However, Esperanza’s negative view of herself slowly changes as she begins to focus on her larger community and her place within it. Through this, Cisneros shows that knowing and accepting where we have come from is an important part of growing up and determining who we are. In the beginning of
Women have had fewer rights than men for a long time. They get paid significantly less and are often seen as objects to claim or do house chores. Sandra Cisneros has written a story that takes the reader through a neighborhood of women who are beat-down. But, through the characterization of Esperanza and Sally in “The House on Mango Street”, Cisneros has portrayed the importance of being an autonomous individual and not falling into gender roles. Esperanza illustrates the importance of independence because of her unique characteristics.
While struggling with occurring expectations and not having financial freedom, she feels that getting a college education would help empower and socialize in the community and with the encouragement of the other people in the community, Esperanza plays a critical role in Alicia’s aspirations. Secondly, Esperanza is a girl who is going through her juvenile stage of life while trying to find herself but she doesn’t give up easily while chasing her dreams of having a better life for herself despite what she is surrounded by and the restrictions placed on her because she is a woman Esperanza finds her power within her community that helps shape her into a determined woman to break free from the cycle of poverty and being discriminated against because she is a woman. Coming in contact with all of the other women and cultural traditions helps her better understand that she identifies as a Latina woman and how she should love who she is, even if that means that she is different from everyone
The House On Mango Street (1984) by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age tale of a Mexican-American girl named Esperanza living in a fictional poor neighborhood in Chicago called Mango Street, where she is confronted by various forms of oppression that depict Chicano culture and define the woman’s role in a Latino society. Thus Cisneros’ use of Esperanza as the protagonist allows the reader to understand that the same forces of oppression that ensnare Esperanza to Mango Street is what encourages her to have the desire to leave Mango Street. Therefore, Esperanza becomes a symbolic entity that explores themes such as tradition, gender roles and femininity to show oppressed women in Latino culture. Esperanza’s observations permit the reader to
In Mexican American society , women are deemed inferior to men, evident in traditional family roles, the male is the head of the family who provides for the family , while the woman stays at home to look after the children she is expected to provide for her husband . In the third vignette of ‘The House on Mango Street’ titled ‘Boys and Girls’ the reader is informed of the division between men and women when Esperanza refers to herself and her sister Nenny , and her brothers, “They’ve got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can’t be seen talking to girls”. The male dominance begins at a very young age.
Many girls desire a female role model from a young age. The way these women are treated, and deal with this treatment can heavily impact the way young girls view themselves, and their future as well. Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street brings attention to issues of sexism and gender roles. This is done through a series of vignettes about the main character Esperanza navigating life by the example of her many role models. Each role model impacts Esperanza in a special way, Sally who is married at 13, Marin who is waiting to be rescued by a man, and Alicia who is balancing school and home responsibilities.
In Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, the notion of home transcends mere physicality, encapsulating a rich tapestry of emotions, culture, and identity. Set in a working-class Latino neighborhood in Chicago, the novel follows the coming-of-age journey of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl navigating the complexities of adolescence, womanhood, and societal expectations. At the heart of the narrative lies Mango Street itself—a dilapidated, impoverished neighborhood that Esperanza and her family reluctantly call home. Despite its “shortcomings” Mango Street serves as a crucible for Esperanza’s growth, shaping her understanding of self and community. For Esperanza, home is a paradoxical space—a sanctuary imbued with warmth and familiarity, yet suffused with longing and discontent.
Growing up as a young female teen came be hard due to the stress and peer pressure of appearance. For teenage girls from immigrant families, it came be very challenging to fit in with the “American way”. Esperanza struggles throughout the book with finding her place in society. She looks to other female role models in her community for guidance, where she finds different results. Most of Esperanza’s female role models on Mango Street have unique stories to tell of their experiences with men on Mango Street.
The male-dominated society that Esperanza grows up in forces the idea that women are weak and should stay locked in their houses while men go off to work. The men are immoral and seedy, as expressed in the chapter in which a homeless man leers and asks for a kiss from the little girls. Esperanza experiences the evil of her community when she is sexually assaulted, causing her to lose her previous desire to explore her sexuality. Before being assaulted, she wanted to be “beautiful and cruel” like her friend Sally, because Sally was what she understood to be a perfect woman. However, after her rape she decides that she needs to discover her own identity for herself.
Societal expectations are a part of everyone’s life, male or female. From the day people are born, there are roles they are expected to assume-- wife, homemaker, father, provider, mother and many others. While these aren’t necessarily negative, the stigma of not fulfilling these roles can be unpleasant. While the roles we are supposed to choose aren’t always clearly defined, the judgement that comes from choosing to take certain actions in life, like settling down or becoming a mother is palpable. Throughout The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s view of the world is largely shaped by the people around her, which are her neighbors, family, and friends.
Esperanza acquires a sense of who she is as a young woman. These characters aid in her decided stance on gender roles and how she wants to evade them as she starts to build her own life. Through Esperanza’s narration, the darkness that correlates with the roles of women is brought into light. The gender roles found in the book are still issues today. Such ideas ruin much of society because people have yet to question and altar them.
In the history of the world patriarchy has always been present in people’s lives. Patriarchy by definition is a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line. It can also be classified as a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. In the novels The House on Mango Street, Catcher in the Rye and White Girl female characters experience patriarchy in a few different ways. While the characters Sally (House on Mango Street) and Sunny (Catcher in the Rye) live their lives controlled by men to impress and to satisfy them, Martin’s mother (Grandma) changes the frequent patriarchal role to a matriarchal role in the novel White Girl and she shows who is in charge and does not let any man or anyone take control of her.
In the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza suffers with insecurities within herself and her race. Racism has always been an issue in all different types of races no matter the location and no matter the circumstances. Anyone who would come into Esperanza’s community would be frightened because of their
Showing itself in sexism, misogyny, and overall oppression expressed to women, enabled through the patriarchy, gender inequality has long been part of the history of the world. Several instances of gender inequality towards women are presented in Sandra Cisneros’ novella, The House on Mango Street; a bildungsroman conveyed through a series of vignettes and told by the character of Esperanza, a Mexican-American girl. Throughout the novella, Esperanza is struggling to form her identity while living in an impoverished neighborhood and surrounded by unfortunate cases. In the novella, Cisneros depicts how women are denied freedom due to the damaging effects of both traditional gender roles and societal expectations because the roles they are forced
The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, informs readers about the hardships and daily life of lower class Latino women from a candid point of view using Esperanza's time as a young girl living on Mango Street. The differences between the life of the men and women are made constantly obvious throughout the book. Esperanza states how most of the women spend their time by their windows, and rarely if ever, leave home. She describes how her great grandmother, who was once "a wild horse of a woman", spent her time after she was forced into marriage, "She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow." From Esperanza’s outside point of view, the women throughout the book are submissive and are stuck in their homes because of their
