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In Sandra Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street,” the chapter, The Monkey Garden, describes Esperanza playing in the garden with Sally and a few of the boys when things take a turn Esperanza is uncomfortable with. At times, Esperanza is naïve and inexperienced, but other times, she exudes an awareness of someone much older. This awareness comes to light multiple times throughout the novel and Sally is often a catalyst of this awareness – this chapter is no exception. The Monkey Garden showcases the dichotomy that lies within Esperanza; the dichotomy of being both innocent and intuitive, both aware and naïve. Esperanza begins this chapter with a keen awareness.
Although there are a variety of characters throughout literature that have made sacrifices that expose their values, none of them come close in comparison to the sacrifices of Esperanza in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. The consistent sacrifices displayed through Esperanza’s self-image, innocence, and cynicism express the struggles and desire for feminine individuality and respect that begin for many in childhood and dissolve into adulthood. Not only does Esperanza display these sacrifices constantly throughout the novel, the author’s use of her character as a beacon of catharsis to the reader symbolically represents the majority of women. Much like other women, Esperanza constantly tries to find herself throughout her own sacrifices,
She does not relay this information to readers in order to bash her friend or ridicule the life Sally chose to live, but instead, Esperanza’s depiction of the lifestyle is monumental in her realization that there is more to life than getting married. Sally, as the Temptress, led Esperanza to dark places, in which it would have been easy to dwell, but Esperanza, seeing the error of her friend's ways, was able to navigate her way through the patriarchal standards she was being force-fed. Mamacita is a minor character that is introduced to the neighborhood as a fat, nostalgic, Mexican woman. She finds most of her identity in her husband, as well as her Mexican culture. She and her family move to America from Mexico for a better life, but Mamacita remains lugubrious.
One cultural aspect presented in The House on Mango Street is gender roles. Throughout the book, I noticed differences between the roles of men and women in society. There are several similarities and differences between gender roles in the Hispanic culture and my own culture, the Indian culture. By researching and reflecting on the two different cultures, I gained more knowledge on the characters and plotline of The House on Mango Street. While researching, I learned about several similarities and differences between gender roles in the Hispanic culture and the Indian culture.
In the novella, The House on the Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, we see a young teenager who lives in Chicago that goes through experiences and challenges from friends,family, and neighbors that changes her into a young powerful woman. As a independent woman, Esperanza is greatly shaped by challenges that she faced from her peers. Throughout the novella, Esperanza talks about her experiences she faced to become a young powerful woman. For example, in the vignette “Red Clowns”, Esperanza and Sally went to a carnival and Esperanza got sexually assaulted by clowns and the clowns called her names like “Spanish girl” and told her “ I love you” (Cisneros 90).
Struggles of Role Models on Mango Street Many people have other people in which they look up to, and often repeat that person’s actions while some of these role models could have something bad going on in their life. In the novela The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros the main character Esperanza looks up to many role models, all of which has something going on in their lives. Esperanza always has the dream of having her own home. Her family moves all of the time, and usually gets a non spacious apartment.
In the book, House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros discussed issues Latina women goes through in daily life. Cisneros talked about their conflicts and how they overcome it. They all represent a role in other people’s lives. Women have a role because they are strong, hard workers, and independent.
To Surrender Self Worth for Society Too often in the community of Mango Street, a women’s independence is compromised for the greater authoritative figure, men. One might even go far as to say that gender roles represent a social construction on Mango Street. The people of the neighborhood grow to learn the ways of those before them, only to carry out the confinement of the women and oppression of the men. What is most appalling is that the women learn to accept their roles as helpless and incapable. In the novel The House on Mango Street, Cisneros uses the motif of gender roles to develop the theme that because women are often inferior to men, they view themselves as less important and must rely on men to determine their role in society.
Final Assignment: the House on Mango Street Analysis The House on Mango Street is minority literary work written by Sandra Cisneros. The novel tells about a girl named Esperanza who lived in a house on street named Mango. Actually, she desired her own House and not a rent-house when she should share the yard with the people downstairs and pay rent to someone. Through this work, Sandra Cisneros tried to show some problems felt by the main character, Esperanza as minority, whether as Mexican-American or as woman. This paper will analyze the problem of being a woman in Mexican-American community through some characters in the book ‘The House on Mango Street’.
Role models are an important aspect in Esperanza’s life. For example, In Esperanza’s life Sally is a negative role model. In order for Sally to have freedom from her apprehensive father; she married a man to escape, who will not let her talk to anyone or look out the window (102). This shows Sally is kept, traditional woman that used her sexuality for freedom, unfortunately failed.
Everyone is affected by life’s circumstances. The responses to those experiences can have a positive or negative outcome in one’s future. In Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, the protagonist, Esperanza, gives us her views on life, how she views herself, and she views her future. Not only does she give her perspective throughout the story, she tells us of the numerous experiences that she grows through. These experiences have an impact on her, creating new emotions and new adult like perspectives she has never faced before.
As I read the ‘The House on Mango Street,’ I was strongly affected by the way Sandra Cisneros explores the idea of identity, and how it can be tied down to a physical place. During the course of the book, I was inspired to reflect upon the houses I grew up in and the one I live in now, and how the memories that took place there, and even the very architectural structure of the house, influenced me. Understanding the sense of self is never easy. The identity of the narrator, Esperanza, is shown through vignettes; snippets of dialogue, short reflections— but more can be discovered when viewing her and her experiences through several lenses. I chose looking at how the physical being of the house on Mango Street, the period of adolescence, the
Sandra Ciseneros’ The House On Mango Street showcases a theme of confinement specifically towards female characters. Throughout the novel, Esperanza gives naive accounts of the isolated and trapped lives of a select few of her neighbors and friends. This recurring theme in the book is connected to the symbolism presented in liminal spaces, windows, and inside vs. outside. Liminal spaces are places of transitions.
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
Esperanza is often humiliated not only by where she lives, but also by her physical appearance, hence causing a restriction in her climb to a higher social class. Esperanza is frequently ashamed of her family’s broken-down house in an urban, poor
