Alicia Who Sees Mice Essay

Growing up in a very traditional family I have experienced a patriarchal system in which my father is making the important decisions without consulting to the rest of the family. I also face pressure by my parents and the community to conform and become a housewife which requires learning how to cook properly and be submissive. I persistently defy my parents and what the communities see “best” for me by pouring all of my energy into education, which they do not support. This correlates to the vignette, “Alicia Who Sees Mice,” in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Throughout the essay, it will discuss the patriarchal system and societal expectations and it’s a detrimental effect to numerous of women in the book. I will also the literary devices and writing structure Cisneros implements into her vignettes, while using supplemental vignettes such as “My Name,” and “The First Job”. In “Alicia Who Sees Mice,” Esperanza describes the treatment Alicia receives from her father. Alicia is burdened by her father to take the maternal role since her mother passed away.

In the beginning of the vignette Alicia’s father states, “Close your eyes and they’ll go away. You’re just imagining.”(31). Here the father is telling Alicia that she should let go of her goal to have an education and to pursue a degree at the university. It’s as if he is belittling her by treating her as if she is a child and that this goal of getting an education unattainable. The “mice”

Since she attended a Catholic school, her parents couldn’t afford it. In result, she must work to pay for her education and this signifies the economic status of her family. She had to lie about her age in order to get the job and conceal her lie by wearing a dress that made her look older. She was sexually assaulted by an Asian man who kisses her “hard on the mouth and does not let go” (55). Cisneros