Saturday, April 16, 2011
Mango Street Post: Due Monday at 7:00
If Mango Street is a novel, and the protagonist is Esperanza. Given what Esperanza heard from the nun about her original dwelling, what she sees happening to the women around her throughout her childhood, and her desire to get out of the barrio or neighborhood, followed by her success at doing so, we can conclude that she is prejudiced against the men of her own culture and the oppression they impose upon the women and that she carries some overall shame about aspects of her Mango Street past along with some pleasant memories. It does feel like the burden of shame is heavier, however, by comparison. Therefore, my question, to all of you is: What is the central insight of this novel? What is Cisneros trying to teach her reader by having written it? Please explain. I look forward to hearing your viewpoints, and some justification/support for your ideas please.
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I believe that Esperanza is trying to show her readers that it is okay to be ashamed of our pasts, and where we came from, but it is not okay to forget our pasts or forget the people that made us who we are. When Sandro Cisneros dedicated her book to the women, she dedicated it to the women who could not get out of Mango Street. These women were afraid to make their own choices in life. Esperanza observed the decisions of other women and used their decisions to help her choose her path in life. As a child, Esperanza was ashamed of her home and where she lived, but that is what made her who she is today. I believe her past experiences are what make her so special and unique. Just because we are ashamed of something in our past does not mean that we cannot better ourselves from it. I am sure that Esperanza would never judge others because of materialistic things, especially after being judged by a nun in her story. She knows how it feels to be judged and ashamed, but that made her stronger and smarter. Because of that experience she taught herself to be a better person, and through her stories, she is teaching her readers to be better than that. I believe “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes” is a great story to sum up The House on Mango Street. Mango Street may not be Esperanza’s home anymore, but it shaped her into the person she is today. Esperanza explains, “We did not always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong” (Cisneros 109-110). Even though Esperanza was ashamed and embarrassed of her home, it was her shelter for many years of her life, and it caused her to meet many important people in her life. She met women whose stories encouraged her to write a book, and to educate others. Her book helps people get through problems, and her stories are relevant to many people’s lives, and that is something to be proud of. Even though Esperanza was ashamed of her home and where she came from, she can be proud of the way she used her past experiences in life; she used those negative experiences to better the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Cisneros is trying to tell her readers that despite our past, and despite the fact that we cannot change it, our childhood environment and the experiences of it are what shape our identity today. Without that house on Mango Street, without Lucy and Rachel and the Nun who ridiculed and judged her, Esperanza would never have gained the courage and strength to leave- sometimes all it takes is a little push from the outside to make us realize how we have the ability to change the world around us. I think it is also important to note that while there are things that have happened to us that we may regret or want to forget (ie: the chapter Red Clowns where Esperanza is alluded to being sexually molested) we can still turn out okay in adulthood.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most powerful lines, I feel, in the entire book that I think sums up Cisneros central idea is found in the last poem on page 110. The second to last line there states that “they will not know I have gone away to come back”- this makes me think that Esperanza someday plans to return to Mango Street older, wiser, and strong enough to educate the women still there and inspire them to follow in her footsteps. Despite going through the whole book with this idea that once she leaves she would never return, Esperanza finally admits that she is tied to her past and her growing up on Mango Street that no matter how far she goes she will never truly able to leave it behind. And in a way she is ok with that because it has made her the freest woman in the entire novel.
I feel that Cisneros is trying to teach us that all women have the right to be free, and to never subject ourselves or make ourselves captive of anybody else but ourselves. Like Esperanza's mother who never took the opportunity to go to follow her dreams or Marin who is always waiting for somebody to come and make her dreams come true for her, only you individually have the power to create. I think Cisneros is also trying to say that as women we should be proud of who we are. In the poem Hips, the girls talk about their developing bodies and how hips are good for attracting men and distinguishing between the sexes. No matter what we look like we should be proud of our features and our hips. They distinguish women as a definitive woman, a being that exists and grows and matures. Hips are powerful in that we (women) own them. We should be proud of such features that make us unique.
