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The House On Mango Street Identity Essay

555 Words3 Pages

Shaped by the journey of life, each and every human develops an everlasting identity from their perception of the world. Everyone’s identity sticks, but humans contain the capacity to change their identity throughout life; an attribute Esperanza shows greatly. Oppressed by male figures and because of her wealth, and race, Esperanza develops her sense of identity from negative aspects of her life, causing her to feel shame and develop an aspiration to form a new identity. For so long she develops her worth from what others think and say about her, but contains the power to see beyond and what her really life holds for her. Amid a male dominant environment, Esperanza’s influences pressure her in ways not acceptable for a developing girl. Her female role models have been corrupted and controlled by the males in her society. This aspect of her life factors hugely of her developing identity and because of what happens around her, she feels her worth plummeting. She does not want to be like the other females in this story and desires a life not controlled by males, but often Esperanza feels as if she doesn’t a …show more content…

Often Esperanza almost gives in to the pressures of who she is “supposed”, to be but unlike others around her, she knows she can make something of her life. She continues to study, even when her peers and role models tell her she will never amount to anything. Her big dreams fuel her willpower. “I am too strong for her to keep me here forever.” (Cisneros, 110) Esperanza knows she is better but also says, “They will not know I have gone away to come back.” (Cisneros, 110) Esperanza changes the way others view of her but deep down her identity will always contain mango street. Her accomplishments add on to her identity, but the bad and good of Mango Street will help her make decisions in the future. They don’t define her but still hold a place in Esperanza’s

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Esperanza, from the House on Mango Street is a character that endures loneliness in many levels. A way that Esperanza endures loneliness is in the Vignette of “Our Good Day” when she pays to have a friend. “Five dollars is cheap since I don’t have friends except for Cathy till Tuesday”. (Cisneros 14) Another example of how Esperanza encounters friendlessness is in “The first job”.

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The author's attitude towards the boys in this novel is ignorant and emotional. This novel is composed of vignettes that show Esperanza learn about the true power of language and the struggle for self- definition. While befriending Sally, she learns more about boys and matures sexually. During the year, Esperanza develops her first crush and even endures sexual assault. From this, her first impression and ignorance over the topic of boys and having the thought process that girls and boys live in different worlds, awakens Esperanza and teaches her an important lesson and becomes to an eyeopening experience.

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Loss of Innocence In the book The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros demonstrates in her writing how a child can be forced to mature too rapidly. Esperanza encounters sexism, racism, and discrimination towards the poor that impacted her paradigm of the world around her. The motif occurring throughout the novel is how a young girl must become a woman before they are ready. In the chapter “The Monkey Garden”, Esperanza makes one of her final transitions into the woman, her environment forces her to be, this is shown by the change of her opinion of her shoes, the realization of woman accepting manipulation by men, and her loss of childlike interest in the Monkey Garden.

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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,

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(Wissman) Throughout the novella, Esperanza fights against a society filled with toxic masculinity and women that find their worth through men, for self-awareness, and eventually finds it through the lessons she learns from these situations and people. As the Explorer, she used the characters that fulfilled other archetypes to build herself into a strong-willed young lady. Though the archetypes Cisneros used in The House on Mango Street, specifically in the female characters, Esperanza learns valuable lessons that construct a newly liberated woman.

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The writer presents Esperanza’s perception of a group of kids who stay at school for lunch rather than going home, as “special kids”. Therefore, Cisneros presents Esperanza as being envious of the other children by revealing her aspiration to be “cool” because the main character

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Esperanza’s environment shifts her identity from being an insecure child to a confident, mature young adult who realizes the decisions that adults must make. Esperanza’s response to her environment reveals an insecurity about herself early in the story. In one of Esperanza’s experiences, she finds herself ashamed

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Esperanza shifts from a follower into a confused individual, allowing her to begin her life as a woman outside of the oppressive nature of Mango Street. The suffocating stereotypes and sad, gloomy traits of the culture surrounding Esperanza contribute to the cultivation of her strong will and ardor. Mango Street opens her eyes to the abusive nature of her environment, and aids her in breaking the chain of corruption by defining and terminating the situation for herself. The neighborhood itself allows Esperanza to

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Societal expectations are a part of everyone’s life, male or female. From the day people are born, there are roles they are expected to assume-- wife, homemaker, father, provider, mother and many others. While these aren’t necessarily negative, the stigma of not fulfilling these roles can be unpleasant. While the roles we are supposed to choose aren’t always clearly defined, the judgement that comes from choosing to take certain actions in life, like settling down or becoming a mother is palpable. Throughout The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s view of the world is largely shaped by the people around her, which are her neighbors, family, and friends.

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As she transitions into womanhood, Esperanza gains a new understanding of weighty concepts such as gender roles. On Mango Street, she is exposed to a variety of females who fill the role model and non-role model categories. Specifically, Esperanza’s observations of the characters, Marin, Sally, and Alicia, reveal the oppressive or often dangerous roles placed on women and how they ultimately influence the development of her identity. Like many of the women trapped on Mango Street because of negative societal roles, Esperanza’s

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In the book, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is portrayed as a young innocent girl that drastically changes over the course of the book. Esperanza is new to mango street and encounters many challenges but also positive experiences that she is able to take away from mango street. In order for Esperanza to transform as a human it was inevitable for her to face the struggles on mango street. As Esperanza matures throughout the novel she experiences three major developments that shape her future through the awakening of maturity, responsibility and her awakening of her interest in poetry.

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“All discomfort comes from suppressing your identity”(Bryant H. McGill). We can not decide upon our own identity; It comes from our hopes, dreams, memories, culture and experiences. We can not suppress or change who we are or where we came from and must except ourselves. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros introduces the main character Esperanza, who is initially ashamed and tries to repress parts of her identity. One of the main themes in The House on Mango Street is E. acknowledging her name and mango street as part of her self identity.

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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

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Esperanza is not proud of her heritage, she even wants to change her name. Her friend she meets,

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However, Esperanza’s negative view of herself slowly changes as she begins to focus on her larger community and her place within it. Through this, Cisneros shows that knowing and accepting where we have come from is an important part of growing up and determining who we are. In the beginning of

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