House On Mango Street Literary Analysis

Lauren Pratt
Period 1
Due: March 7, 2016

House on Mango Street (Theme analysis Essay)

The struggle of the rite of passage, or the coming of age from childhood to adulthood, (in other words: loss of innocence), is compounded by the fact that our country is a cultural melting pot, which does not provide a universal method for this to occur; therefore it falls to and is regulated by culture and setting, that is often pre-defined based on the cultural group of which you are a part. If this cultural setting is structured in a manner that is sexually biased toward men that severely imposes limitations on women, then it becomes increasingly difficult for women to break through those barriers. Our failure to understand both the limitations imposed

“Do you like these shoes? But the truth is it is scary to look down at your foot that is no longer yours and see attached a long, long leg.” (Chapter17, Paragraph 7). Dressing up in shoes that are made for adults is both fun and then a bit scary for Esperanza and her friends, as it brings unwanted attention and comments from men and older boys. The shoes that make their feet look unfamiliar to them, since the child leg is in an adult shoe. Experimenting with adult shoes causes them to push the barrier of childhood then immediately pull back. Cisneros’ description of the girls' "long long leg" is upsettingly over-sexualized and sort of creepy. It is dangerous for girls to be over sexualized like that, especially at a young age; still innocent, unaware and vulnerable. A man comments, “Them are dangerous, he says. You girls too young to be wearing shoes like that. Take them shoes off before I call the cops, but we just run.” (Chapter 17 Paragraph 13). The high-heeled shoes transform the little girls into women. It’s a dangerous transformation since the little girls are still children and don’t understand

Through the use of the exploration of her identity and the use of symbol of shoes that allows her to unravel the mysteries of approaching adulthood as she begins, slowly at first, a journey that will ultimately result in the loss of her innocence and childhood, but also how to break the bonds of the limitations imposed on her by her culture. Esperanza, like the meaning of her name, uses hope and waiting to cope with these limitations, like many women on Mango Street, but Esperanza begins to realize that hope can be a beggar waiting for someone or something set you free. All of these pieces of the puzzle, like each chapter, start falling into place coming together allowing Esperanza to understand that hope and waiting is not enough in handling the limitations of her cultural setting and she must take action to be free, through her writing. She also realizes that Mango Street will always be a part of who she is, and that she will return. The passage from childhood to adulthood is inevitable with time, as is our loss of innocence, and our identity is shaped by the cultural settings in