The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros has compiled a number of short tales in The House on Mango Street. The status of women in society and poverty are the main themes of the book. The narrator, Esperanza, begins by outlining the circumstances surrounding her family's relocation from Loomik to Mango Street: the home's water pipes broke, and the owner of the apartment complex declined to make repairs. Esperanza claims that boys and girls existed in separate worlds in the short tale "Boys and Girls." Her siblings could only communicate with her inside their home; they are unable to play together outside. This book describes the position of women in society. Esperanza, the narrator, starts by explaining the reasons why her family moved from Loomik to Mango Street: the water pipes in the house broke and the owner of the apartment building refused to fix the situation. In the story "Boys and Girls," Esperanza says that girls and boys lived in different worlds. Her brothers only talked to her in their house but they cannot play together outdoors. This book describes the position of women in the Mexican culture and how the narrator feels trapped in her neighbourhood. Esperanza meets both teenage girls and older women during her time in Mango Street. The mature women tell Esperanza warn her not to sacrifice her independence to be a wife or girlfriend. Aunt Lupe tells Esperanza that her she was a bright student and her worst decision is dropping out of school. Magdalena Cordero is Esperanza's younger sister. As the primary source, the book will provide a basis for evaluation. In other words, assessing this book regarding the stylistic devices is main aim. Usually, authors strive to communicate the occurrences in the society or their personal lives through writing. Moreover, they use stylistic devices such as symbolism and irony to relay their message. In that regard, this book is important in illustrating how authors utilize the mentioned stylistic devices to relay different messages. For instance, the setting and symbolism entailed in the book elucidate the plight of women in the society.
Satz, M. (1997). Returning to One's House: An Interview with Sandra Cisneros. Southwest Review, 82(2), 166-185.
Returning to One's Own House is an interview that Martha Satz conducted with Sandra Cisneros, the author of The House on Mango Street. The author talks about the plight of women in the Mexican society and the different side of Latina neighborhoods that most people do not talk about. Cisneros says that she studied at the Iowa Writer's Workshop where most of her colleagues mostly wrote stories about beautiful gardens and happiness. She took a different direction because those are not the images of her childhood. Cisneros says that her memories of barrio were not the same as her colleagues describe the place; to her it is a dangerous and terrifying place for women. Most women in the place are not educated and one must struggle to succeed. The Mexican culture is highly patriarchal and Cisneros often felt that becoming a feminist would make her people label her a 'malinche' i.e. someone contaminated by foreign influences. In The Family of Little Feet, sexual attractiveness is dangerous for women. When Esperanza and her friends wear heels for the first time, the men in the neighbourhood see them as sexual objects yet they are children.
Sickels, Amy. "Critical Reception of The House on Mango Street." (2010): 36-56. Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States: Salem Press.
The article is a chapter of the book Critical Insights: The House on Mango Street, and dwells on the responses of the main book. Focusing on this extract will be instrumental in this research. The authors concentrate on the development of multiculturalism and the honesty of the academia to debates regarding the literary canon. As per the authors of this article, it is still hard to predict the reception of Mango Street, but the steady popularity will give the book a crucial outlook within the modern American Literature. The various assertions provided in this article will be instrumental in comprehending the novel. Also, understanding the different styles used by the writer will only be possible via comprehending the various criticisms provided by other authors. In that regard, this article will is crucial in deriving and defining the structure used in the novel The House on Mango Street.
Nogar, A. (2012). Hamandeggs: Dual Translation in Elena Poniatoeska's La casa en Mango Street. London: Routledge.
The author explores the themes of poverty and the place of women in the Mexican society as described in The House on Mango Street by Maria Cisneros. The house that the narrator, Esperanza, lives in is crooked and ugly. Esperanza describes Alice as a student who studies late into the night so that she finds a good job in the future as opposed to becoming a house wife or working in the factories. She also says that most women in the society stay indoors because they husbands prohibit them from leaving the house or they are afraid to explore. Sexuality in the Mexican society is both positive and negative. Esperanza wears heels for the first time and realizes that sexual appeal is attractive. However, the neighbourhood boys view her with sexual desire even though she is an adolescent; the society teaches girls that they should celebrate their sexuality with caution due to the presence of sexual predators.
