards to the role women play, a few of the characters in this society are controlled by men, they let men decide the role they play. There are many types of women that either concentrate on directing themselves on the right path to a great future or simply let others, such as men, shape who or what they will come to be. Marin, a character that Esperanza idolizes, seems to only care about her reputation and how boys think of her. In the chapter “Marin”, Cisneros portrays what role Marin plays: 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, and since Marin is already older than us in many ways, the boys who do pass by say stupid things like I am in love with those two green apples you call eyes, give them to me why don’t you. And Marin just looks at them without even blinking and is not afraid. Marin, under the streetlight, dancing by herself, is singing the same song somewhere. I know. Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life. (27) Cisneros vividly explains that Marin believes that men are what is important in life. She depends on a special someone to rapidly change the way she lives, and the role she plays. While Marin allows men to control her life, Rafaela who drinks Coconut and Papaya juice on Tuesdays is entrapped by her own husband. “On Tuesdays Rafaela’s husband comes home late because that’s the night he plays dominoes. 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, in contrast to Marin who is free to do what she wants, is trapped and cannot escape because of her appearance. She has no control over what is yet to come and what role she could play in society. Her husband, the man, decides that she will play no role on her own. With similar experiences, Sally is a beautiful girls who is entrapped by her own father: Her father says to be this beautiful is trouble. . .all you wanted Sally was to love and to love and to love and to love, and no one could call that crazy. . . .He never hits me hard. She said her mama rubs lard on all the places where it hurts. Then at school she’d say she fell. That's where all the blue places come from. That’s why her skin is always scarred. (81, 83, 92) In reality, Sally expects a women to have a defined role such as a woman who is free and has a husband. Sally cannot escape the man that is controlling her and doesn’t have a distinguished role she plays. She hides behind her bruises and only wishes she can escape. Marin, Rafaela, and Sally play no role in society because they hid behind the shadows of the men who control them. They aren’t allowed to live their own life, therefore do not have their own specific role. Concerning the women who have a stereotypical role or have no role at all, there are characters who are working to create their own successful fate and future. Alicia and Esperanza herself, are the only characters that, in spite of everyone opposing the direction they are going in, they continue to strive to become a better person. Both individuals do not want to be trapped by society like the other women on Mango street. They want to break the barrier and play the role they choose and have worked for. For instance, Alicia has always been on the side of education and does not let society influence who she wants to become. In the chapter, “Alicia Who Sees Mice”, Cisneros conveys what objective Alicia has set for herself: Alicia, who inherited her mama’s rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for the first time at the university. Two trains and a bus, because she doesn’t want to spend her whole life in a factory behind a rolling pin. Is a good girl, my friend, studies all night and sees the mice, the ones her father says do not exist. Is afraid of nothing except four-legged fur. And fathers. (32) Alicia is not controlled by anyone and only aims towards achieving a better life than her mother and father did.
She sets the goal for herself and the role she wants to take part in society. She does not want to get comfortable on Mango Street because she will live a different life. Similarly to Alicia, Esperanza does not intend on staying on Mango Street. In fact, Esperanza didn’t even consider Mango Street as her home. In the novel, Esperanza’s feelings towards her house is revealed: I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who didn’t want to belong. . . . One day I will pack my bags of books 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. . . .They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out. (110) Esperanza’s didn't have a role when she was growing up because she was still trying to discover who she is. However, Cisneros uncovered her role as to return to Mango Street and teach the ones she left behind. Esperanza has met many different women who play different roles and understands each and every one of them. Esperanza’s role is to be the teacher and be there for the women who are trapped on Mango
Street. In conclusion, women on Mango Street all are entrapped by society with no escape. They are controlled by society and play a less significant role than others. There are a variety of female roles in the novel that Esperanza encounters with. The women are either trapped by a stereotype, men control them, or they try to overcome the obstacles society puts upon them. Cisneros conveys the hardships women face because they aren’t required to play the same role as men. The role women play shows what women face day by day and how they too want to become an individual.
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
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 finally comes to the conclusion that she does not need to fit into the mold of Mango Street. She also realizes that by making her own world, she can do bigger and better things and come back to help others on Mango Street. Not everybody can fit into the same mold and Esperanza made her own. . Esperanza leaving shows that she is a leader and hopefully she will have the others from Mango Street follow in her path. Maybe other people will fit into Esperanza’s mold or they will use her as an example. Esperanza used the other women as an example to make something of herself so all of the negative people she meets and has in her life, they made her the person she wanted to be.
Esperanza is the heart and soul of this story. She changes and develops new habits over the course of the book. Because of how the book is written, she’s also the main character who gives the story it’s unity. Everything in the story is told in her perspective anyway so she could be the narrator and the protagonist. Even the stories about other characters have some sort of connection with Esperanza. She is The House On Mango Street, she is Esperanza.
“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.
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.
Esperanza builds her strength off the mishaps that occur while living on Mango Street. In the vignettes, Esperanza describes some very interesting things that take place on Mango Street. She recalls a time when Sally befriended her and told Esperanza to leave her alone with the boys. Esperanza felt out of place and was very uncomfortable and very ashamed to be in that situation. She wanted more from life than that, so she left the scene.
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.
Although Esperanza is constantly reaffirming that she wants to move away from Mango Street, we know by the end novel that she will one day return to help those who will not have the opportunities Esperanza has had in her life. Indeed, in the closing pages Esperanza admits that she cannot escape Mango Street. She can never again call it home, but it has influenced her dreams, formed her personality, and she has learned valuable life lessons from its inhabitants. That is why, explains Esperanza, she tells stories about the house on Mango Street, revealing the beauty amidst dirty streets and unveiling her true inner self, the peace of knowing that her “home is where her heart is.”
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 Book women are looked upon as objects by men whether they are boyfriends, friends fathers or husbands. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most important things to a woman. Cisneros also shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their husbands, and that a husband should have complete control of the relationship. Yet on the other hand, Cisneros describes the character Esperanza as being different. Even though she is born and raised in the same culture as the women around her, she is not happy with it, and knows that someday she will break free from its ties, because she is mentally strong and has a talent for telling stories. She comes back through her stories by showing the women that they can be independent and live their own lives. In a way this is Cinceros' way of coming back and giving back to the women in her community.