The House On Mango Street Research Paper

Mango Street’s impact on Esperanza

The House on Mango Street is a collection of short stories written by Sandra Cisneros about a teenage, Mexican-American girl named Esperanza who tries to find her way in society. Esperanza shares her stories of how Mango Street, a poverty-stricken Latino neighborhood in Chicago, matures her. As Esperanza’s young mind develops, she shares her lessons with the readers. Throughout the book, Sandra Cisneros teaches women not to live in stereotypical roles society imposes, but to be independent and pursue their own dreams. Readers witness these struggles when women try to change their destiny, regret following the norm, and finally find success on their own. To break out of the pattern society defines people, women persevere to transform their future. Alicia, one of Esperanza’s friends, understands that her life wasn’t lucky from the start; however she tries her hardest to overcome obstacles along the way. Esperanza explains that Alicia is “young and smart and studies for the first time at the university. Two trains

Seeing not only her mother but her female friends and family members regret their choices, Esperanza is deeply affected and succeeds on making changes that allow her a better life. Esperanza realizes that what other females in her life regret the most is their lack of independence. She summarizes her thoughts of her own independence when she states what she wants, “Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my purple petunias. My books and my stories” (108). At the end of the book, Esperanza defies stereotypical social conventions that limit women’s choices. When following her own goals and avoiding the traps women tend to be limited by, Esperanza takes control of her own life and the tough decision to be independent rather than continuing the biased paths of other women around