After reading The House on Mango Street, I get the sense that Cisneros wrote this novel not only to teach young women to respect themselves, but also as a form of therapy for young girls and women. Cisneros wrote deeply and passionately about the women in her novel and depicts them at their most vulnerable points. There are many women and young girls in this novel that are struggling with being inferior to men, as well as searching for their true self, so The House on Mango Street serves as an outlet for many different females to see themselves in these character, and hopefully by seeing similarities in themselves and in these characters they can learn something and save themselves from abuse and make a better life for themselves. Cisneros created a safe haven for many battered, degraded women by writing The House on Mango Street. I think Cisneros' insight of this book is for it to serve as tool for young women and older women to find themselves and find a positive light and self respect in themselves. In other words she wants her readers to know that they have a say in what happens in their lives. They don't have to stay in horrible situation, they were given life and they can change it. No one should be held captive in a house like the character, Rafaela. Esperanza’s mother is another example of woman, who regrets not living her life to the fullest, her mother realized as she grew older that she could have made something great of herself, although Esperanza’s mother wasn’t held captive in a room like Rafaela. Esperanza’s mother wasn’t able to live an exciting life, like she wished she could have. Also, Cisneros teaches her readers that our past makes us not breaks us, in other words hiding a traumatizing past is not the answer. We need to accept what happened to us and where we came from, because it makes us who we are. If someone comes from a terrible neighborhood it doesn’t mean that they have to live a terrible life, they could grow from those hardships and make the best out of our lives. Overall, Cisneros is hoping that we take something postive away from this novel, and accept our past even if it was bad. Also to use our past to fuel us forward into a brighter future, and to have self respect, especially as a woman.
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ReplyDeleteThe central insight of this novel is that your past experiences make you the person you are. Although many of us endure hardships, if we were able to somehow go back and change our past it would change who we are today. Cisneros is trying to teach her readers that her hardships have made her a stronger person. In many of the chapters in which Esperanza deals with a bad experience, there are chapters that follow which show her growth as a person. Through Esperanza, Cisneros was able to illustrate the lessons that she learned and how she applied these lessons to her life.
ReplyDeleteIt is evident that she is angry about the oppression the men in her culture force upon the women. In the chapter titled My Name she writes “She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse- which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female- but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don’t like their women strong” (10). Because Esperanza was aware that women in her culture were supposed to be quiet and submissive she strives to be an independent writer. It is possible that this dream of hers may not have been as important to her if she had not been brought up in a culture in which women were oppressed. In the chapter Marin she talks about a girl who “Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life” (27). Esperanza sees how wasteful this is, and instead of waiting for a man to come take her away in order to start her life she takes action. She becomes someone important by herself.
In the chapter The House on Mango Street she describes a conversation she had with a nun about the house she lived in.
“Where do you live? She asked. There, I said pointing up to the third floor. You live there? There. I had to look to where she pointed-the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded.” (5)
The way she was made to feel like she was “nothing” made an impact on how she treated other people. An example of how this conversation, although hurtful, changed her as a person is in the chapter Our Good Day. A girl Cathy warned her about two other girls from her neighborhood by saying “Don’t talk to them, says Cathy. Can’t you see they smell like a broom” (14). She responds “But I like them” (14). Esperanza defines a person on who they are, rather than what they have or what they look like. She does not make the two girls feel as though they are nothing, much like what the nun did to her. She gives them a chance and ends up having fun. In the chapter Bums in the Attic she uses the lesson she learned in her conversation with the nun and says
“One day I will own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from. Passing bums will ask, Can I come in? I’ll offer them the attic, ask them to stay, because I know how it is to be without a house. Some day after dinner, guests and I will sit in front of a fire. Floorboards will squeak upstairs. The attic grumble. Rats? They’ll ask. Bums, I’ll say, and I’ll be happy” (87).
This last passage clearly shows the insight of this novel. Do not forget who you are or where you came from because those things are responsible for making you the person you are today.
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ReplyDeleteThe central insight of this novel is that women can conquer anything. Woman who are abused and neglected overcome those hardships eventually if they just stay strong. Esperanza saw everyday the struggles of woman who lived around her while living in the house on Mango Street. She learns a lot while living here which urges her to want to come back after she moves out to help the woman in need who still live there. She learns a lot with her own experiences as well. I think an experience that has helped her develop her identity was from the chapter “The First Job” when on the first day she is working at a photo shop the man who eats lunch with Esperanza kisses her over her control . I feel as if she didn’t realize until after she moved away from that area as to how that has impacted her. She doesn’t realize what a big deal it was until after. It probably was traumatizing to her at the moment it happened but when she looks back at it it probably looked a lot worse as she had matured and understood better as to what woman abuse is from the experiences her woman friends have around her. This develops her character because she was able to endure this occurrence and doesn’t realize until the end that she really was strong to have had gone through with that.
