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The House On Mango Street Gender Analysis

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The House On Mango Street Gender Analysis
Many little girls these days dream of the societal idea of “successful”. Having the perfect husband, a beautiful home, a great job, being a great mom, and a whole lot of money. These ideas are also called “gender roles”. The gender role of a woman has to fit many standards. In the novella, The House on Mango street, Esperanza becomes more aware her role as a woman in society as she encounters situations of the gender role of a woman.
At the beginning of the novel, Esperanza is just a curious, innocent 13 year old girl. Having other women in her neighborhood sharing their stories, she develops a curiosity for her future. “ I want to sit out bad at night, a boy around my neck and the wind under my skirt. Not this way, every evening talking
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Changed into someone who grew from her mistakes, learned from her experiences, and changed from influences around her. When Esperanza goes to a carnival with one of her friends, Sally, Esperanza encounters a very uncomfortable situation for her. “Sally, you lied. It wasn’t what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn’t want it, Sally. The way they said it, the way it’s supposed to be, all the storybooks and movies, why did you lie to me” (Cisneros 72)? If this situation never had happened, Esperanza wouldn’t grow and learn from this. She grows more aware of who she is as a woman. She obviously does not like the situation she is put in so she will understand what happened to her, use that and put that towards her future. Next, Esperanza used all of her stories and realized who she is as a woman. Who she wants to be, what she wants her life to be. Not anybody telling her how to live it. “Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody’s garbage to pick up after” (Cisneros 78). Esperanza doesn’t want somebody telling her what to do everyday, or cleaning up after someone besides herself, or a man’s house. Her own

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