Analysis Of The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

You live in a Latino section of Chicago, and you want to leave but you’re stuck. This is how Esperanza Cordero feels, “A red balloon tied to an anchor.”The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros are stories of her young life told in a series of vignettes. Esperanza is independent and wants to defy the social norms and expectations. Esperanza is trying to escape being married off, social order, and her sexuality. Many of Esperanza’s friends have been married off by their parents, or they got married to escape their abusive parents. Esperanza doesn’t want to go the same way and spend the rest of her life sitting by the window sill. Or like Sally who ran off and got married to a marshmallow salesman. Esperanza explains that “One day I will pack my bags of book and paper. One day I will say goodbye to mango.”(Cisneros, p.110) She is saying that she does not want to leave Mango Street through a marriage. She shows that she wants to leave of her own free will. Esperanza describes the life of her friend Minerva “Minerva is only a little bit older than me, but already she has 2 kids and a husband who left.”(Cisneros, p.84) This statement demonstrates that being married off at a young age is not that strange. Is also shows that having a bad husband was normal, something Esperanza
She has dreams of owning her own house, and make people believe that she will not be a poor woman forever. When Esperanza talks about the house on Mango Street, she talks about how “It’s not the house we thought we’d get.”(Cisneros, p. 3)This is important because it shows her awareness of being poor, and that she really wishes she was in a better position. Cisneros revealed “I had began my own war. Simple. Sure. I am one who leaves the table like a man.”(Cisneros, p. 89) This shows that Esperanza will go to great lengths to be recognized as an equal and not a lesser woman. She will try to become more powerful and recognized as a