More handpicked essays just for you.
Esperanzas personality in house on mango street
Feminist essays literary criticism
Feminist essays literary criticism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In addition to patriarchal structures of society in The House on Mango Street, most of the men in the novel are portrayed as manipulative, oppressive, and abusive; the women — on the other hand, are contrastingly portrayed as victims of physical, mental, and emotional abuse. In Minerva Writes Poems vignette, Esperanza draws attention to an instance of emotional abuse when she describes a woman named Minerva, who “has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving” (84). Ironically, Minerva, the poet, is named after Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom (Greek Gods & Goddesses). However, Minerva of Mango Street does not exhibit wisdom by constantly taking back her husband. Minerva’s mother also dealt with the same sorts …show more content…
Such abuse is illustrated in the book when Esperanza writes about a girl by the name of Sally. Sally is a victim who makes up excuses regarding her abusive father because she is terrified to tell the truth. Sally says, “He never hits me hard” (92) which is her way of denial of anything being wrong. In this quote, Sally admits to being hit by her father, however, she defends him even though “her skin is always scarred . . . when he hit her with his hands just like a dog” (92). The male dominant figure in this situation views women as a property and not as human beings. The fact that Sally’s father hits her as if she was an animal shows that he views her less than a person, a property or some type of possession. Because her father does not want another male presence to interfere with his possession, he takes out his frustrations on his daughter as a result of male intrusion. On the other hand, Sally’s mother does not take the appropriate course of action and would rather demonstrate her accepted female gender role through submission. Instead of ending the abuse, her mother attempts to alleviate the pain inflicted by her father by rubbing “lard on all the places where it hurts” (92) covering the evidence of her daughter’s abuse-related …show more content…
According to Michelle Sugiyama, author “Of Woman Bondage: The Eroticism of Feet in The House on Mango Street” — the women of Mango Street are expected to be obedient and dependent on men. Their female roles which are deeply rooted beliefs are cultured into their minds and no matter what, they must adhere to such expectations without a question. For example, Sally, who portrays the role of an obedient daughter and must be compliant with her father, as well as Esperanza’s mother, who “could’ve been somebody . . . [because she] was a smart cookie” (90) yet she became dependent on her husband, conforming to her traditional female role, and compromising her dreams for the family’s greater good. However, when the male figures leave, die, or in general — absent, the women suffer because they do not provide for the family. Since men — again, with their superior gender role — are the ones who go to work and provide for the family, the women — with their inferior gender role, must stay at home, look after the children and make tortilla rolls. The women must abide by the gender role that the society perceives as the norm and indeed, male dependency is the
In Hillary Potters “Battle Cries” Black women are constantly abused by their intimate partners. Abuse is described to be triggered by a number of different factors. Factors were the entitlement of the man, age of the victims, socioeconomics, race, and repeated victimization, termination of the relationship, jealousy, and substance abuse. First, you have men who believed they were entitled to control the women. He was the hierarchy figure in the relationship. The woman’s respect towards the man was demanded rather than earned. She was to obey his orders and comply with his every decision. If not, she was to be punished by any means necessary. Along with this you have men who felt that “It’s a man thing.” This was the way of life of which they felt was a part
“The House on Mango Street” emphasizes on this issue, even broadens to explain other controversial matters such as abuse, misogynistic views, and stereotypes. The protagonist, Esperanza Cordero moves to Mango Street where she must witness the abuse affecting her friends, neighbors, and family. Either Sally a close friend, Mamacita a neighbor, or her own mother handling 4 children. Over the course of the novel Esperanza changes physically and mentally. Through the use of imagery as well as complex, descriptive vignettes Cisneros epitomizes the misogynistic views within Esperanza’s
Throughout life, many hardships will be encountered, however, despite the several obstacles life may present, the best way to overcome these hardships is with determination, perseverance, and optimism. In The House on Mango Street, this theme is represented on various occasions in many of the vignettes. For this reason, this theme is one of the major themes in The House on Mango Street. In many of the vignettes, the women of Mango Street do not make any attempts to overcome the hardships oppressive men have placed upon them. In opposition, Alicia (“Alicia Who Sees Mice”) and Esperanza are made aware that the hardships presented as a result of living on Mango Street can be overcome by working hard and endless dedication to reach personal hopes
However, each work is special and focuses on a different aspect of life as compared to the other. In addition, the thematic ideas between the two works are often correlated and often overlap between the two. Moreover, the multiple thematic ideas in the novel and the movie can still apply to the people of today as they also go through many hard times much like Celie and Esperanza. The House on Mango Street is able to focus on abuse of women, and discrimination of the female gender much like The Color Purple. However, The House on Mango Street is able to elaborate on the topic of maturity especially through the various experiences of Esperanza. Nevertheless, many important lessons can be learned from both the novel and the movie, among these include treatment of women, discrimination, and maturity. The novel and the movie do a wonderful job at emphasizing and focusing on these relatable topics that are vital to the growth of
Esperanza was able to provide the audience with an image that was vivid of her surroundings through her diction and tone. Esperanza presents a series of stories that she deals with in her neighborhood as she grows up. Esperanza arose from poverty and always dreamt of having a house of her own. Sandra Cisneros' strong cultural and gender values have a tremendous influence on The House on Mango Street. Cisneros feels that the Mexican-American community is very abusive towards the treatment of women because men are seen as the powerful, strong figure.
