The House on Mango Street 2

Although I cannot say that I love the language... i do really enjoy the imagery used such as “mother’s feet, were plump and polite” because it is off kilter and allows the reader to view things in Esperanza's eyes. Also, one of the major themes is that everybody longs for something different than what they have as seen by the following quote. “But the truth is it is scary to look down at your foot that is no longer yours and see attached a long long leg” (40). And “everybody wants to trade” At the same time however, when people do get what they wanted, they do not always feel comfortable with it because it does not fit with their character. I noticed in the chapter “A Rice Sandwich” that disappointment is also a theme because although Esperanza always wanted to eat lunch in school, when she finally got to the experience was not at all what she had wished. In this chapter, Esperanza feels ashamed of who she is and because of the constant abasing she receives, points to the wrong and terrible house. The nun also exhibits racism because she automatically assumes that Esperanza lived in one of the terrible houses even though she didn't. Throughout the second half of the book, a sense of family is portrayed especially with Esperanza's protectiveness of her sister Nenny. she feels that as Nenny's sister, it is her job to stand up to her. In addition to kinship, other cultural traditions are revealed just through Esperanza's story telling (the oldest is always told first about a death). Another theme presented is that bad things often happen to good people, like Aunt Lupe. In the book it says “Diseases have no eyes” because they do not choose the right people to cause hardships to. I also like the poem that Esperanza reads to Aunt Lupe... “I want to be like the waves on the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but I’m me. One day I’ll jump out of my skin. I’ll shake the sky like a hundred violins.” It describes Esperanza's aspirations and dreams for herself, as she wants to be better than she is and better than what people think she can be. It is also interesting that Elenita says she sees a home in the heart for Esperanza because this is exactly what happens. Despite Esperanza's constant running from Mango Street, in the end she has to accept that it is a part of her. The story is also told in a somewhat feminist perspective as Rafaela is oppressed by her husband who locks her in the house. Also the girls always strive to get married (Sally), but when they do get married, like Ruthie, they are oppressed by marriage (when Ruthie was young she could have had so many jobs but she didn’t take them because of marriage). In the second half of the book especially, it is easy to see that Esperanza has grown up because of the lessening of her innocence and naivete as she narrates. in certain chapters such as "Sire" this is especially clear. “Four Skinny Trees” offers really effective characterization because they parallel Esperanza and she describes things such as their secret strength that are difficult to realize from the story which concentrates more on her surroundings. Esperanza has dreams but also hardships so even if her dreams do come true, she will not forget where she comes form. She also wants to be independent and has begun a “silent war” so that she will never need to be with a man. Finally, the story offers some insight into the lives of illegal immigrants and humanizes them by portraying them as family members (Mamacita) Something that was extremely sad in the book was the story of Geraldo. “His name was Geraldo. And his home is in another country. The ones he left behind are far away, will wonder, shrug, remember. Geraldo --- he went north… we never heard from him again.” This story presents the theme of the insignificance of each person, but also the unjustness of the fact that often people in low social classes do not have the recognition of identity that they deserve. The quote from the last chapter, “You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street.” (105), depicts the major point of the story which is that Esperanza although may leave Mango Street will carry it around with her forever.