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House On Mango Street Adulthood Analysis

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House On Mango Street Adulthood Analysis
In House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a young Latina girl named Esperanza Cordero, grows up in Chicago while going through a series of events throughout her transition from childhood to adulthood. Esperanza, excited to grow up and have the boys watch her dance, develops hips and soon endures sexual assault and other encounters that are the worst parts of growing up. As her future gets told, she is still optimistic of what lies ahead. As Esperanza begins her transition from childhood to adulthood, she goes through adolescence and her hips begin to form. In the chapter “Hips” Esperanza, Nenny, Rachel, and Lucy, while jump roping together, talk about the changes when growing up. Esperanza scientifically discusses hips growing, while Rachel …show more content…
“Red Clowns” begins with Esperanza going to a carnival with Sally, her friend who often wants to be independent and does not want others’ attention. She also dislikes other people depending on her. Soon Sally disappears with a boy, while Esperanza patiently waits by the red clowns. Once alone, Esperanza felt extremely vulnerable and boys by the red clowns statues attack her. One boy forced her to kiss him as he yelled out “I love you, Spanish girl”. Esperanza clearly did not want them to attack her like they did. Cinceros states, "I couldn't make them go away. I couldn't do anything but cry. I don't remember. Please don't make me tell it all" (p.100). Esperanza blames Sally and other women in her life for not telling her about the hard parts about growing up. She is upset about what happened with the men and how they took advantage of her. As Esperanza is taken away by the clowns her innocence of childhood gone. She begins to really grow and understand how following the wrong people like Sally, can be very dangerous. We realize this by noticing Sally’s lifestyle and how it affects the way she acts around other people. Throughout the chapter, repetition is an important literary device. Cisneros uses the words liar, lied, and lie to show how Esperanza repeatedly was rethinking her past and future. She was hoping, what books and magazines tell her about growing

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