Esperanza's Identity In 'The House On Mango Street'

[Central claim] Esperanza's life experiences of struggling with her own identity and growing up in a city where many of the poor areas are racially segregated during The House on Mango Street develops the overall theme of knowing and accepting where a person has come from is an important part of growing up and understanding and accepting one’s complete identity. [Main idea A] Begging with Esperanaza's lack of personal acceptance forces Esperanaza to realize accepting where someone or something has come from is an important part of growing up and accepting others. [Main evidence A1] For instance at the beginning of the novel Esperanza connects Mexico to a house she sees while riding bikes with her friends Rachel and Lucy, “..it looks like Mexico.

That’s what I was thinking exactly.” (Page 18) [Commentary A1] In the text it is clearly shown that Esperanza is struggling to connect her ethnicity with others. Esperanza’s younger sister agrees with her statement about Mexico which makes her realize that she is not alone and that others can also connect to her culture. This is a turning point during Esperanza’s journey of accepting where others are from because she experiences trouble with identification firsthand as she grows up. [Main evidence A2] Then, Esperanza deals with the feeling of not belonging because of her looks and where she is from, “Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted by the city. From our room we can hear them, but Nenny just sleeps and doesn't appreciate these things.” (page 74) [Commentary A2] In the text Esperanza's emotions are caused by her battle with accepting her identity. Esperanza's encounter with the trees brought her to realize that she is similar to the 4 skinny trees because they have skinny necks, pointy elbows, and are there but don’t belong like