Essay On The House On Mango Street

The House on Mango Street consists of many short stories that explain the life of a young girl named Esperanza. It also explains her living situation; poverty in a crime riddance neighborhood. In addition, she also states the various obstacles that she has to overcome in her everyday life, such as wearing cheap clothes, eating the lunches her mom makes, living in her home, etc. Reading the book once without looking at it through an analytical perspective the book may seem two-dimensional and flat. While Cisneros’ stories may be short, after re-reading it to get a deeper understanding as to what she really means, the significance of the text becomes even more visible, and the interpretations become increasingly powerful. Cisneros uses metaphors, smilies, personifications, and foreshadowing to explain her emotions throughout the text. In the vignette, “Boys and Girls” Cisneros talks about how the boys and girls are cliquey when it comes to their friendships with one another. She explains

Esperanza is jealous because she cannot say the same about her house on Mango Street. In the heat of all of this, Alicia reminds her that even if she doesn’t like the fact that she lives on Mango Street she will forever be from Mango Street. Esperanza responds by saying that she will not come back until someone fixes the town. This is where Cisneros uses foreshadowing to show Esperanza’s emotions towards Mango Street. The quote she uses is “Who’s going to do it? Not the mayor.” By her using this quote it foreshadows that Esperanza will come back in the future to change the way Mango Street appears. Cisneros wants to leave us with the idea of “Is she really going to come back?” This makes the audience think if Esperanza will actually come back to the house on Mango Street to change it to her likings or