Examples Of Poverty In The House On Mango Street

According to statistics, the monthly child poverty rate increased from 12.31% to 17% in December 2021. That is a difference of 4.9%. Poverty is something many have to deal with on a daily basis. Some may think that the only difference between them and someone in poverty is the financial difference, but there is so much more to it. Growing up in poverty makes even more of a difference. The novel The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a series of vignettes that are meant to be written by a girl named Esperanza. Esperanza is the main character in this story and she lives in poverty. She moves around a substantial amount and she always expresses that the houses or apartments are something she is embarrassed of. Growing up like this makes

One example of this is when Esperanza was at a party with her family. Her mother had just bought her a new pretty dress. She adored this dress but there was one thing standing in the way of the happiness that her dress gave her. Her old brown shoes. “It doesn’t matter how new the dress Mama bought is because my feet are ugly”( 47). Esperanza isn’t talking about her feet but about the shoes that conceal them. She does not say things like 'these shoes look unnatural with my dress’ or ‘these shoes are out of place'. She says ‘my feet’ specifically. This shows that Esperanza is not ashamed of the shoes as an object. It means she observes the shoes as a symbol of herself, specifically her family's financial situation. If she had said ‘these shoes’ it would mean that she feels ashamed of them separately, but Esperanza is taking it very personally. After she thought about her shoes even more she decided to sit in the corner and let shame consume her because to her, she is a misfit. This shows how the young girl depicts herself. She depicts herself as those shoes in a world of pretty dresses. Even if nobody notices her shoes she will notice them because they are a part of her. She has been more involved with those shoes than anyone else could ever be so she is familiar with all their flaws. She knows all her flaws. So she stresses about being different

Often the shame that they feel causes them to isolate themselves. Just like the way Esperanza behaved at that party. However, isolation is not always done by the child, sometimes it is done by others as well. In a chapter about her lunch Esperanza is feeling clear shame about going where the ‘special’ kids eat. She just wants to eat in the cafeteria but she is not allowed to do so due to her situation. “The special kids, the ones who wear keys around their necks, get to eat in the canteen” (43). The word ‘special’ is a common word adults use to make kids feel better. To make them feel like they are better than others or deserve more. But over time it has become a word with a rude and even insulting undertone. Like a backhanded compliment. For Esperanza specifically it means ‘different’ because not everyone goes to the canteen for lunch, most don’t. She just wants to be like everyone else so she can feel like she fits in but she has to eat in the canteen which makes it hard. The word ‘get to’ is seen as a privilege and some would believe that Esperanza is happy about being ‘special’ but this word has a different underlying meaning. She means ‘are obliged to’ instead of 'get to’, they don’t have another choice so they are ‘obliged to’. The reason she is saying this could be many reasons. It could be that she is trying to stay positive, it could be that she is trying to convince herself. Trying to convince