ipl-logo

Themes In The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

1180 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The house on mango street 2 page essay

In the Vignett The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros the main theme was that no matter what trials life throws at a person, one can always prevail in the end by sticking to who they truly are.. From the beginning of the novel, the main character, Esperanza, is eager to belong, whether that is to a group of people or in the beginning a house. When her parents do get a house it’s not what Esperanza had imagined it to be, it did not fit what she thought a dream house would be like. Her desire to get out of Mango Street and become someone is her ultimate driving force in this book. Going through several events like rape, sexual assault and even witnessing abusive behavior towards women in her neighborhood all of these things encourages her to do better for herself. Esperanza’s childhood has been one with loneliness and sexual exploitation. The constant struggle of trying to find her identity and it is evident within the first few chapters of the book. When the reader opens up the book the very first thing that she wants to change about herself is her name. “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It …show more content…

By the end of the vignette Esperanza meets with one of her older friends Alicia, who is in college, where she states that she wishes to have a home and belong there just like Alicia does. Alicia the replies “Like it or not you are Mango Street…”(chapter 44) and tells her that she has to come back for the ones who are still here. In the end Esperanza is still set on leaving ,but has realized and taken in what Alicia had said and decided that even though she will leave Mango Street, because she is too strong for it and won’t let it break her. She intends on coming back to save the people from themselves as

Show More
Related
83 Words | 1 Pages

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a semi-autobiography shown through the eyes of the story’s narrator, Esperanza Cordero, an adolescent Mexican-American girl who is about thirteen and growing up in an impoverished, mostly Latino neighborhood in Chicago. The novel is a coming of age story, told over the course of about a year in a series of standalone vignettes, written in a non chronological order, that use poetic and figurative language, such as metaphors and similes, to convey its themes.

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

Her mom teaches Esperanza many life lessons throughout the story. The reader learns that the mom dropped out of school because she “didn't have nice clothes” (91). The mom regrets this decision as staying in school could have let her lead a better life in a wealthier place. Esperanza quickly realizes that she wants to stay in school to move out of Mango Street. This mom is also there for emotional support when Esperanza needed it.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

She dreams “One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever” (707). Esperanza believes that she can change the way she is living and live a better life. She is trying to get a good education to become a more improved and intelligent person so one day she does not have to be poor.

Read More
433 Words | 2 Pages

The world is not as good as it seems. We learn this in the novel The House on Mango street by Sandra Cisnero. The book takes place in a run down neighborhood located in Chicago, Illinois in the 1960’s. Esperanza is the main character. She is 14 year old girl struggling with becoming a woman in a male dominated world, as well as choosing whether she wants to be popular or not.

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

She knows she is lucky to have a less problematic family to support and her during good choices or bad decisions. Esperanza talks about the relationships of each family on Mango Street until she leaves and finds a better place. The other families on Mango Street also have it hard, but they don’t have the bond of the Esperanza’s

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone is affected by life’s circumstances. The responses to those experiences can have a positive or negative outcome in one’s future. In Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, the protagonist, Esperanza, gives us her views on life, how she views herself, and she views her future. Not only does she give her perspective throughout the story, she tells us of the numerous experiences that she grows through. These experiences have an impact on her, creating new emotions and new adult like perspectives she has never faced before.

Read More
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

Read More
1134 Words | 5 Pages

Believe it or not, people are not entirely unique. It is certain that no one is truly the same as another person, but it would not be ridiculous to think that everyone does in fact share many similarities. After all, the majority of the population grows and develops opinions or values based on what they see or hear. For Esperanza, the protagonist of Sandra Cisneros’s, The House on Mango Street, the perspective she has is built upon her childhood on Mango Street. This coming-of-age novel illustrates how Esperanza’s experiences on Mango Street play an important role during her period of growth.

Read More
1115 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

“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.

Read More
1348 Words | 6 Pages

As a child, Esperanza wants only escape from mango Street. Her dream of independents and "self-definition" also means leaving her family behind without any responsibilities to her family. Throughout the book, her has also faced some situation where is feels ashamed to be part of the Mango Street community and in some instances refuses to admit she has anything to do with mango street. At the beginning of the book near the earlier chapters, Esperanza feels very insecure about herself in general along with the house that she lives in. As mentioned before, she doesn’t want to discuss her name nor where she lives.

Read More
450 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever had to eat a rice sandwich? If so, you might identify with a certain little girl named Esperanza. Esperanza Cordero is the main character of the book The House on Mango Street. Esperanza exhibits many strong character traits. Esperanza is a very timid, or shy girl.

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

“In the meantime they’ll just have to move a little farther north from Mango Street, a little farther away every time people like us keep moving in (Cisneros 13).” This quote is a significant part of the story because it shows how Esperanza truly feels about herself and her family. She thinks that because she is poor and lives and a bad neighborhood people move away from her family. Esperanza doesn’t think very much of her or her family at all. She thinks that it is because of their race that people do not want to be near them.

Read More
1095 Words | 5 Pages

Esperanza says that she will come back, she will come back for “the ones I left behind... the ones who cannot out”. (Cisneros 110). Esperanza is able to go through a change and accept who she is through her community and her family. She is able to use her situation to empower herself, and to be hopeful in her own

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

She however is very reactive to this situation, she doesn’t tell anybody what happened, she steals late passes, hides in an abandoned janitor closet, and eventually ditches school. That example shows how irresponsible she is. House On Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, is about a young girl who moves into a new house with her family in Chicago Illinois in the early 1980’s. Esperanza is not a very happy person, especially after the year she had at the house on Mango Street.

Read More

More about Themes In The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

Related Topics

Open Document