Symbols In The House On Mango Street

Symbolism is the representation of an abstract concept through the use of a concrete object, and it is a way of bringing subtext to an otherwise one-dimensional story. Several symbols can be found in "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, some of the most central being shoes, women looking out windows, and trees. It is through the use of these symbols that Cisneros creates a coming-of-age story, showing the different aspects of growing up as a young Latina girl.

To begin with, shoes are a recurring symbol in “Mango Street”. In their first appearance in “The Family of Little Feet”, Esperanza and her friends try on high heels and "the men can't take their eyes off" them, implying that they are seen in a more mature light when they wear high heels. One man tells them they are "too young to be wearing shoes like that", which highlights the connection between high heeled shoes and adult femininity. Moreover, in "The Monkey Garden” Esperanza sees the unfairness of being a girl when boys from the neighbourhood make her friend Sally kiss them and no one intervenes. Esperanza looks down at her “feet in their white socks and ugly round

They are the key symbol of the vignette “Four Skinny Trees” and they represent resilience and perseverance. Esperanza identifies with the trees seen from her window, because they have been “planted by the city” without having had a choice, similar to how she is put on Mango Street without having a say in where she herself would like to be. However, the trees “grew despite concrete”, which symbolises growing through hardships, and Esperanza finds inspiration from them to keep going despite the hardships she faces due to her race and poverty. She realises that she has to break through the prejudice that her social class receives, and continue striving for freedom and a better life in the future no matter what her background is, in the same way the trees “reach and do not forget to