“We didn't always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I can't remember.” (Pg. 3) A reflection on this quote shows me that they have a family that moves around all the time. They do not stay in one spot for too long. A prediction could be that they she had a hard time finding friends that she could keep because they were constantly moving to different place around the city. It could have been a hard time for her family so they were moving to places that would help them to get the things that they need to.
“The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make to much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom.” (Pg. 3) A reflection on this quote is that they have been wishing to live in a house of their own for along time. They are tired of having to change to fit what other people want them to. They get to do the things that they want to without worrying now that they have their own place. It also shows that they do not have to worry about getting the rent in on time to the landlord so they do not get kicked out of their home. “They always told us that one day we would move into a
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I open up and she’s there with bags and big boxes, the new clothes and, yes, she’s got the socks and new slip with little rose on it and a pink and white stripped dress. What about the shoes? I forgot. Too late now. I’m tired. Whew!” (Pg. 46) A reflection of this quote shows that the little girl is getting new clothes for an event that she is going to. It shows that she is loved by the people around her. They will do anything to try and make the kids happy as much as they can. It also shows how the mom is hard working when she has to get the things for them that they need. It is telling me that she will go to many
Modern society believes in the difficult yet essential nature of coming of age. Adolescents must face difficult obstacles in life, whether it be familial, academic, or fiscal obstacles. In the House on Mango Street, Esperanza longs for a life where she will no longer be chained to Mango Street and aspires to escape. As Esperanza grows up on Mango Street, she witnesses the effect of poverty, violence, and loss of dreams on her friends and family, leading her to feel confused and broken, clinging to the dream of leaving Mango Street. Cisneros uses a reflective tone to argue that a change in one’s identity is inevitable, but ultimately for the worst.
Lajoe moved to Horner when she was a young girl with her family of thirteen. The family had been living in a flat above a church that lacked adequate heating and frequently rang of organ music from the church below. Hearing of the newly finshed public housing projects for financially disadvantaged families, LaJoe's parents packed up the family and moved to one of the new buildings. When the family first arrived in their new home, they could not believe their eyes. It looked like a palace. Outside there were yellow flowers and lamp posts. The exterior of the building was made of sturdy, dark-red brick. Inside, the walls were a pristine white, with shiney linoleum floors. A new range and refrigerator awaited in the kitchen. It seemed like a dream to them -- until it all came crashing down.
Sandra Cisneros born on December 20, 1954 grew up in Chicago settling with a neighborhood known with Hispanic immigrants. Until then her migrating with her six brothers, from different communities in Chicago, and visiting her grandmother in Mexico, she has never really make ones home in. Being the only girl with no sisters, Cisneros only way that would deprive her from loneliness, is by reading books where she found her talents in writing. Fast forwarding to college Sandra Cisneros worked on her master’s degree at University of Iowa Writers Workshop where found her interest as Mexican-American woman with a self-reliant passion and how being a Hispanic were different in the American culture.
1. Why do many people feel bad bringing up a disease in the same room with someone having the disease? How did Esperanza feel when she did that?
... “The House on Mango Street” I have moved from house to house several times in my lifetime. I have known a homelessness of spirit that is exacerbated by traveling from place to place without rest. Additionally, though I have never experienced “a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom” (Cisneros 151), I have evacuated a rental because of complications caused by a water leak, and have gained good friends, if not family members through the moves. Unlike the protagonist in this story, I am not ashamed of the house I am living in now, nor have I been ashamed of my past living quarters, because each one has been a blessing from the hand of God. He has always provided what we needed when we needed it.
Sandra Cisneros' strong cultural values greatly influence The House on Mango Street. Esperanza's life is the medium that Cisneros uses to bring the Latin community to her audience. The novel deals with the Catholic Church and its position in the Latin community. The deep family connection within the barrio also plays an important role in the novel. Esperanza's struggle to become a part of the world outside of Mango Street represents the desire many Chicanos have to grow beyond their neighborhoods.
