Sandra Cisneros- The Chicana Pioneer
Growing up, Sandra Cisneros was restrained by poverty, family problems, feeling inferior, and loneliness depicted in The House on Mango Street “Until then I am a red balloon, a red balloon tied to an anchor” (Cisneros). She looked to reading as an escape, because that was where she found friends- among the characters in her story books. Her writing is shaped by what she has experienced in her life. She grew up during the civil rights movement, which also helped to create the feeling of inferiority that she was accustomed to. This writing period was called the contemporary period, which started in the 1940s- around the end of WWII. It is composed of both poetry and prose from a variety of styles and genres. Sandra created her own style of writing that she calls “Chicana.” In her writing she speaks out against the hardships she grew up with. Sandra was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Mexican Family. She was the only girl in her family among several brothers, and a very rebellious one at that. She became feminist, and she makes it very clear in her writing. Her published works are very “independent woman” oriented. She writes about the image of women and how they should be able to do everything that men can. She wrote her first poem when she was ten years old, and her teacher at that time encouraged her to become
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She wanted to believe that her hardships were only temporary, so she looked to story book characters as her friends and a refuge from reality. She is very good at vivid description and dialogue as well as her prose- using ordinary language without meter and making it sound beautiful. It creates a mental image in the mind of the reader. She also describes things abnormally, which makes the reader think of whatever is being discussed in a different light. It is very colorful