The House On Mango Street Literary Analysis

One mark of great storytelling is the portrayal of characters’ development or metamorphose throughout the plot. All great literary characters gradually transform, for better or for worse, as their journey progresses. Sandra Cisneros’ novella, The House on Mango Street, centers around Esperanza Cordero, a young girl living in a poverty stricken area of Chicago. The story follows Esperanza’s thoughts through several vignettes, showing her maturation from adolescence to early adulthood. Through the change in tone and juxtaposing vignettes, Cisneros shows how maturity is derived from the loss of innocence and the gaining of knowledge.

In The House on Mango Street, the theme of maturation through loss of innocence is based on Esperanza Cordero’s

life. At the beginning, Esperanza is innocent and young. She talks about how the girls and boys in her neighborhood seem to “live in separate worlds” (Cisneros 8). At the time she is like most other little girls with no interest in the opposite sex and a confused but curious tone. But as the story progresses and Esperanza matures her interests change and we see her become more complex in her reflections. She expresses how someone “can never have too much sky. [Someone] can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad” (Cisneros 33). The reader can see here how she is able to appreciate the little things, making the best of what she has. This newfound view on life shows that she is developing a mature voice.
Cisneros juxtaposes side stories to support the theme of education and loss of innocence as a means of maturation.

For example, in “The Monkey Garden,” Esperanza sees Sally being persuaded to kiss boys. She hopes to save sally from the boys but Sally is flirting and doesn’t want to be rescued. Esperanza doesn’t understand why they laugh like “it was a joke [she] didn’t get” (Cisneros 96). Here she is seen still as an innocent child, unable to understand the concept of flirting. But in the following vignette, “Red Clowns,” we see Esperanza lose this innocence when she is sexually abused at a carnival. She exclaims that she couldn’t make the man stop when he said, “I love you, Spanish girl, I love you, and pressed his sour mouth to [hers]” (Cisneros 100). The passages next to each other show Esperanza’s schoolyard innocence being torn away as she’s raped. By juxtaposing these stories, Cisneros heightens the contrast between innocence and

adulthood.
The theme is further developed by the change in Esperanza’s tone.

After being laughed at by the boys and Sally in “Monkey Garden,” Esperanza feels very hurt. She says “I felt stupid… They all looked at me as if I was the one that was crazy and made me feel ashamed” (Cisneros 97). Esperanza’s tone is confused and she is clearly humiliated by how innocence blinds her from grasping the concept of flirting. She runs away to hide in the garden and cries wishing she were dead or melting into the ground, a reaction everyone experiences at some point during childhood. But then, in “Red Clown,” Esperanza takes on an angry tone. The whole passage is directed towards Sally. “Why did you leave me all alone? I waited my whole life. You’re a liar. They all lied” (Cisneros 100). Esperanza was mad because Sally abandoned her, leaving her vulnerable to her abuser. It’s clear how Esperanza has learned and has matured. As she loses her childlike innocence and gains understanding Esperanza begins to transform into a more mature character.

Cisneros shows how a character will gain understanding and maturity when exposed to events that forever change their perspective.

The House on Mango Street shows how Esperanza’s pure outlook on life gradually changes, becoming more realistic and sophisticated. Mentally transitioning into adulthood is an organic part of life that all readers can relate to. Loss of innocence through experience is inevitable and ultimately irreversible. However, these moments are

educational and assist us in maturation. As these disillusioning thresholds are crossed and purity fades people begin to see the world for what it really is.