Tracy Robinson, co-pastor of Iglesia Esperanza for Bethlehem preaches an average of two or three times a month and his wife Rhonda preaches the other weeks. They preach from the Revised Common Lectionary every week, but Tracy almost always uses the Gospel lesson, diverting rarely to the other New Testament text. He said the texts are sometimes challenging to work with but he doesn’t like picking his own texts because then he would end up picking texts he wants to preach on. He reads the text more than a week in advance and sits with it. He said he used to watch other people’s sermons and read their notes, but he doesn’t anymore because he “doesn’t want people to put words in his mouth.” He said he’s got enough thoughts in his head and he just “likes to let the Holy
Being trapped is a despicable feeling that many people have experienced one way or another. In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, being trapped is the theme that threads throughout this series of vignettes. That theme is especially emphasized in the chapters “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays”, “Linoleum Roses”, and “Minerva Writes Poems”.
In the novel, the women look at their individual housing situations as a giant disappointment. To explain, even though Kyra and Delaney housing situation brings both families closer together and they each have their own separate house, there is still that need to have an even bigger and a much better living condition for their families. Although, Kyra and Delaney both agree with their significant others dissatisfaction with the current situation that they find themselves in. I also believe that yet again the significant of this goes back to the American Dream and how we as Americans strive to make better in our life.
... life as she knows what she is going to do. This signifies that the desire to belong is driven by one’s motivation to forge ties outside of her.
In The House on Mango Street, Cisneroz agitates the theme of diversity through her use of characters and setting. Cisneroz paints a multitude of events that follow a young girl named Esperanza growing up in the diverse section of Chicago. She is dealing with searching for a release from the low expectations that the Latino communities often put women whether young or old are put against. Cisneroz often draws from her life growing up that she was able to base Esperanza's life experiences on and portray an accurate view on Latino societies today. Cisneroz used the chapter “Boys and Girls” and “Beautiful and cruel” to portray Esperanzas growth from a young curious girl to a wise woman. She came into her own personal awareness and her actions that she has to now be held accountable for.
Who does not want a home? A shelter to sleep and a roof to dine under. Of course no one wanted to stay home forever, but once in awhile and even when far away, they will long to return to that sacred place, the place where they grew up and the place they have left behind, home. The desire for a home (or house to be precise, though there was not much of a different for this case) was realistically reflected through a fiction work of Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican American write, a story called The House on Mango Street, where we shall discuss about its setting, plot and character.
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
“Home is where the heart is.” In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros develops this famous statement to depict what a “home” really represents. What is a home? Is it a house with four walls and a roof, the neighborhood of kids while growing up, or a unique Cleaver household where everything is perfect and no problems arise? According to Cisneros, we all have our own home with which we identify; however, we cannot always go back to the environment we once considered our dwelling place. The home, which is characterized by who we are, and determined by how we view ourselves, is what makes every individual unique. A home is a personality, a depiction of who we are inside and how we grow through our life experiences. In her personal, Cisneros depicts Esperanza Cordero’s coming-of-age through a series of vignettes about her family, neighborhood, and personalized dreams. Although the novel does not follow a traditional chronological pattern, a story emerges, nevertheless, of Esperanza’s search to discover the meaning of her life and her personal identity. The novel begins when the Cordero family moves into a new house, the first they have ever owned, on Mango Street in the Latino section of Chicago. Esperanza is disappointed by the “small and red” house “with tight steps in front and bricks crumbling in places” (5). It is not at all the dream-house her parents had always talked about, nor is it the house on a hill that Esperanza vows to one day own for herself. Despite its location in a rough neighborhood and difficult lifestyle, Mango Street is the place with which she identifies at this time in her life.
This quote demonstrates the contrast between Jeanette and her parents. Jeanette relentlessly tries to make her living situation better. She suggests changes and even begins to paint the house. However, her parents resist her ideas, saying that the family needs to accept how it is. Jeanette is caught between two of her own extremes, an impoverished one and a modernized one. The dingy grey house represents her parent’s world. They have accepted their lifestyle and don’t have a desire to try and better it. The freshly painted yellow house represents Jeanette’s idea of the life she wants. Jeanette is willing to work for this goal, however her parents are holding her back because they won’t help her. The ending of the sentence is referring to the