The House On Mango Street Compare And Contrast

All the people on Mango Street were struggling to get by, but they seemed satisfied with just making it. Esperanza was not. There were characters like Esperanza’s mother who was a “smart cookie,” and could’ve been anything, but she let shame get the best of her and dropped out of school. There was also Rafaela who got married before the 8th grade just so she could move into her own house, but her husband never let her leave the house afterward. He never let her see her friends, and the highlight of her week was getting coconut or papaya juice from someone who would send it up in a paper bag attached to a clothespin since she couldn’t leave the house. Lastly, there was the time when she was left stranded by the tilt-a- whirl waiting for a friend that never came back and got molested by a group of boys. The only witnesses were the red clown statues that seemed to be laughing at her. Nevertheless, she let none of this stopped her from going forward and perusing her dream. She still seemed to be struggling with a sense of belonging, but maybe that’s because she didn’t.

Sally is gorgeous, She wears lots of make-up and short skirts. Boys gossip about her. Her father won't let her out of the house because of her beauty Esperanza wants to be her best friend. She wishes she didn't have to go home after school. Esperanza is two years younger then Minerva. She has two children and is married. Her husband left her only to return later and then leave again.When the kids are asleep she writes poetry. Esperanza and Minerva share poems they wrote. It bothers Esperanza that after her husband comes back and beats her she still takes him back.

With all the troubles in the adult’s world, the children seek a refuge from adult supervision and harassment. Monkey Garden is that refuge; it is a place where the neighborhood kids can misbehave, play and still be kids. In one instance Esperanza is pressured into changing herself because of the different situations that Sally, Esperanza’s sexually bold friend. Sally puts her in these situations by lying or abandoning Esperanza. After feeling ashamed of not understanding why Sally flirts with the boys in The Monkey Garden, Esperanza comes to a realization with the following quote, “And the garden that had been such a good place to play didn’t seem mine either” (Cisneros 98). Sally puts Esperanza in a situation where she feels ashamed and uncomfortable being in her own skin and not understanding how Sally acts with the boys. Whereas Esperanza initially pays close attention when her and Sally discuss things, including boys and sex, when Sally abandons Esperanza at the fair, she discovers that how Sally describes sex is not how Esperanza first encounters it, because she is raped and, clearly it is a horrible experience. She says, “Sally, you lied. It wasn’t what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn’t want it Sally.” (Cisneros 99) Sally is not a loyal friend to Esperanza. She has been left on her own to deal with this horrible experience that is forcing her to shed all childhood innocence.

Esperanza interprets Rafaela’s life and oppressive husband and realizes that she cannot escape injustice in her community. Consequently, Esperanza begins to understand that the ideal life she fantasizes about will always have consequences. Sandra Cisneros’ usage of “sweeter” emphasizes Esperanza’s and Rafaela’s hope for a better life in their eyes.

The House on Mango Street is a bildungsroman about a young Latina girl, named Esperanza Cordero, who has various struggles while she is searching to determine who she is and where she belongs in this world. The author, Sandra Cisneros, addresses several themes in the book of which three are significant; language barrier, self discovery, and gender roles.

Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street tells the story of a young, teenage, Latina girl named Esperanza, living in the late twentieth century. Esperanza takes her readers through her life and adventures through each chapter of the novella where each time she learns something. She faces the troubles of racism, friendship, and strange neighborhoods and most importantly, figuring out how she wants to spend her life. Through her race and wealth, Esperanza has created her identity as a shy, poor, and ambitious person.

