According to Merriam Webster, a novella is an Italian term, which derives from the word “novel,” and means a short novel or long short story. There are numerous novellas in the world of literature; some significant examples include Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. A theme of “influences” is displayed throughout these novellas and can influence our perspective on life. Another popular high school novella is Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, where protagonist, Esperanza Cordero encounters multiple characters, such as Sally, Sire, and Nenny, who help influence her life in both negative and positive ways. Sally is a significant character who Esperanza meets during the course of the story. She is Esperanza's friend from school who impacts her negatively. Sally gets Esperanza raped by two red clowns, since she feeds Esperanza false information. Sally exposes Esperanza to negative situations that should not happen. Esperanza explains, "Sally, you lied. It wasn't what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn't want it, Sally." (Cisneros, 99). In addition, Sally acts incredibly different in school than at home. During school, she yearns to be the most popular student, so …show more content…
The characters Sally and Sire try to peer pressure Esperanza, while Nenny looks up to Esperanza as more of a role model. Unfortunately, Sally gets Esperanza assaulted by two red clowns, since she tells her dishonest information. Additionally, Sire causes a lot of trouble as a teenager, which makes him become a bad choice as Esperanza's crush. Ultimately, Nenny is one of the few characters who helps Esperanza develop into a optimistic character by making Esperanza aware of her own actions, so Nenny doesn't learn after
In Sandra Cisneros’ novel, The House on Mango Street, two sisters, Esperanza and Nenny, each own a different identity that separates one from the other highlighting similarities that makes them sisters. Inside the house of the Corderos, Esperanza believes that: “Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza”(11). In the text, Esperanza desires a new name that describes herself within her home; however, obtaining a new name is hopeless for her. As a result, Esperanza wishes for a name she can appreciate and represents her true self similar to the how nickname Nenny represents the true self of Magdalena.
In Sandra Cisneros’, House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s yearning for freedom is supported in Darius & the Sky. Specifically, the vignette begins by saying, “you can never have too much sky” (33). Esperanza’s vision of the sky is symbolic of offering freedom and a realm filled with opportunity. Equally important, is the sky’s role in shaping Esperanza’s identity. At the beginning of the novel, Esperanza uses imagery to depict how she is “a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor” (9).
Maggard 1 Cole Maggard Johnson English 1 6 November 2014 Character compare and contrast Esperanza from House on Mango Street, Melinda from Speak, and Jean Louise from To Kill a Mockingbird, are very interesting characters that seem to not share many characteristics in each of these novels. These three girls were the main characters of their own books, and in each of these books we learned that they don’t have a lot in common. The personality that these three have just shows how different they are. Here are just a few examples that make these three girls different.
Sylvia feels she betrayed by her best friend because at first they hate Miss Moore and after the trip, everything has changed. However, Sylvia realizes that what Sugar say are all true. Sylvia and other children understand what Miss Moore is trying to teach them a lesson. Sylvia changes her point of
When Donny is performing poorly at school, the school contacts his parents to attend a conference to discuss Donny’s behavior. Tyler portrays irony with the character of Donny’s mother, Daisy, as Daisy herself is a former school teacher, so it is ironic that her child is failing at school as she should know better than other parents how best to help her child succeed academically. Daisy tells the principal that they are concerned about Donny, but that “he tells us he doesn’t have any homework or he did it all in study hall. How are we to know what to believe?” (3).
Towards the end, Sylvia and her group see the riches of the “white folks” and now sees that there is economic and social inequality. Sylvia is a round character due to her attitude and bitterness while her development reflects her understanding the lesson, and this knowledge creates an epiphany in her. She is now aware of the class inequality and unfairness towards
She is also one of the strongest women in the plot of the story. This makes Esperanza look up to her mom and make herself want to be a strong woman when she grows up. Esperanza's mom helps influence the way Esperanza wants to live her life in the future. The last of the three most influential characters is Marin.
Sexuality in adolescence Sexuality is the most notorious and common sign of development in adolescence. “The House on Mango street”, by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel, where Esperanza transitions from a girl into a young teen. In her journey, Esperanza comes across many challenges, she is forced to grow up by life’s adversities. In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother advises her daughter and scolds her into becoming a decent woman. In her guidance, the mother is worried about her daughter’s sexual activity and warns her about the consequences of improper behavior.
These characters influence Esperanza’s choices and her overall viewpoint of life. Sandra
She is Sylvia’s best friend and is also very observant. “Sugar is the only child who tells Miss. Moore exactly what she wants to hear” (“The Lesson”). She was very interested in the toys like the rest of the children. She realized that the toys cost so much money that they could live off that money for food.
Just by having a positive attitude and trying so hard, already makes Esperanza overcome the obstacle of being out of place in her
Everyone is affected by life’s circumstances. The responses to those experiences can have a positive or negative outcome in one’s future. In Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, the protagonist, Esperanza, gives us her views on life, how she views herself, and she views her future. Not only does she give her perspective throughout the story, she tells us of the numerous experiences that she grows through. These experiences have an impact on her, creating new emotions and new adult like perspectives she has never faced before.
The House on Mango Street is set in a poor, primarily Hispanic neighborhood. Author Sandra Cisneros creates an atypical, yet easily digestible world for the reader to experience while learning about Esperanza’s childhood. The culture of her environment influences Esperanza’s development as she becomes a young woman, and contributes to the book’s driving theme of self-empowerment. Mango Street is the source of Esperanza’s growth through her childhood, and it hides sadness and longing underneath stereotypes of Hispanic people. The characters that live in the broken-down neighborhood all seem to represent pigeonholed views of Latino individuals.
Esperanza thinks of herself as the ugly daughter who nobody comes to visit. Nenny has beautiful eyes and Esperanza thinks that beautiful people like Nenny can talk about leaving home all the time, because they are pretty and have fewer worries. Esperanza does not want to spend all her life waiting for a husband to come and take her away, nor does she want to be like Minerva‘s sister, is kicked out of her home because she has a baby. Despite her looks, Esperanza claims to have a new plan. She will not be one of the red lipped women in the movies who can play with men like toys.
In contrast to Sylvia and her friends there is her teacher Miss Moore,