The House On Mango Street Conflict Essay

In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, conflict is utilized to present the notion that the challenges we face in our lives contribute to the shaping of our identity. This idea is presented early in the novel when readers are introduced to the root of Esperanza’s conflicts – her house on Mango Street. This street is where the novel takes place, and it is where a patriarchal society thrives, thus making it a primary conflict that Esperanza, along with other women, must deal with. This problem is first addressed when Esperanza explains the meaning behind her name: “It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female – but I think this is a

Of course, this isn’t the future she desires. With this realization, Esperanza’s identity shifts as she learns that she cannot become dependent on men, or else she risks falling onto the same path as the women around her. Lastly, as the story draws to a close, we finally see the impact that the controlling role men play has had on Esperanza. In the vignette appropriately titled “A House of My Own”, Esperanza describes her ideal future house: “Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own” (108). From the vignette’s title, readers immediately know what it is that Esperanza is longing for, because just like the title states, she simply wants a place that is hers. A house that is filled with her belongings and provides a space where she can become herself. However, most importantly, she states that her house will not belong to a man, but instead will be entirely hers. Since Esperanza specifically proclaims that she does not want her home to be owned by a man, it displays how the conflicts that she endured have shaped