Sexuality In The House On Mango Street

In the novella, The House on Mango Street, the author depicted the challenges of society that Latino women face as second class citizens. In a society that is ruled by men, and that valued women for what their appearance, and not for who they were. Esperanza was a young girl that experienced adolescence not only longing for a place to fit in but also wanted to feel attractive. This became problematical as Esperanza gained more knowledge about sex. Throughout the novella, Cisneros debated the significance of attractiveness and how Esperanza dealt with beauty as part of her character. When Esperanza met Sally, a new friend, Esperanza’s whole world reversed. Esperanza’s views on beauty transformed from optimistic to negativity from inspecting

Esperanza wanted change and to be better than the circumstances she was in. There were many factors that effected Esperanza’s life. If I was to examine Esperanza on a Biopsychosocial Approach, on a micro/biological level, she was Mexican American and never been educated on sex which made her curious and she grew up in poverty. On a mezzo level, , she had low self-esteem ,she lived in a community where opportunities was limited, but her personality was quite different from the others and on a macro level, the residents of Chicago and especially on Mango Street were looked upon as oppressed individuals with poor economic conditions such as low paying jobs. Cisneros used The House on Mango Street to demonstrate that you attain the convictions of others surrounding you, and when you do not have an opportunity to experience all the elements of life, it is impossible to envision a better life for yourself. She made Esperanza to demonstrate to us that it is okay to be distinctive, and attempt to improve your life and the lives of others .by using the hardships Sally faced it helped Esperanza realize being beautiful do not define you as an individual. What is important is what defines you as a