Summary Of The House On Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
Plot:
Esperanza was happy to live in a house of her own, but it wasn’t at all she expected it to be. She wanted to leave the house on Mango Street immediately.
Esperanza makes one new friend, Cathy. Cathy is only Esperanza's friend until next Tuesday, by then Cathy will move since the neighborhood is too awful.
After Cathy leaves, Esperanza makes two new friends Rachel and Lucy, who are sisters. Throughout the story, it shows how Rachel and Lucy’s friendship grows with Esperanza and her younger sister, Nenny. They all go on small trips together. However, Esperanza later on befriends them and makes a new mature friend, Sally.
Sally is very beautiful and every guy talks about her. Since her father doesn’t want her to get involved too much with men, he beats her up. Sally tells Esperanza about the pain her father causes her. …show more content…
As Esperanza comes to a difficult decision to leave the house on Mango Street she decides to stay for all the women that need her help there.
Characters:
Esperanza - Esperanza is the protagonist in the novel. She is a Mexican-American girl who is 12 years old. She goes through many conflicts throughout the novel, but by the end, she finds her way back to Mango Street.
Nenny - Nenny is Esperanza's younger sister. Throughout the novel, Nenny and Esperanza grow distant.
Rachel and Lucy - Rachel and Lucy are sisters, who are Mexican-American. They both become best friends with Esperanza and Nenny. Their characteristics are more similar to Esperanza.
Sally - Sally is the foil to Esperanza. She wants to experience adulthood and wants to grow up quicker, but misses the key characteristic of an adult, which is being mature.
Themes:
Friendship: Throughout the novel, Esperanza’s friendships shape her character. When she was friends with Rachel and Lucy she acts as a kid and acts her age. Later, when she meets Sally, she changes herself, not because she wants to but because of peer pressure and society’s wants/needs.
Gender: Gender roles are strictly shown in Esperanza's community. The men treat their wives and daughters harshly, to keep them in control. For example, Sally gets abused by her father when he catches her speaking or glancing at men.
Symbols:
Bike: When Esperanza meets Rachel and Lucy, they offer to take turns riding the bike, which begins a new friendship. The bike symbolizes their friendship and is what brought them all closer together.
The House: The house is a symbol of Esperanza's journey throughout the novel as she grows and changes. Although Esperanza has moved many times she comes back to the house on Mango Street because it is the one place she can call home.
Quotations:
“I want to be like the waves on the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but I'm me. One day I'll jump Out of my skin. I'll shake the sky like a hundred violins. “ - Esperanza wrote this poem to express how her life is right now and how she wants it to be some day. At this moment Esperanza wants to be free, yet some time or another she’ll burst into who she is meant to be.
Plot:
Esperanza was happy to live in a house of her own, but it wasn’t at all she expected it to be. She wanted to leave the house on Mango Street immediately.
Esperanza makes one new friend, Cathy. Cathy is only Esperanza's friend until next Tuesday, by then Cathy will move since the neighborhood is too awful.
After Cathy leaves, Esperanza makes two new friends Rachel and Lucy, who are sisters. Throughout the story, it shows how Rachel and Lucy’s friendship grows with Esperanza and her younger sister, Nenny. They all go on small trips together. However, Esperanza later on befriends them and makes a new mature friend, Sally.
Sally is very beautiful and every guy talks about her. Since her father doesn’t want her to get involved too much with men, he beats her up. Sally tells Esperanza about the pain her father causes her. …show more content…
As Esperanza comes to a difficult decision to leave the house on Mango Street she decides to stay for all the women that need her help there.
Characters:
Esperanza - Esperanza is the protagonist in the novel. She is a Mexican-American girl who is 12 years old. She goes through many conflicts throughout the novel, but by the end, she finds her way back to Mango Street.
Nenny - Nenny is Esperanza's younger sister. Throughout the novel, Nenny and Esperanza grow distant.
Rachel and Lucy - Rachel and Lucy are sisters, who are Mexican-American. They both become best friends with Esperanza and Nenny. Their characteristics are more similar to Esperanza.
Sally - Sally is the foil to Esperanza. She wants to experience adulthood and wants to grow up quicker, but misses the key characteristic of an adult, which is being mature.
Themes:
Friendship: Throughout the novel, Esperanza’s friendships shape her character. When she was friends with Rachel and Lucy she acts as a kid and acts her age. Later, when she meets Sally, she changes herself, not because she wants to but because of peer pressure and society’s wants/needs.
Gender: Gender roles are strictly shown in Esperanza's community. The men treat their wives and daughters harshly, to keep them in control. For example, Sally gets abused by her father when he catches her speaking or glancing at men.
Symbols:
Bike: When Esperanza meets Rachel and Lucy, they offer to take turns riding the bike, which begins a new friendship. The bike symbolizes their friendship and is what brought them all closer together.
The House: The house is a symbol of Esperanza's journey throughout the novel as she grows and changes. Although Esperanza has moved many times she comes back to the house on Mango Street because it is the one place she can call home.
Quotations:
“I want to be like the waves on the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but I'm me. One day I'll jump Out of my skin. I'll shake the sky like a hundred violins. “ - Esperanza wrote this poem to express how her life is right now and how she wants it to be some day. At this moment Esperanza wants to be free, yet some time or another she’ll burst into who she is meant to be.