Juxtaposition In The House On Mango Street

Esperanza is the main character of the book, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza is a latina girl growing up in Chicago, and moving from place to place until her family gets to Mango Street. Esperanza has conflicting ideas about Mango Street being a home to her, but she claims that it is not. Esperanza is a childish, teenager that remains a childlike throughout the novel.
Esperanza has a difficult time trying to fit in with other people. Often times, other children will have different views of the world or do things differently than Esperanza in the book. “But Nenny says she doesn’t want to eat at school - ever - because she likes to go home with her best friend Gloria”(Cisneros 44). It is normal in her school to go home
We know that Esperanza is at least 12 or 13 at the end of the book because they talk about her friend getting married in the seventh grade, however she acts much more like a seven or eight year old at this age. “Who was it that said I was getting too old to play the games? Who was it I didn’t listen to? I only remember that when the others ran, I wanted to run too, up and down and through the monkey garden, fast as the boys”(Cisneros 96). This passage points out that she is still playing with the little kids and participating in their childish games. Later in this chapter, The Monkey Garden, Esperanza also freaks out when some boys messing around with Sally go into the parking lot to kiss each other, and she tries to tell the boys mom about it, because she thinks it’s wrong. Also like a child, she does not understand many
She does not recognize crimes, even when done to 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 )? She does not realize in this instance that she is being raped, or that it is even a crime. She thought that it was normal for that to happen. This is not the only time that she does not recognize a crime. In the chapter, Louie, his Cousin, and his Other Cousin, when the police catch Louie’s cousin that stole the car, she did not realize that Louie’s cousin stole the car, or even did anything wrong. Crime is not the only thing happening around her that she doesn’t understand however. She also does not realize that her sister, Nenny a close friend to her. Esperanza claims in Boys and Girls that Nenny is not her friend because she is too young. However, Esperanza mainly plays with Rachel, Lucy, and Nenny. Since Rachel and Lucy are both Esperanza’s and Nenny’s friends, and they all play together, not separately, Esperanza and Nenny must be friends. These are some of the reasons why I find Esperanza to be naive. Esperanza acts like a child, and does not understand how other people live.
She doesn’t understand crime. She does not realize that Nenny is her friend. Esperanza does not fully fit in with most people, and she is very childish. Esperanza