Thomas Jefferson once said,“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” This quote can be taken much deeper, with the understanding that the past is just that, history. Of course history still affects the future today, but people focus more on moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. In Sandra Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street” the author illustrates the idea, using her family members’ past, other residents of Mango Street, and Esperanza discovering who she is, that while the past can make up parts of a person, it does not have to be their whole identity. Instead it can be a way in which the person can develop in the future. Within Esperanza’s family, members often repeat the pattern of falling short of success, never making it out on their own and being able to support themselves. A constant reminder of this lifestyle lays in Esperanza’s name, as it is shared between her, and her great grandmother. In the HOMS, the grandmother is described as a wild horse of a woman, until she gets married and loses her freedom. Esperanza notes,” I have inherited her name but I will not inherit her place in the window,”(11). Here she refers to all the lonesome time her grandmother …show more content…
In this case for her, that means breaking out and leaving Mango Street. Then, with the help of other residents, the idea of moving on from her childhood is presented in different forms, yet all share a common theme that she will be the one who is able and will leave. Even Esperanza discovering her strength, and who she is, leads to her understanding why it means when she will one day break free from the struggles she is faced with living on Mango Street. All of the pain and struggle Esperanza is faced with all leads back to the point that no matter what past somebody has, it doesn't make up who they will become; it can develop them into their future
“You can pick up a mistake and carry it as a burden; or you can set it down and use it as a stepping stone to greatness.” -Unknown. This book claims that Esperanza goes through alot when she lives on Mango Street. We become the people that we are in life because of friends, family and mistakes . Friends have a big impact on people's lives because as in the book House on Mango Street.
Trying to escape to fufill peoples dreams isn’t always as easy as others think. One way Esperanza tries to escape her house on mango street is by making a wish that she will be able to leave. This wish was granted by 3 old aunts at a funeral for Lucy and Rachel's baby. But shortly after, she begins to feel guilty for wishing to leave everything behind. This
Esperanza's focus on the description of her house and neighborhood underscores the symbolic power of home. For her, home represents not only a physical structure but also a reflection of her aspirations and desires. She yearns for a house of her own, one that is not defined by societal expectations but embodies her individuality. She states, "Not a man's house. Not a daddy's.
1. I think they find it necessary to move so often because it has been a dream for the family of six to have a piece of property like the houses shown on TV. The story begins when the family buys a new house on Mango Street. This new house is the first the family has owned and does not fulfill their dream. The house is simply not big enough for the family.
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
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.
“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.
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.
In the series of vignettes The House on Mango Street, the author Sandra Cisneros details the life of main character Esperanza, a young girl living in a barrio of Chicago. As Esperanza tells the reader about her experiences in her day to day life, the reader hears about her struggles and dreams, her hopes and expectations in life and how these affect her. Being a young girl, Esperanza holds naivety and hope for the world, not having experienced many mature situations or society yet, and since she is going through the time in her life when she begins experiencing these issues, we see her heartbreak and the world she knew shatter. For example, when Esperanza and her family move to Mango Street, as our story kicks off, her parents would often talk about the life that they would get when they win the lottery, like having “A real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked.
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
In the novel , Esperanza Rising, written by Pam Munoz Ryan , the reader meets a spoiled girl whose life went through many challenges. Throughout the novel Esperanza went from a spoiled brat to an anger frustrated girl and ended the story as a happy person. Esperanza thought her life was always going to be perfect, but it wasn’t how she expected. In the beginning , Esperanza was soiled girl that lives in Aguascalientes,Mexico. Esperanza was spoiled because her Papa was the owner of El Rancho de Las Rosas.
Esperanza comprehends the potential she wields within her, however, believes Mango Street is that anchor holding her down because with so much negativity and harm will never truly allow her to leave. Therefore, she searches for her identity all her life on Mango Street because she has potential and the ability to leave while nobody truly else has the chance, causing her to never fit in. It is not until the end where even though she never belonged, she did because the house on Mango Street is her home
Esperanza’s environment shifts her identity from being an insecure child to a confident, mature young adult who realizes the decisions that adults must make. Esperanza’s response to her environment reveals an insecurity about herself early in the story. In one of Esperanza’s experiences, she finds herself ashamed
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
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.