ReplyDeleteCisneros is trying to teach her readers by having written this book is by life experiences that someone endures it can form your identity. Esperanza without knowing it formed her identity while living in that house. She matured and didn’t realize it until she moved out and was living on her own that her experiences have matured her on its own. From an outside point of view analyzing what she had gone through while living in the house on Mango Street, she sees how strong a person she has become because of what she had to experience.
After reading Mango Street, I feel that the central insight is to tell readers where you live is who you are despite how you feel about your home. Home is what you make it and I believe Cisneros is trying to force this theme throughout Mango Street. No matter what outcome and occurrences you have in life there is always going to have a history in that particular house you lived in. Throughout Mango Street, women are introduced with many struggles and learn to deal with them in different ways. Esperanza learns how to be s strong women in her neighborhood because of the women around her. Many women on Mango Street struggle with life in different ways as well as Esperanza. In the chapter “A Smart Cookie” Esperanza learns that her mother has many great qualities and could do many things but didn’t have the chance to do them because she didn’t want to go to school because she didn’t have nice clothes. Esperanza mother informs Esperanza to go to school and be somebody because she never had the chance and is disgusted by the choice that she made. Esperanza learns through her mother, the regrets and personal struggle that she went through by not going to school. Esperanza learns that even her mother has regrets about quitting school and this shows that despite your downfall in life you can always move forward in the end but will always remember the choices and decisions you make in the past.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Cisneros is trying to teach readers to embrace life and learn from where you come from because where you live is who you are as an individual and you cannot change your past even though you are moving on to a better lifestyle. Your past will stay with you and are lessons in the long run as Cisneros reveals in Mango Street. Cisneros wants to show that all women can make it through life even with dealing with struggles and hardships. Cisneros wants to show readers that living in an environment where you aren’t satisfied living, has its ups and downs, but you learn to deal with the negatives and turn them into positives by accepting the fact that this is where you live and find new and exciting activities that will change your negativity about your home. I think Cisneros wanted to prove to readers that you can learn from your past which can make a woman stronger in life and Cisneros succeed this task in Mango Street.
Dr. Pruss - Once again, my post refuses to stay up so I'll email you a copy!
ReplyDeleteBy having wrote “The House on Mango Street,” I believe that Sandra Cisneros is attempting to teach her readers that hope and a belief in yourself can take you farther than you could ever imagine. Looking at Cisneros’s “The House on Mango Street,” as a novel, with Esperanza as the protagonist, I interpreted many of the vignettes as inspirational stories of one young woman’s childhood experiences, full of hope – hope in a better future for herself, hope in the people that she loves, and hope in an overall better quality of life. According to Merriam-Webster Online, the name “Esperanza” actually means hope, expectation. Throughout the stories, Esperanza makes it clear that even though she has some shame about her past memories from Mango Street, it is not her intention to erase the unhappiness from her childhood but rather shed light on the hardships that have made her who she is.
In the section of the book titled, “Bums in the Attic,” Cisneros writes, “One day I will own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from.” (87) In my opinion, this passage demonstrates that hope had lingered within Esperanza even as a child, when she had nothing. She does not allow her past to decide her future. She realizes, as a child, that she wants something more from life and is determined to make her hopes for a better future into a reality. Also in the section of the book, “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes,” Esperanza makes an insightful statement, “I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoes take.” (109) Although Esperanza emphasizes the fact that she refuses to become a victim of her surroundings, she also acknowledges the struggles of the other women in her childhood who were not as strong as she and consequently pays tribute to those individuals in her past by dedicating her book to the women, “A las Mujeres.”
(continued)
ReplyDeleteFrom the very beginning of the book when the nun criticizes Esperanza’s childhood home, to the final section of the work when she profoundly states, “I have gone away to come back,” there is a hopefulness radiating through Esperanza. As we discussed in class, “The House on Mango Street” is a book that can be read and interpreted by people of many different ages and levels of reading; however, I feel that the one insight that would remain consistent despite the reader is the idea that it is not where we have been or what we have done that should define who we are in present day. By sharing her stories and experiences with the reader she is reaching out her hand and providing individuals with hope of turning a negative into a positive and serving as a source of inspiration for people to realize that a dream doesn’t have to remain a “dream” forever.
(Used information from http://www.merriam-webster.com/spanish/esperanza)
Nicole Chalk -- Don't know why it's posting as "Nicki" this time!
