The House On Mango Street Cisneros Essay

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Introduction: The House On Mango Street is a series of short vignettes, written by Sandra Cisneros. In the book, Cisneros beings by telling us how she lived in a house, but not “her house”. One day she will have a house of her own. She lived in a poor hispanic neighborhood, in Chicago. She introduces us to her friends and family, and the impact they have in her life. The author was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 20, 1954. She was one of seven children and the only daughter. Caramelo is another of Cisneros’s popular books. Sandra Cisneros’ novels are inspired by her Mexican heritage and her Latina experience in the United States. Sandra Cisneros has received numerous awards for her work, including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1995 and the Texas Medal of the Arts Award in 2003.
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Different cultures have different standards for women. In the Mexican culture women were expected to be housewives. Cisneros’ father did not like her daughter writing books, because he did not think she was going to be successful. Until the day she called her father and told her that her book was published. “Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all on my own…My books and my stories. ”(Cisneros 108). Throughout the book, Cisneros feminized all of the women characters but Esperanza. Esperanza wanted to be independent, she did not want to become like the women in her neighborhood that depended on men. Dr. Adriane Ferreira Veras clarifies that: Men and women live in different worlds in the community. In Sandra Cisneros’s book she basically writes about a woman who wants to be independent. That breaks the “rule” that Mexican-Americans have in their culture. Authors who decide to betray their heritage by writing are called pochos, or are anglicized from the community. Esperanza turned to writing as a way to escape and not be forced to rely on a man like some of her friends

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