The House on Mango Street 285Cordero through her own eyes as she comes to
maturity in the slums of Chicago. She is the daugh-
ter of a Hispanic family during the 1960s and strug-
gles to find her own identity and place in the world.
Sandra Cisneros (b. 1954) uses a vignette style to
illustrate themes and to highlight Esperanza’s jour-
ney through childhood. The vignettes are made up
of conversations and poetry and are evocative of the
author’s memories of a similar childhood.
Cisneros shows the growing mind of a child as
she struggles between the world of a traditional His-
panic family and that of popular culture. Esperanza
learns early that the differences between men and
women are profound and will never be completely
understood, but she also determines that the tradi-
tional role of a Hispanic woman is of no interest to
her. She wants to write, and the encouragement she
receives makes all the difference as she steps away
from the role models of her family and friends.
While there are autobiographical elements to
this story, Esperanza is also a complete person in
her own right. She inspires readers to see beyond
the walls and expectations of their culture, their
family, and the assumptions of society to a level of
self-realization seldom achieved.
Elizabeth Malia
tHe american dream in The House on
Mango Street
The 20th-century American dream features particu-
lar elements, the most important being the ability to
own a home and acquire whatever material goods
you desire. In The House on Mango Street, Sandra
Cisneros grants that wish to the young protagonist,
Esperanza. Somehow (it is never explained now)
her father has managed to make and save enough
money to finance the purchase of a home for his
family. Moving to a house is a big change for the
family because they are moving away from a totally
Hispanic neighborhood to one that is undergoing a
cultural shift.
Esperanza is just a small girl when the move
begins. She has a dream of a particular house, with a
very one-dimensional look to it: “Our house would
be white with trees around it, a great big yard, and
grass growing without a fence.” Faced with economic
reality and probable prejudice on the part of realtors,
the family hurriedly moves into the house on Mango
Street, which was “[n]ot the house we’d thought we’d
get.” Esperanza had hoped to have a room to herself,
but “[e]verybody has to share a room.” Having a
house, even on Mango Street, is not the American
dream for Esperanza, but it is the beginning of her
own struggle to define what such a dream might
become and who she might be in that place.
The neighborhood surrounding the house on
Mango Street serves as an extension for Esperanza.
She has no yard to play in, so she must play on the
sidewalks and street with the neighborhood kids.
She hopes for her own “best friend” and right off
meets Cathy, the “queen of cats.” Cathy can be
her best friend, “but only until next Tuesday.” For
Cathy and her family, presumably white, are mov-
ing because “the neighborhood is getting bad.”
Esperanza knows that it is because “people like us
keep moving in.” The little girl who did not like the
house to begin with is now the girl all too aware that
the house is ugly. Now she also knows that there is
something about her family owning a house that is
bad.
As Esperanza matures, her desire for a different
house is still strong. She even goes to see a fortune
teller, Elenita, to determine whether that part of the
dream will come true, saying, “What about a house... because that’s what I came for.” Elenita says, “Ah,
yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart.”
This is a true prediction, but Esperanza is still too
young to grasp its wisdom.
Sally is one of Esperanza’s neighborhood
friends. Unlike the more naive Esperanza, Sally sits
at home all day, married before eighth grade to get
away from her mama. Esperanza is envious, think-
ing, “She has her husband and her house now, her
pillowcases and her plates.” Esperanza doubts that
Sally is any happier than Rafaela, though, because
Sally’s husband “won’t let her talk on the telephone.
And he doesn’t let her look out the window. And
he doesn’t like her friends, so nobody gets to visit
unless he is working.” Esperanza learns from this
situation that Sally has traded her freedom for
things, including a house.
Esperanza will not sit at home, afraid to go out-
side. She is learning that the American dream must
be different for her. She still wants a house, but does