Plot Overview

About the Author

In The House on Mango Street,

Esperanza moves into a house, which
her parents bought, on Mango Street.
The house is nothing of what she
dreamed of nor met her parents
descriptions. This place is a little better
and does not compare to the other places
in which she lived before. Once she
started living in the house she kind of felt
embarrassed and disappointed, but that
was what her parents could afford. Living
on that street opened her eyes to new
experiences. She saw how some women
were bitter and just staring out the
window when they married unhappily.
She disliked their lifes and wanted to
escape Mango Street.
By meeting so many people, she kind of
peeked into what her life could possibly
be like later on. For example, she met
Sally, a rebellious girl who Esperanza
looked up to. Sally made Esperanza
experience things and opened her eyes
to mature because Sally was growing up
so fast. One day when she was hanging
out with Sally, Esperanza got sexually

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, Illinois

on December 20, 1954. She was born into a
Mexican family; her father being Mexican and
her mother being a Chicana. Her famous
work was inspired by the lives of her own
students, her culture being portrayed in a
way she thought was a lie, being the only one
having lived on top of a storefront and an
apartment building that was shabby looking,
not having a house like the ones on
television, and never seeing her house
represented in some way. The House on
Mango Street was written in 1984 when a lot
immigrants were very common. Apart from
The House on Mango Street, Sandra
Cisneros is also recognized for Woman
Hollering Creek and Other Stories and My
Wicked Wicked Ways.

Historical Context
Since The House on Mango Street was written in
1984, the Simpson Rodino Law of 1986 might
have influenced Cisneros's writing because at that
time a lot of immigrants were coming and some
Latino families were poor and lived in shabby
places. In the story, Esperanzas family is as
described poor because of the community she
lived in. Not being stereotypical, a lot of Latinos
were going what Esperanza was going through at
that time; not having the perfect dream house.

The House on Mango

Street
Sandra Cisneros
Yadhira Linares
September 19, 2016
Essential Quotes
Four who do not belong here but are here.
I am tired of looking at what we cant have.
Reflections
Esperanza is a young girl with a very
relatable life. She wants things that she can
not possibly have, most of which are
materials. She is going through adulthood
and learning new things day by day. She
sees other people lifes and does not notice
that they leave an imprint on her in any
shape or form.

Add Works Cited Here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXO8a6HY
ttw
http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/inf
o-04-2009/sandra_cisneros_house_on_mango_st
reet_25th_anniversary.html
http://www.biography.com/people/sandra-cisne
ros-185853#profile

Character Analysis
Esperanza: She does not want to grow
up in a way because in the vignette she
says, I wanted to go back with the other
kids who were still jumping on cars, still
chasing each other through the garden,
but Sally had her own game.
Nenny: She is a very creative and
outgoing little girl. Throughout the whole
book she is either screaming or inventing
things, such as naming clouds and
making up songs.
Mother:: She is the reason Esperanza
feels safe. In the beginning of the book
Esperanza describes feeling safe in her
arms.
Sally: She was very rebellious and
Esperanza looked up to her because of
the way she dressed and got attention.
Later on, she was physically abused by
her own father because he thought she is
going to run away. She becomes
rebellious again at the end of the book
because of all the things she does. For

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Make the most of what you have:

Esperanza does not have a whole lot of
luxuries, but she does make the most out
of what she has as seen in the vignette,
The Monkey Garden.

The House on Mango Street: The House

on Mango Street symbolises her family's
economic status, but it also symbolises
her reality of what she can not have. Her
dreams of having a house as portrayed
on television are currently out of her
reach.

You do not always get what you want: As

seen throughout the whole book,
Esperanza does not always get what she
wants, from her dream house to her
desired shoes in the vignette, Chanclas.
Value yourself: When reading the book I
felt like she did not value herself. The
vignette Beautiful and Cruel describe
how she does not appreciate herself
since she is calling herself ugly. Another
example from the vignette, The Monkey
Garden shows that she tried to kill
herself, but she could not because not
even the monkey garden would have
me.

Shoes: Esperanza spends a lot of her

time talking about her saddle shoes and
how they are ugly and embarrassing. At
one point she starts talking about heels,
that means that she wants to grow up
and possibly be going through adulthood.