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The House On Mango Street Research Papers

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The House on Mango Street is a timeless classic written by Sandra Cisneros. Told through the eyes of a young Latina girl named Esperanza, it not only captures the struggles and desires of a young girl, but accurately captures the context of her life and the lives of the people of her community. Through this beautiful novel, Cisneros uses poetic and poetic language to discuss the universal struggles of growing up and living in a marginalized community. It is a story of struggle, hope, and fears, and ultimately speaks to the strength and resilience of Esperanza, her community, and all young Latinas.
Growing up in a low-income home can have a profound effect on a person’s development, as evidenced by Sandra Cisneros’s semi-autobiographical …show more content…

According to E McCracken in Breaking
Boundaries: Latina Writing and Critical Readings (1989), Esperanza “represents a universal experience of the young Latina growing up in an inner city” (McCracken, 1989). This universal experience is explored in her coming of age story as Esperanza struggles with the economic and social conditions of her upbringing. She is forced to face tough decisions about her story, like whether to stay in her impoverished neighborhood or to pursue more opportunities elsewhere. Through Esperanza’s journey,
Cisneros is able to draw attention to the unique challenges faced by those living in low-income homes, as well as the resilience and resourcefulness of those who are determined to make something of themselves. While The House on Mango Street is a work of fiction, the characters, settings, and themes of the novel reflect the realities of growing up in a low-income home.
In K Wissman's book, Childrens Literature in Education (2007), the power of home is explored in great depth. Home is a place of comfort and security, yet it can also be the source of hurt and pain. In …show more content…

Esperanza's home is a source of both pain and joy for her. On the one hand, she is reminded of the struggles of her family, such as poverty and lack of ownership of their home. On the other hand, it is a place of security and comfort for her, as it is a place to turn to when she needs a place to belong. The house on Mango Street serves as a symbol for Esperanza's journey of self-discovery. It is the place where she is able to explore her identity and find her own voice. The house on Mango Street is a powerful reminder of the importance of home and its ability to shape one's identity and sense of self. Wissman's analysis of this book reflects the power of home in literature and its ability to shape our understanding of our lives.
In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, names are of great significance. According to J Doyle in Melus, names are “unstable, contested, and potentially empowering” (1994). This is especially evident in the novel, as each character is uniquely named, often with a symbolic meaning. For instance, the protagonist Esperanza’s name embodies her hopes for the future and her desire to

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276 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros a 12-year-old Latina girl who moves into a house on Mango Street but hates it. It's small red with a tight door. She thought school would be a good idea but when she told people her name, students started to make fun of her. Cisneros deepens readers’ understanding of Esperanza’s identity with the use of figurative language.

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730 Words | 3 Pages

In Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, a young, impoverished girl with Hispanic origin, named Esperanza adapts to her new life in Chicago, on Mango Street. Throughout her time living on Mango Street Esperanza observes how other people are living around her, especially women and young girls like her. Esperanza has a variety of female role models in her life. Many are trapped in abusive relationships, waiting for others to change their lives. Some are actively trying to change things on their own.

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772 Words | 4 Pages

The theme itself can represented by the references to teenage struggles, sexual assault, and poverty. Esperanza, the main protagonist, is a Mexican/America girl who tells the reader that she would like a home to call her own as she is not entirely satisfied with the place her family calls home. In the vignette, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza states, “I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to.

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1002 Words | 5 Pages

Esperanza and her family are always moving because they do not have much money, but they finally moved into a house on Mango Street where they “Don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise” (703). Although it sounded like a nice place, when a nun from her school saw where Esperanza lived, she said, “You live there?” (703). That made Esperanza feel like nothing and made her realize she needs a real house, one that is really nice. Esperanza wants to change her life and make the best of what she has.

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304 Words | 2 Pages

In the novella The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, women in Esperanza’s life motivate her to live her life with purpose. The protagonist, Esperanza Cordero, is a young Mexican-American girl living in Chicago. The novella follows Esperanza as she changes from a young girl to a young woman. Esperanza lives on Mango Street, which is filled with family, friends, and stories. On Mango Street, a woman named Rafaela lives with her husband.

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902 Words | 4 Pages

Through Esperanza, the protagonist of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, we see life in a poor, working-class neighborhood in Chicago. As a character, Esperanza is characterized by her longing for a better life, her desire for independence, and her sense of self-awareness. Despite their similar struggles and aspirations, the other women in the novella approach these challenges differently, illustrating the diversity in their community. The character of Esperanza is complex, as she struggles with questions of identity and self-expression. In spite of her gender, ethnicity, and social class limitations, she refuses to let them define her.

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221 Words | 1 Pages

The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros. It deals with a young Latina girl, Esperanza Cordero and her life. She grows up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans. It is a 1984 coming of age novel. The novel has become a New York Times Bestseller and also been adapted into a stage play by Tanya Saracho.

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166 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout the entity of House on Mango Street, Esperanza shares her knowledge through stories from experience. Albeit, it is important for people to have first-hand experience witnessing and learning from events, people should be verbally taught and lectured. Esperanza’s dismissed race leaves her in a heavily disconnected neighborhood. Such circumstances result in a lack of interest in education and work. Without much else of anything to do, families are left primarily to themselves.

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437 Words | 2 Pages

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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649 Words | 3 Pages

Due to the nature of the neighborhood, she witnessed acts of sexual assault from the opposite sex and this led her to change her priorities of the way she felt about the opposite sex as all who are in relationships are not happy. She narrates the structure of the houses in Mango street because they determined her character. The way she sees herself and how poverty was a big effort on her life all have their origin or source in Mango street. Esperanza expresses pity with the types of house she lives in and wants to leave but towards the end of the story, she conveys her obligation to return to Mango street and assist those who didn’t get lucky and blessed just like she was.

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320 Words | 2 Pages

In the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza suffers with insecurities within herself and her race. Racism has always been an issue in all different types of races no matter the location and no matter the circumstances. Anyone who would come into Esperanza’s community would be frightened because of their

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671 Words | 3 Pages

The House on Mango Street Message Not many of us can say that we have lived up to the expectations given to us and internally benefited from it. In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza struggles with growing up with many expectations placed on her. She lives in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago with many neighbors who teach her important lessons. Overall, the story has a message that you should not rely on expectations and the author shows it by using the characterization of Esperanza and through figurative language.

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1117 Words | 5 Pages

Many people are undermined by the drawbacks of belonging to a low socioeconomic status. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is raised in a poor, Latino community, causing her to be introduced to poverty at an early age. This introduction of poverty affects Esperanza in many ways, one including that she is unable to find success. Esperanza struggles to achieve success in life because the cycle of poverty restricts her in a position in which she cannot break free from her socioeconomic status.

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1095 Words | 5 Pages

The House on Mango Street is a touching and timeless tale told in short vignettes. It tells the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. Her life, and the lives of the people around her, are laid bare to the readers in this touching novella. In the beginning, Esperanza is not accepting of herself. Her family’s poor financial situation, the sadness of the people around her, and the problems she faces in her daily life make her very cynical.

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540 Words | 3 Pages

This ideal heaven that Esperanza's family dream about is what gives them hope to keep going everyday, although it may not be attainable. Since Esperanza does not know this, though, when they get to their new house on Mango Street, she sees it is nothing like that despite the depictions of a house she was told. This contributes to a cynical, jaded attitude that is sad to see someone so young have, as we see when she her parents tell her that this new house is temporary, and she tells the reader: “But I know how those things go” (Cisneros, 5). Here, although the house of dreams help her parents keep surviving, it gives haunts Esperanza as an unobtainable myth.

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