By having wrote “The House on Mango Street,” I believe that Sandra Cisneros is attempting to teach her readers that hope and a belief in yourself can take you farther than you could ever imagine. Looking at Cisneros’s “The House on Mango Street,” as a novel, with Esperanza as the protagonist, I interpreted many of the vignettes as inspirational stories of one young woman’s childhood experiences, full of hope – hope in a better future for herself, hope in the people that she loves, and hope in an overall better quality of life. According to Merriam-Webster Online, the name “Esperanza” actually means hope, expectation. Throughout the stories, Esperanza makes it clear that even though she has some shame about her past memories from Mango Street, it is not her intention to erase the unhappiness from her childhood but rather shed light on the hardships that have made her who she is.
ReplyDeleteIn the section of the book titled, “Bums in the Attic,” Cisneros writes, “One day I will own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from.” (87) In my opinion, this passage demonstrates that hope had lingered within Esperanza even as a child, when she had nothing. She does not allow her past to decide her future. She realizes, as a child, that she wants something more from life and is determined to make her hopes for a better future into a reality. Also in the section of the book, “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes,” Esperanza makes an insightful statement, “I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoes take.” (109) Although Esperanza emphasizes the fact that she refuses to become a victim of her surroundings, she also acknowledges the struggles of the other women in her childhood who were not as strong as she and consequently pays tribute to those individuals in her past by dedicating her book to the women, “A las Mujeres.”
From the very beginning of the book when the nun criticizes Esperanza’s childhood home, to the final section of the work when she profoundly states, “I have gone away to come back,” there is a hopefulness radiating through Esperanza. As we discussed in class, “The House on Mango Street” is a book that can be read and interpreted by people of many different ages and levels of reading; however, I feel that the one insight that would remain consistent despite the reader is the idea that it is not where we have been or what we have done that should define who we are in present day. By sharing her stories and experiences with the reader she is reaching out her hand and providing individuals with hope of turning a negative into a positive and serving as a source of inspiration for people to realize that a dream doesn’t have to remain a “dream” forever.
(Used information from http://www.merriam-webster.com/spanish/esperanza)
I believe the central insight of this novel is expressed through accounts that could happen to any individual and how it may have an effect on their life. This book instills hope and a drive to carry on even when the future may seem so distant. Esperanza must go through constantly moving through ghetto's in the city. The author used Chicago because she was familiarized with her own town, but she makes it clear through diversity that the location does not matter.You can relate to the accounts that happen in her life, because they are real issues then and today. More generally she was describing a time when not only was our Chicago was changing but so was the country. This shift in American society had a large impact on huge amount of the lower classes. The book was really relevant to me and the fact that it's through a young girls eyes' makes it a very powerful piece. I would hope that this book instill's an individual to never segregate anyone. Cisneros specifically points out the cruelly objectified and abused women of American society. I think everyone can take something and learn from this book. Whether you want to relate an experience of someone you know, yourself, or it gives you incentive to never be in that dangerous of financially disarray, this book can make people of any race or status can benefit from the authors strong thought processes, inspiring diction, good overall morals.
ReplyDeleteThrough writing House on Mango Street I think Cisneros is trying to get multiple ideas across to the readers. First I think she is trying to reach children who are living the same way and witnessing many of the same things she had as a child on Mango Street showing them there is more to life and hoping to inspire them. Through her writing it seems as if she wants them all to know that it’s ok to be a little bit ashamed but at the same time their childhood experiences contribute to who they become. The idea that while ones neighborhood contributes a great deal to one’s ideas a views it does not mean that someone is trapped in one neighborhood forever, if the desire is strong enough anyone can achieve their goal. They do not have to have a future like so many of the people in her stories especially the women she shows that if they stand up for themselves, what they believe in and what they want they too will see all that life has to offer. I also think the way this was written she wanted to show people such as the nun and others who look down on the less fortunate how it feels. Through writing this instead of just expressing to those who inflict this type of shame or oppression upon another she is uniquely able to show them how it feels by indirectly shaming them for shaming others. By the way Esperanza internalizes what the nun says to her about her home I hope that anyone reading that part who had done something like that to another person in that moment felt sham for doing so, because something like that has a greater affect on children then most think. I think that this novel was a very creative way of giving hope to those who need it as well as humbling those who need it.
