House On Mango Street Themes

YOU MAY HAVE A HOUSE BUT NOT A HOME

In the novel The house on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros many themes are discussed but one major theme is a house but not a home, homelessness, which catches a reader’s attention. Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in the year of 1954. Sandra Cisneros is a brilliant writer. Her novel is read not only by adults but also by children. This novel is used in elementary school, middle school, high school and even Universities and all because of the Simplicity and complexity of its text. With her success with the novel The house on Mango Street, she has opened doors to her ethnicity group the Chicanos, she attracted the attention of many publishing houses who also saw her ethnic group as
When she was at her father’s house she didn’t find it to be home, her home. Finally she found the courage and told her dad she wanted to move out, that she has been taught that a writer needs quiet, privacy and long stretches of solitude to think (Cisneros xiii), just an excuse she told her dad in order to be more convincing about her moving out. The dad wasn’t as pleased but then both Sandra Cisneros and her dad found a solution, which was for her to move into the brother’s basement. After a time she didn’t feel comfortable being at her brother’s basement she states he was then acting like the Big Brother. Finally she got her own place, her dad didn’t approve of it either he just couldn’t understand why wouldn’t she just live in his house rather than living in an old building where no heater was provided. Sandra Cisneros was in search to find her identity not only as for herself but as a writer as well. It was like everywhere she went looking for the comfort of home she didn’t find it. She would escape from reality by writing. These are great examples of Sandra Cisneros having that feeling of homelessness. Her constant moving made her face many of her fears. She only kept thinking to herself was to remain strong because she didn’t want to go back, neither to her father’s house or brother’s house. Sandra Cisneros wanted her own house, a house she can call home and she can
As every Hispanic family the parents wanted to live the American dream, which was to be married have kids and own a house. As they moved from house to house Esperanza was confused about her identity due to her instability. Her parents always told her one day they will have a house, but when she finally got to Mango Street and saw their house she wasn’t happy. She knew it was theirs but she didn’t feel like it was home. A house can be anywhere it just needs to have four walls, and a rooftop, in the other hand home is where you feel comfort where you feel you belong. As she heard her parents stories she thought she was going to be moving into a dream house, that’s where she was disappointed. That’s when she said “I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn’t it.” (Cisneros 5) She knows for sure already she doesn’t want to live there. That’s where the sense of homelessness kicks