The House on Mango Street emphasises the importance of being oneself in order to grow and reach one’s full potential. The novel contains many advocates of remaining loyal to one’s morals. Esperanza, a poverty-stricken girl growing up in a barrio,

In the novel, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a young confused girl has trouble finding herself as she grows up in the Latino section of Chicago. Esperanza and her family move to a small, crumbling red house in a poor urban neighborhood. Determined, she decides that someday she will leave and move somewhere else and totally forget everything about Mango Street. Throughout the novel, Esperanza significantly matures sexually and emotionally. The many stories of her neighbors gives a full image of what Mango Street is like and showing the many possible paths Esperanza may follow in the near future. However towards the end, she begins to write as a way of expressing herself and as a way to escape the

The House on Mango Street is a collection of vignettes written by Sandra Cisneros that is about a young Mexican-American girl named Esperanza, and the struggles of her life as she transitions from childhood into adulthood. Esperanza wants to find her true identity, but the conflicts and struggles that she faces throughout the story. Her town is a part of her adventure to find her self identity. She picks herself up, learning and figuring herself out throughout the novel. The author uses symbolism throughout the vignettes to convey the deeper meaning of conflicts developed in the novel, to show the difficulties of growing into adulthood.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel of a young Mexican-American girl developing in a working class Chicago neighborhood. The author is much like the main character Esperanza in many different ways. One being that Cisneros was also a Mexican-American girl growing up in a Chicago working class neighborhood. Esperanza is a foil of Cisneros’ beliefs and opinions of her Mexican culture and heritage. While Esperanza is embarrassed of being a Mexican-American around white Americans, Cisneros is proud to be a Mexican-American girl. In Sara Rimer’s article, “San Antonio Journal; Novelist’s Purple

“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros is a unique piece of literature that brings an interesting style of writing to life. Cisneros writes in vignettes that are as powerful as they are short and to the point. These snapshot stories illustrate the life of a young adolescent girl named Esperanza, who is trying to understand the ways of life, and fit in her culture. She learns that some of her expectations don’t quite match with the reality of her world and every action has a consequence. This is a prevalent topic throughout the book as Esperanza is growing up and facing life’s challenges as a female teenager in 1984.

    Esperanza learns that people outside of her neighborhood don’t like them.  She says “...they think we are dangerous.  They think we will attack them with shiny knives.  They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake”(Cisneros 28).  Rosa Vargas also taught Esperanza one important lesson; to respect things and you won’t lose them.  Rosa had to take care of a ton of children on her own because her husband left her.  Esperanza overcomes gender roles when she encounters an old man trying to manipulate her.  She talks about what happened that

As you can see, growing up in the neighborhood that she did, contribute most to Esperanza’s identity. It caused her to be a self-loving, kind, compassionate and not judging

There is a girl, who got everything she wants. A huge house, horses, amazing dresses, and, her birthday is right around the corner. Throughout the novel Esperanza learns to not be afraid to start over as she shows personal growth in the face of her father's death, their house burning down and Tio Luis proposing to mama, and her mother getting sick. Her father dies unexpectedly one night, and they faced with grief and disbelief. Shortly after Esperanza's uncles, Tio Luis and Tio Marco come and apologize for their loss. After, the uncles come back to talk about “family business”. The lawyer tells Mama that Tio Luis is the owner of the land and their house and their grapes are on his land too. Tio Luis then proposes to Mama and says that they will be very happy and they can continue life as the way it was. Of course, Mama refuses and Tio Luis says he will make life very hard for them. That night Esperanza woke up to her mother screaming “Esperanza!” he mother told her that the house was on fire and they need to get out.

She gets excited when boys look at her on the streets. But her illusion of true love is destroyed by sexual violence. Her friend Sally’s behaviour towards boys contributes to Esperanza’s caution and distance by dealing with the opposite sex, too. Nevertheless, Esperanza does not stop dreaming of leaning against a car with her boyfriend in a place where that does not bother anyone. But she has set her standards higher than most of the women around her. She do not search for a man to escape from this place, she has seen too many unhappy marriages. Ruthie exemplifies such an one. She has run away from her husband and seems to be mentally disturbed. The young Rafaela is locked up by her husband because of her beauty. Nevertheless the tragic event is Sally’s which ends in abuse. Sally, Esperanza’s friend, only wanted to dream and share her love like Esperanza. Hurt and beaten by her father who just wanted to prevent the familiy’s ruin by Sally. To escape, despite of her minority, she marries a salesman. But unlike her wish, the abuse continues.