In the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the obstacles that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for their physical description and not for their noetic proficiencies. In her Novel Cisneros opens the reader to the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated fairly. In the Book women are looked upon as objects by men. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most paramount things to a woman. For example, “ Her designation is Marin or Maris or something like that, and she wears dark nylons all the time and lots of makeup she gets liberate from selling Avon. She can't emerge – gotta baby-sit with Louie's sisters – but she stands in the doorway a lot, all the time singing” (10.2). Cisneros additionally shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their spouses, and that …show more content…
She describes women who are prisoners in their own homes, who look out the window their whole lives. Sally is a good example. Sally, who is been kept inside her whole life, gets espoused afore eighth grade. She gets espoused to get away from all the troubles she has with her father. "She verbally expresses, she's in love but I cerebrate she did it to elude," verbalizes Esperanza. Sally withal has a home and things of her own now. Her husband, however, does not let her verbalize on the phone, visit with friends or look out the window. Her days are spent alone visually examining all the things that they own. " The Towels and toaster, and alarm clock and drapes." Esperanza realizes that albeit Sally now has all the material things a husband can provide, her life is not worth very much because she is trapped in a room with nothing to do, except visually examine the things that she
“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
Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.
Sandra Cisneros once said “'Hispanic' is English for a person of Latino origin who wants to be accepted by the white status quo. ’Latino' is the word we have always used for ourselves.” In the novel I read, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros the main character a twelve-year-old Chicana (Mexican-American girl), Esperanza, saw self-definition as a struggle, this was a major theme in the novel through Esperanza’s actions and the ones around her. Esperanza tries to find identity in herself as a women as well as an artist throughout the novel through her encounters. Esperanza was able to provide the audience an image that was vivid of her surroundings by her diction and tone. Esperanza presents a series of stories that she deals with in her neighborhood as she is growing 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 in 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. Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in a Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes.
Maria Elena de Valdes writes her review based upon the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros analyzing the identity of the main character, Esperanza, and how the text relates to Mexican-American individuals. Valdes’ review evaluates The House on Mango Street with a feminist view on to show the struggles of a young chicana girl coming of age and how she chooses to establish her own identity.
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.
The plot of The House on Mango Street symbolizes an immigrant family moving to the United States in hope of a future with more opportunities. It is a story about a girl by the name of Esperanza and the retelling of the events in her childhood. Esperanza faces many challenges growing up in an underdeveloped neighborhood of inner city Chicago. Through her experiences at home, school, and with people she starts to blossom into the young woman she always wanted to be. Esperanza encounters many unjust acts as a result of living in an urban neighborhood. These encounters make her want to move to a different neighborhood because she feels like she does not belong on Mango Street. She feels trapped because she has a dream to attend college and become a writer. Her hope is that she will be able to live a prosperous American life and be able to come back to Mango Street to help those who cannot escape on their own. It is, most importantly, the story of a girl maturing into a woman an...
Patriarchy is a form of social organization. Sandra Cisneros, a writer who was one of seven children and the only girl, has written extensively about the Latina experience in the United States. “The House on Mango Street” contains many of her family members and friends, which are Esperanza, the narrator; her mother and father; Sarah and Lucy, her best friends; Nenny, her little sisters; and Carlos and Kiki, her youngest brother. “The House on Mango Street” is about a family that grew up very poor in Chicago. Her family always wanted to move, but she wanted this move to be her last move. Although they moved don’t mean that she was satisfied with it because she wasn’t and she hated her living conditions, she wanted to be independent and on her own; she wanted things to her way. She prayed for better days and for a better life, so one day she took it upon herself to leave. “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros, addresses the topic of Social Issues through her use of Ambiguity, allegory, and anecdote.
Cisneros depicts Mango Street as a rough neighborhood, but she also conveys a sense of community. She writes down that “we are safe,” (Cisneros, 28) to indicate that she can find the sense of community. Even if the author does not think she belongs to Mango Street, she does not deny that her community lives there. At the beginning of The House on Mango Street, Cisneros states that “I had to have a house. A real house,” (Cisneros, 5) illustrating that after knowing the American society’s evaluation criteria of success, she wants to follow the upward mobility and be viewed as a successful figure not only because she wants to be appreciated but also because white people will change their stereotypes of Hispanic people if they see that a Hispanic woman can be as successful as other whites. Her ambition triggers her to want to explore the meaning of being a Hispanic girl in the real world. Furthermore, in the “My name” session, the author depicts her great-grandmother’s life. “She looked out the window her whole life… but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” (Cisneros, 11) Cisneros wants a marriage formed because of love, like most white people do; her desire indicates that she wants to live like the whites, so that they will respect her and the Hispanic race later. In addition, Cisneros points out that she
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
The House on Mango Street, a fictional book written by Sandra Cisneros is a book filled with many hidden messages. The book revolves around a young girl named Esperanza who feels out of place with the life she has. She sees that the things around her don’t really add up. The story is told from Esperanza’s perspective and the events she goes through to find herself. Through the strategy of fragmenting sentences, Cisneros establishes that the sense of not belonging, creates a person’s individuality that makes them who they are.
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.
He suggests that, men who take on the effeminate roles are not necessarily accepted in society, yet women who take on the masculine roles are not unusual and are often times seen as a necessity. In Pablito’s story, Senaida sells burritos to support the family, taking the role of the man, but despite claiming to be the “breadwinner”, Beto spends all of his money on alcohol and chooses not to support his family. Furthermore, in Cisneros story, the women are dispensable and very rarely are they served justice for their untimely death. Both authors indicate the amount of abuse and even murder that happens to women who “step out of bounds”. Many times the men have a fear that their status in their community is being undermined, rather them fearing of failing their family. Like Beto and Ramon, the men are willing to beat and even kill their wives and children for the sake of their reputation. The authors suggest that many of the instances where men abuse their wives, they were all either drunk or suffering in poverty. They primarily seem to be taking out their frustration of their declining job opportunities and income on both their wives and their
As the chapter opens, the first impression of Sire is one of a James Dean type of character. Sire and his friends are just sitting on their bikes, pitching pennies, or in other words, gambling. Esperanza tells us that she is scared of them, which makes me wonder why she would be afraid of them? She then says how her dad calls him a “punk.”
Sandra Cisneros reveals her feminist views through her novel The House on Mango Street. She does this by forcing the reader to see the protagonist as an alienated artist and by creating many strong and intelligent female characters who serve as the protagonist's inspiration.
In the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the problems that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for what they look like, and not for what is on inside. In her Novel Cisneros wants us to envision the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated equally.