The House on Mango Street is filled with beautiful and relatable stories that foretell the development of the main character. In Valdes’ review, she makes a strong analysis of how Cisneros creates “human presence that transcends the time, place, and condition of the composition to create a literary metaphor for a woman coming of age” (55). Valdes explains how Cisneros creates a “metaphor” in which she express and examines her feelings and emotions in an elegant way. Valdez also shows that Cisneros creates a setting in which shows the reader how to become free in a lonely environment that many young women, especially those who are a minority, can relate to when they are
The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a fictional novel set in 1950’s Chicago. Centering around Esperanza’s Mexican American family and their neighbors on Mango Street, the story illustrates Esperanza’s growth and gain of experience. Throughout the story, Esperanza obtains insight on many diverse aspects of life, one being how different she is from the men and even the other women in her culture and society. She recognizes that many of the women in her life are opressed, and identifies that she craves to be different and more independent. Through the use of figurative language, Cisneros asserts that when women allow themselves to be dominated by men, they may be prevented from pursuing their aspirations.
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
The House on Mango Street is the tale about a young girl named Esperanza who is maturing throughout the text. In it Esperanza documents the events and people who make up Mango Street. It is through this community that Esperanza’s ideas and concepts of the relationships between men and women are shaped. She provides detailed accounts about the oppression of women at not only the hands of men who make up Mango Street but also how the community contributes to this oppression. As the young girls and women of Mango Street try to navigate the world they must deal with a patriarchal society that seeks to keep them confined. By growing up in this environment where women are confined Esperanza seeks desperately to depart from Mango Street for fear
In the documentary Crime After Crime, Deborah Peagler suffered abuse from her intimate partner through her life. The abuse started in High School. When her mother introduced her to Oliver Wilson, his charming personality fooled everyone. Oliver forced her into prostitution to make money for him. When she refused, he beat her until she promised to sell herself. The beating gradationally evolved to bull whipping. In addition, all of this occurred during her junior and senior year in high school. Oliver felt it was his right to have ultimate control over Deborah, this fact is generally accepted in the society (Belknap 247). The male dominance, male authority over women is something taught to young children. It is sought to be the place of women to wait for the husband by the door when he comes home. The male masculinity fact kicked in and it drove him to force his dominance over Deborah into physical abuse. When Deborah refused to do his bidding, he felt it was necessary for him to show her who is in control by beating her. This is the message sent to young boys of past generations and a bit less for the current one through media and entertainment.
In the story the house on mango street there are both young girls, Sally and Esperanza. Both girls desire adventure, love, and beauty. However, Sally is more outgoing and confident than Esperanza. She has confidence that she is beautiful. She play the role of a strong female that never get hurt by any boys. Esperanza admires and looks up to Sally. Esperanza does not want to be a "weak woman" and she sees Sally as her role model. Their home lives contrast also Ironically. Sally is physically abused by her father each time he catches her with a boy. On the other side Esperanza and her family communicates well. Sally sees her self as a women and not the type of women a person that isn't confident of herself and that's what Esperanza likes.
The Women of House on Mango Street and Bread Givers Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois. She was the only girl in a family of seven. Cisneros is noted for her collection of poems and books that concentrate on the Chicano experience in the United States. In her writings, Cisneros explores and transcends borders of location, ethnicity, gender and language. Cisneros writes in lyrical yet deceptively simple language.
Throughout The House on Mango Street Esperanza learns to resist the gender norms that are deeply imbedded in her community. The majority of the other female characters in the novel have internalized the male viewpoint and they believe that it is their husbands or fathers responsibility to care for them and make any crucial decisions for them. However, despite the influence of other female characters that are “immasculated”, according to Judith Fetterley, Esperanza’s experiences lead her to become a “resisting reader” in Fettereley’s terminology because she does not want to become like the women that she observes, stuck under a man’s authority. She desires to leave Mango Street and have a “home of her own” so that she will never be forced to depend on a man (Cisneros 108). During the course of the novel Esperanza eventually realizes that it is also her duty to go back to Mango Street “For the ones that cannot out”, or the women who do not challenge the norms (110). Esperanza eventually turns to her writing as a way to escape from her situation without having to marry a man that she would be forced to rely on like some of her friends do.
Minerva does not try and escape even though she “is always sad like a house on fire—always something wrong. She has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving” (Cisneros 63). Minerva is clearly unhappy, but because she is accepting of her role and she will not leave him. She does not have the power to leave her husband and if she tried she would probably be beaten or worse. Esperanza wants to help Minerva but there is nothing that she can do for her: “Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what can she do? Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go. There is nothing I can do” (Cisneros 63). Esperanza knows that she cannot do anything for Minerva. It will take the power of Minerva removing herself from the abusive situation to actually save herself. Minerva having no power in her marriage is a clear relationship back to the theme of women accepting their role with men as their superior.
Mango Street consists of mostly female characters. These characters are strong and inspirational, but they are unable to escape the suppression of the surrounding environment. According to one critic, "The girl's mother, for instance, has talent and brains, but lacks practical knowledge about society because, says Esperanza, Mexican men 'don't like their women strong' " (Matchie 69-70). It is Esperanza's mother who tells her to never be ashamed because shame can only hinder her dreams. In "The Three Sisters", the women tell Esperanza that she is special and remind her not to forget where she came from when she finally makes it out of Mango Street. This inspiration makes Esperanza understand that she must help others who aren't as fortunate to leave as she is.