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The House On Mango Street Figurative Language

688 Words3 Pages

The House on Mango Street Essay Opportunities and social class are all seen in society, there are many different opportunities for many different people, and your social class can reflect your opportunities. In the book, The House On Mango Street written by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza was born into a large family and is represented in the lower class. Throughout her life, Esperanza and her family have moved around and have never owned their own house, Esperanza has always dreamed of them owning their own house. One day she thought her dream was coming true but the house was far from what she expected. There are numerous ways the author, Cisneros, uses tone and syntax to emphasize opportunity and social class. One matter …show more content…

A language technique Cisneros uses is figurative language. This is seen in the text when Esperanza is talking about how the people in higher social classes constantly look down upon the people in lower classes. This is seen in the text when “People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us to live too much on earth. . . They have nothing to do with last week's garbage or fear of rats” (Cisneros 87). Cisneros uses figurative language to exaggerate how people in the upper-class act toward those in the lower class. The author says, “so close to the stars” (Cisneros 87). This showed that the people who live on the hills are living the “dream” life and they sleep so close to the stars while people in the lower class sleep next to the garbage. The author also contrasts these two because of the way he described how the lower classes live. Another language technique Cisneros uses is imagery. This is seen when Esperanza sees a Nun from her school and shows her where she lives, but the Nun just judges her. This is shown in the text when, “There. I had to look where she pointed- the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa nailed on the windows so we wouldn't fall out. . . The way she said it made me feel like nothing” (Cisneros 5). This supports Cisneros's use of imagery to emphasize Esperanza’s living situation and how people judged her. By Cisneros using imagery to describe

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