house on mango street quotes about growing up

#House on mango street quotes about growing up series
#House on mango street quotes about growing up free

The instructor who assigned this paper noted that the essay question was designed to be open-ended on purpose, to encourage diverse writing topics. The essay assignment was to choose one work of literature from a list of classics, and write a six- to seven-page paper on what the selected literature reveals about life, human beings, and/or their relationships. This paper was a final assignment for an American literature course. When Sally disappears with the neighborhood boys behind a pickup truck to retrieve her house keys through kisses, Esperanza thought that Sally “needed to be saved” (Cisneros 97), and she found “three big sticks and a brick” (Cisneros 97) to intimidate the boys with. Sally continues to laugh and converse with the boys their flirtatious banter being described by Esperanza as “A joke I didn’t get” (Cisneros 96). She tells Esperanza to “Play with the kids if you want…I’m staying here” (Cisneros 96). In “The Monkey Garden,” Esperanza tries to grab the attention of Sally, who was flirting with a group of neighborhood boys. This remark “posits the theme of gender difference” (Olivares), and shows how inexperienced and detached Esperanza is from boys. The boys in their universe and we in ours” (Cisneros 8). In “Boys and Girls,” Esperanza says, “The boys and girls live in separate worlds. Not only does this show the innocence and naivety Esperanza had before her assault occurred, but also highlights how differently Esperanza and Sally view sex: Sally enjoys it while Esperanza fears it.

The way they said it, the way it’s supposed to be, all the storybooks and movies, why did you lie to me?” (Cisneros 99). In “Red Clowns,” after Esperanza’s sexual assault incident at the carnival, she confronts Sally by saying “Sally, you lied. Esperanza has a childish outlook on sexuality and the male gender. Firstly, she cannot relate with the neighborhood girls who are more promiscuous (like her friend Sally). This alienates Esperanza in several ways. She has an innocent view on romance, and is not seen as a romantic interest for the neighborhood boys. The concepts of sexuality and male attention are foreign topics for Esperanza in the novel. However, Esperanza’s sister, Nenny, noticed the similarities as well. Lucy and Rachel don’t see the resemblance, and they were about to laugh at what Esperanza said out of awkwardness or to ridicule her. That’s what I was thinking exactly” (Cisneros 18). Rachel and Lucy look at me like I’m crazy, but before they can let out a laugh, Nenny says: Yes, that’s Mexico alright. In “Laughter,” Esperanza recalls a time when she made a remark about how a line of houses on the street reminded her of the ones built in Mexico, saying, “Look at the house, I said, it looks like Mexico. Although Esperanza does become friends with Lucy and Rachel later on in the book, they do not achieve the level of closeness Esperanza fantasizes about.

#House on mango street quotes about growing up free

Esperanza associates her free spirit with the red balloon, and the anchor with her feeling of unexplained entrapment and loneliness within herself and her place in Mango Street. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor” (Cisneros 9). One who will understand my jokes without my having to explain them. In the chapter “Boys & Girls,” Esperanza says “Someday I will have a best friend all my own. To begin, Esperanza longs for a true friend who understands her and satisfies her desire for companionship. She also feels a strong disconnect towards her community of Mango Street. Esperanza, the “…girl who didn’t want to belong” (Cisneros 109), constantly feels outcasted throughout the book because of her inability to be content with her identity. It is common for young people to have awkward stages in their lives when they feel detached from themselves and society.

Esperanza and her fellow neighbors all experience the feeling of isolation in different ways. A common theme that surfaces in the novel is isolation.

#House on mango street quotes about growing up series

This coming-of-age novel told by a series of vignettes narrated by the main character not only revolves around Esperanza, but also the people who reside in Mango Street. In The House on Mango Street by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros, the protagonist, Esperanza, describes her life experiences within the Latin neighborhood (or barrio) of Mango Street.

Una Vida Aislada: The Theme of Isolation in The House on Mango Street Messages from Scholars about History and Culture