ReplyDeleteI think the author is showing Esperanza’s main thought and point in this whole story to see that it is ok to be ashamed of one’s past. From the beginning of the story Esperanza not only complained about where she lived but who she was and what her name stood for. She didn’t want to be who she was, where she lived, and who she knew to begin with. The whole book she criticizes herself and the people around. I feel like she always needed to compare and contrast. In the chapter “hairs” she states that her hair doesn’t do what she wants it to do then goes on to talk about the fact that she loves her mother’s hair and how it’s beautiful. She dislikes her name, and where it comes from but she states that she rather have a name like Zeze the X. With these two examples alone just within the opening of the book the reader is able to see that she is not at all comfortable with herself and her features. How the book goes on and how it ends is how the author wanted the reader to view this story. Esperanza grows and matures tremendously. I personally believe that with the things happening to her such as the death of her grandfather and the assault by the boys they were both along with her other experiences mile stones that helped her grow up. She notices that it is ok to not be content with the circumstances that you are faced with but it is ultimately how you handle the situation and decide to grow and change them. The author is trying to teach the reader a story of a young girl who does not believe she belongs where she is and the story of how she got out or tried to get out. A major factor of the book to me was how Esperanza goes from claiming that once she leaves Mango Street she is never going to return. To growing and maturing to saying that she will have left only to come back for the people who couldn’t get out on their own. I really enjoy reading this book.
ReplyDeleteI think that the central insight in Esperanza's novel " The House on Mango Street" is dont be ashamed of where you came from because that is who you are. In the beginning of the novel, Esperanza is ashamed of her house on Mango Street, and she is struggeling with finding herself as an individual. Throughout the novel, Maxine is observing the other women in her neighborhood. I think that this is a way of Experanza trying to find what the future holds for her self and her identity. I also think Experanza is trying to tell her readers to appreciate what you have in life because you dont know when it is all going to get taken away until you have nothing. Finally, Esperanza realizes that she does not need to "set herself apart" from Mango street and learns to accept the place where she grew up. Esperanza dreams of having her own house with a white picket fence, the typical American dream house. Esperanza wanted to be apart from Mango street because she was so ashamed of it. As i mentioned before, Esperanza learns to love herself for who she is and hopes that she will be able to come back and help others just like her.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Cisneros is trying to teach her readers that we cannot run away from our past or who we are. Esperanza may not want to be from Mango street, however it is because of her experiences living on Mango street that made her strive to make something of herself. All of her experiences drive her to want a better life, so it is because of Mango street that she knows right from wrong, and knows that she needs to work and make something of herself to get out of this lifestyle. The book also teaches readers to help. At the end, Esperanza is told that she will come back for the others. I believe this is implying that we need to help out those less fortunate, and never forget that there are people out there suffering who need help.
ReplyDeleteCisneros is carrying her point across through each of the stories. As she is the main witness to each of these events, she is able to clearly see the outcome and the points that each story holds. She learns from each of the stories - they each hold individual lessons. By rewriting and sharing these stories she gains a deeper insight into the motivations, circumstances or characters of all of those she meets in her stories. The knowledge she gains from those around her helps her craft herself into becoming a person she wants to be. She sees how those around her are imprisoned by their circumstances, becoming slaves to their statuses or shortcomings, and she knows she is too strong to let herself become them.
ReplyDeleteBy rewriting their story, she turns her knowledge into a cemented form of wisdom. She memorializes her experiences from Mango Street, and gives them a permanent place in not only society, but within herself. She shows her eternal respects for those who, essentially, helped her become what she is, and understand what she did not want to become.
Cisneros understands that people cannot forget who they are and where they come from - as this sometimes crafts people into becoming better. However, the reader is encouraged to respect those who had to make mistakes to help others understand what not to do in life. She is paying homage to the home that forged her into what she is now, and like the story about houses on hills explains, she will forever remember where she came from and be proud of it.
I think that the last chapter of Mango Street shows what the book is driving towards. She says that she knows she will leave Mango Street eventually but she says, “They will not know that I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.” I think that even though this book is fictional, the people she describes are based on real people, and by writing about them, she’s giving them a face. She’s making it so that anyone that reads her book and is in one of the situations portrayed can have hope of a getting out, and also can realize that they aren’t alone. She’s also humanizing them to her readers who may have thought of themselves as different or better.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason she concentrates on stories of women is because of the fact that she thinks that their stories are rarely ever told. There are women everywhere who lead lives that are very similar to the ones in the book and their hardships are ignored.
We are way past time on this blog! Goodnight.
ReplyDeleteI think that the other is trying to show her readers that you cannot blame everybody for what you expereince growing up. just like how you shouldn't stereotype a group of people or genders together. I know that everyone has their pasts and its hard to just let go. As far as Esperanza being the protagonast, I agree and she obviously has some problems that she needs help with because she cannot seem to separate the good from the bad. Sometimes you just need to let go of all the bad things in your life and think about the good. In the end it might just make you a happier person.
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