The House On Mango Street

Sexuality in adolescence Sexuality is the most notorious and common sign of development in adolescence. “The House on Mango street”, by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel, where Esperanza transitions from a girl into a young teen. In her journey, Esperanza comes across many challenges, she is forced to grow up by life’s adversities. In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother advises her daughter and scolds her into becoming a decent woman. In her guidance, the mother is worried about her daughter’s sexual activity and warns her about the consequences of improper behavior. “A&P” by John Updike, is also a short story where a boy named Sammy comes across his sexuality when he spots three girls wearing bikinis entering the

In the chapter “Sally”, Esperanza learns about sexual behavior from Sally. Sally represents a figure of sexual maturity that intrigues Esperanza. Paying attention to some details about Sally’s physical appearance, Esperanza notices how Sally dresses more provocative than other girls. “The boys at school think she's beautiful because her hair is shiny black like raven feathers and when she laughs, she flicks her hair back like a satin shawl over her shoulders and laughs” (Cisneros, 101). Like any other girl, Esperanza wants to be beautiful; she sees Sally as a beautiful doll, one she strives to be like. In the chapter “Red Clowns”, Esperanza experiences her first sexual encounter, although it was not what she thought it would be. She finds herself being sexually assaulted. Forcibly introduced into the adult world, Esperanza learn that fantasies are not always what they are said to be. Esperanza states, “They all lied. All the books and magazine, everything that told it wrong. Only his dirty fingernails against my skin, only his sour smell again” (Cisneros, 123). She realizes, bitterly, that sex and love do not always mix, and that boys are not always

Sammy is a nineteen-year-old cashier at a small store. Not used to seeing girls enter the store dressed that way, Sammy is shocked. Not being able to keep his eyes off the girls, Sammy notices details about their dressing. Sammy states, “She had on a kind of a dirty-pink bathing suit with a little nubble all over it and, what got me, the straps were down” (Updike, par. 3). We can see Sammy is sexually desiring these girls by the way he takes in every detail of the girls’ physical appearance. Sammy also states, “there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head, except just her, this clean bare plane of the top of her chest down the shoulder bones like a dented sheet of metal tilted in light. I mean, it was more than pretty” (Updike, par 3). Sammy feels sexual attraction towards these girls, their physical attributes mesmerize him. At first, Sammy seems to come off as a sexist teen, but later he tries to prove that he is different. Sammy’s boss, Lengel, confronts the girls and calls them out for their attire. Lengel states, “We want you decently dresses when you come in here”. Which the girls respond, “We are decent”. Blushing, the girls seem to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Disliking how Lengel speaks to the girls, Sammy decides to take a dramatic step and quits his job. He tries to impress the girls with this gesture, but the girls had already left. This