Esperanza payed all the bills of the hospital herself and saved money to bring abuelita. Esperanza was the boss of the family because she took care of her family even though she was in a struggle. She didn’t only became responsible she became independent and patient like her Papa told her “wait a little while the the fruit will land on your hand”. Esperanza learned a valuable lesson throughout an year because she told Isabell “ never be afraid to start over” that what Esperanza did to her life.
Many girls desire a female role model from a young age. The way these women are treated, and deal with this treatment can heavily impact the way young girls view themselves, and their future as well. Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street brings attention to issues of sexism and gender roles. This is done through a series of vignettes about the main character Esperanza navigating life by the example of her many role models. Each role model impacts Esperanza in a special way, Sally who is married at 13, Marin who is waiting to be rescued by a man, and Alicia who is balancing school and home responsibilities. These problems coming to light through the many women Esperanza looks up to, drive her to rise above her obstacles, and become more than just another poorly treated woman.
What is the definition of "coming of age". According to the Oxford dictionary, "coming of age refers to the process of growing up or entering into adulthood". Now the other hand, Why does it happen? and finally, how does it affect ones health or mindset? These questions will all be answered from a specific perspective of a character and the main protagonist, in the book, "House On Mango Street". The main protagonist Esperanza, matures from a childish girl to a young confident woman through many critical and life changing events in the story. Ultimately, the author, Sandra Cisneros implements the symbols of confidence, the house on mango street and the metaphor of shoes to show how Esperanza develops into a more mature state.
The House on Mango Street follows Esperanza Cordero 's transitioning through a progression of pieces about her family, neighborhood, and mystery dreams. In spite of the fact that the novel does not take after a customary sequential example, a story develops by Esperanza’s fortifying toward oneself and will overcomebarriers of poverty, sex, and race. The novel starts when the Cordero family moves into another house, the first they have ever claimed, on Mango Street in the Latino segment of Chicago. The red, unstable house frustrates Esperanza. It is not in the least the fantasy house her guardians had constantly discussed, nor is it the house high on a slope that Esperanza promises to one day own.
It states, “I got up to join Lucy and Rachel who were already outside waiting by the door, wondering what I was doing talking to three old ladies who smelled like cinnamon. I didn't understand everything they had told me. I turned around. They smiled and waved in their smoky way. Then I didn't see them. Not once, or twice, or ever again.” (Cisneros 105). One of the reasons for this is her meeting the three old ladies who came for Rachel’s sister’s funeral. There prophesy that Esperanza will leave Mango Street boosts her self-confidence. The narrator also says, “Before Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.” (Cisneros 109). This is a radical change from the first vignette, in which she says that the house on Mango Street is not a real house. Esperanza says it isn’t a house you can belong to. It also states, “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. One day I will go away.” (Cisneros 110). At the end of the book, Esperanza has fully accepted who she is. She accepts that fact that she grew up on Mango Street, but that will not hold her back from moving away and growing as a person. 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
Later on Sally and Esperanza go to the carnival, Sally leaves her alone to go with a boy. Esperanza is now by herself vulnerable and ends up getting raped. She realizes that boys are not what she thought they were, so she decides to focus on herself. Esperanza changes what she thought she wanted for the future. “Not a flat, not an apartment in the back. Not a man’s house. Not daddy’s house. A house all my own”(108). Esperanza no longer strives to be popular, pretty or to be with boys. She has changed her focus onto more important things.
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. She is also one of the strongest women in the plot of the story. This makes Esperanza look up to her mom and make herself want to be a strong woman when she grows up. Esperanza's mom helps influence the way Esperanza wants to live her life in the future.
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. 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. Just by having a positive attitude and trying so hard, already makes Esperanza overcome the obstacle of being out of place in her
The House on Mango Street is set in a poor, primarily Hispanic neighborhood. Author Sandra Cisneros creates an atypical, yet easily digestible world for the reader to experience while learning about Esperanza’s childhood. The culture of her environment influences Esperanza’s development as she becomes a young woman, and contributes to the book’s driving theme of self-empowerment.
“That’s the problem with the world, too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney. Growing up quickly is a dream for many girls. They will make countless attempts in hopes of becoming a woman faster. In Sandra Cisneros’s, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza becomes one of those girls who spends all of their precious time trying to grow up quickly. Esperanza tries to wear high heels like a woman, tries to have a boyfriend like an older woman, and she tries to get a job like an adult. Esperanza’s longing to grow up quickly causes her to confront the reality of being an adult. Although Esperanza desperately wants to be an adult, she is not prepared for the responsibilities that accompany adulthood; she is unable to successfully make the transition
Esperanza is a very timid little girl. After pestering her mother to give her a note to eat in the canteen, she is seemingly unable to answer the nun who asks what she is doing there, instead meekly holding up the note and scurrying upstairs to Sister Superior. When upstairs, she starts crying while having a conversation with the nun, saying “I always cry when the nuns yell at me, even if they’re not yelling.” This is yet another example of Esperanza’s shyness and social awkwardness. Lastly, after being told that she can eat at canteen for the day, she cries and eats her rice sandwich alone.
By inserting the last paragraph, where Esperanza’s mom states, “Yup, I was a smart cookie then.”, Cisneros uses situational irony to highlight the naive and credulous mindset that plagued Esperanza’s mother throughout her childhood. Although I cannot personally relate to the destitute situation she was financially put through during her school years, it is possible for all of us to empathize with the feeling of someone always being “better” than us, in one way or another. This sense of fierce competitiveness can have negative or positive results depending on the specific person, and the circumstances in which that person is growing up. We saw the harmful repercussions of one-upmanship cause Esperanza’s mother to quit school, and lead her down a path to never fully reach her goals. Of course, there were more factors involved in Esperanza’s mother’s failure to achieve success and personal satisfaction than the specific events specified in this vignette and throughout the book. The reader can assume that the lack of parental guidance and financial support definitely wilted the mom’s confidence. It is safe to infer that she was readily teased and mocked in school for her impecunious appearance, which played a substantial role in fostering a sense
Prompt: Use evidence from the entire text to support your answer to the following prompt about the theme of the story. Your response should be well thought out, supported, and written.
Which character (or characters) do you believe is the greatest influence on Esperanza and her life? How did they influence her? Use evidence from three different vignettes to prove your claims. The characters that I think influenced Esperanza in the book her mom because whenever she had a problem or if something was going on in her life and if she thought something was wrong but people still did it like when tito’s friends took her friends key and said they wouldn’t give it back unless she would give each of them a kiss for them back and she did not think that they should make her do that to get her keys back. Her mom would tell her that she was right and that those boys’ shouldn’t make her do that and she help her write a note so she
An example of this is when she expected Hortensia to bathe her. On page 126 it says, Esperanza went over to one of the washtubs, put her hands out at her side and waited. Josefina looked at Hortensia and raised her eyebrows. Isabel said, “Esperanza, what are you doing?” Mama walked over and said softly, “I’ve been thinking that you are old enough to bathe yourself, don’t you think?” Later in the book Esperanza does not expect anyone to do anything for her. She does it all for herself. Esperanza’s character changes later in the book when she could be described as hardworking. An example of this is instead of asking anyone else for money to bring Abuelita back, she got a job and made the money herself. On page 230 it says, “You would not believe your daughter Ramona. She always gets called to work in the sheds, she cooks now, and takes care of the babies as well as their own mother.” So it is clear that since Esperanza’s dad died she has lost everything. At first she was really confused as to why she was wearing clothes from the “poor” box. But she has grown so mature in the past months. And as you can see she has changed a