In House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza grows up in a society in Chicago, Illinois where she is unwelcomed because of her race, gender, and poverty. While in the story Night, Elie is affected greatly by his environment living in concentration camps in World War II. In both novels, the main characters grow emotionally and mentally from the challenges they are faced. As they are characterized as innocent in the beginning of each story, their maturity process is caused by their horrible experiences which result in loss of innocence. Eventually, they find hope for happiness within their tragic experiences and then mature. In the novels Night and House on Mango Street, the authors reveal the protagonists struggles with coming of age through the description of their experiences; Reminding the audience that it is possible to find happiness after surviving the darkest moments in an individual's life. In the …show more content…
After Eliezer is liberated from the camps, he considers himself as a “walking corpse”. However, he is a much stronger character. Confidently, he says “We are all brothers and we are all suffering the same fate. The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive” (Wiesel 39). He is building the strength to become a normal person again. In House on Mango Street, Esperanza comes to a conclusion that her past experiences will never be erased. She tells herself, “You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street. You can't erase what you know. You can't forget who you are” (Cisneros 41). Esperanza and Elie’s traumatic experiences have helped them grow into stronger individuals mentally. At the end of both novels, they realize that they need to find hope within their
Esperanza believes that “Nenny and [her] don’t look like sisters … not right away”(17). On the surface, Esperanza
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.
Characters Comparison/Contrast Essay Intro: Include one or more sentences summarizing each story and describing each character. Esperanza and house on mango street: Esperanza is a young girl who lives for a year on mango street and gradually grows into a mature young woman by a series of encounters and situations on her quest to learn more about female sexuality and later conclusion on rejecting sex as a form of escaping reality but rather focus on the importance of community and family. At the end of the book, Esperanza becomes a important figure for women’s help in her community and proves herself as an artist and writer through her analysis and observations through her writings.
To illustrate, a change of identity occurs, “If only [Eliezer] were relieved of this responsibility… Instantly, [he] felt ashamed, ashamed of [himself] forever,” when he almost tried to leave his father alone (106). Elie faces a permanent change of identity when he strays away from his old educated habits and becomes a selfish creature when going through pain. Another example of a change of identity within Elie is when his father dies, “And deep inside [him], if [he] could have searched the recesses of [his] feeble conscience, [he] might have found something like: Free at Last!” expressing that his father’s death finally freed him, out of the misery, out of the agony (112). Eliezer’s journey with his father through the excruciating concentration camps developed him from an innocent teenager to a mature man with the capabilities to succeed in unbearable situations.
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.
“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.
Initially Esperanza wanted to have a family but after her rape experience her goals changed to be indepent. Esperanza's goal where changed when she spoke with the three sisters who encouraged her and told her she will be something one day. After meeting with three sisters she was convinced to come back on Mango Street to improve the neighborhood. In conclusion The House on Mango Street taught me many life principles. Firstly, everybody you meet are not alway trust worthy.
The House on Mango Street is about a young girl named Esperanza and the different challenges she faces throughout her life. She has a big family that consists of 5 other people and has moved to different homes many times. As she moves to the house on Mango Street she is disappointed at the fact that the house was not the house of her dreams nor the one she imagined it to be. The house on Mango Street is an improvement compared to Esperanza’s previous homes, but it is still not the house she or her family dreams of, and throughout the book Esperanza feels that she doesn’t belong there. As a family of 6 people, it consists of different responsibilities including taking care of younger siblings and so Esperanza has to take care of her younger
In Sandra Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street,” the chapter, The Monkey Garden, describes Esperanza playing in the garden with Sally and a few of the boys when things take a turn Esperanza is uncomfortable with. At times, Esperanza is naïve and inexperienced, but other times, she exudes an awareness of someone much older. This awareness comes to light multiple times throughout the novel and Sally is often a catalyst of this awareness – this chapter is no exception. The Monkey Garden showcases the dichotomy that lies within Esperanza; the dichotomy of being both innocent and intuitive, both aware and naïve. Esperanza begins this chapter with a keen awareness.
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.
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. Mango Street is the source of Esperanza’s growth through her childhood, and it hides sadness and longing underneath stereotypes of Hispanic people. The characters that live in the broken-down neighborhood all seem to represent pigeonholed views of Latino individuals.
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.
The biggest decision you make is deciding who you are. In the story “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, the author creates a conflict of Esperanza’s internal struggle to find her identity, reminding us that the decision of who you are can be life or death. We first learn about this conflict when Esperanza is talking about her name, and how it doesn’t present her as who she really is. Thoughtout the story Esperanza realizes that people judge her because she only shows them the bad parts about her. She isn’t being herself and showing people the kind, sweet person she is underneath.
The novel The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros was a fictional novel written in 1984. This novel shows the struggle of a young girl named Esperanza who was trying to mature to quick. Esperanza is a twelve year old girl who began to lose her innocence because she was trying to mature before she was meant to. The main conflict was Esperanza began to act like an adult, but yet she was still just a young girl, and because of her actions she experienced a loss of innocence. Through the use of syntax, Cisneros portrays the message that trying to mature too early will result in loss of innocence.
The book, The House on Mango Street, allowed readers to take a glimpse at life on Mango Street through Esperanza’s eyes. Esperanza described the neighborhood, providing insights on each of her neighbors and their families. She knew the street backwards and forwards; she grew up on the street. Despite it becoming a part of Esperanza’s childhood, she failed to truly belong to Mango Street.