The House on Mango Street
The house on Mango Street is a novel written in 1984 by a Mexican-American author identified as Sandra Cisneros. The book’s structure contains a series of vignettes depicting the story of a 12-year-old girl, Esperanza, with origins from Chicana living within the localities of Hispania, a section of Chicago (Biddle, 2019). Regarding Cisneros’s experience, the novel reflects Esperanza’s experience during her growth and development through her adolescent life and into maturity. The story portrays various elements based on the Mexican-American culture as well as specific themes concerning sexuality, race, gender, identity, and social class. The novel has received several critics since it depicts sensitive topics such as racism, sexual harassment, puberty, and domestic violence. Irrespective of the challenges, the novel is still considered a compelling coming-of-age story that acts as an inspiration for several youths. While the novel highlights various themes in the contemporary world, the discussion will illustrate the story’s factual elements regarding the culture time and context in which the story was written.
After the publication of the house on Mango Street, the novel received several positive reviews and copies more than two million were sold during that period. However, the novel has also received criticism from various individuals, especially from male Mexican-Americans who have presented their claims arguing that the novel betrayed the barrio (Elander, 2020). A barrio is a community consisting of Spanish-speaking residents. Writing a story about a character to leave the barrio is considered a violation of the Mexican tradition. Other people have criticized the novel since it encourages assimilation, thus, referring to Cisneros as a sell-out. With such critics, some people get blindfolded to see the negative characters of men in the Mexican-American culture who mistreat their wives. Cisneros supporters argue that the experiences of Mexican-American women vary profoundly as compared to those of men. Therefore, it is fair to have expectations of Cisenero disagreeing with those of men.
Generally, the novel majors on the challenges faced by women rose in the patriarchal society of Hispania. For instance, wealthy individuals do not value the poor, and they let crime overpower the neighborhood without doing anything. Surgeons do not bother showing up to take care of immigrants letting them die. Men do not value their wives and daughters; instead, they beat them, ruining their parental relationships (Taylor, 2018). The problems and conflicts within the novel are never resolved to depict the challenges women face in the contemporary world due to poverty. Cisneros reflects her life experiences through Esperanza, the narrator of the novel, examining the problems in Chicana considering the bi-cultural aspects of the Mexican-American society. Cisneros relates her childhood experience, considering how negatively her father and brothers treated her. The cultural sense of displacement is presented with the family’s regular shifting from Mexico to the United States. Cisneros faced such challenges since she was brought up from a poor background in Chicago.
Irrespective of the two assault cases experienced by Esperanza, the novel is not referred to as a sexual violation narrative. In The House on Mango tree, assault is a common aspect among young girls within the context; thus, it is not a shocking issue. Considering the assault, Esperanza would have a different perspective on men and sex, though it would not encourage her to quit the barrio (Gilb et al., 2018). Cisneros receives various critics from feminists since the novel does not criticize men in the story. The feminist claims that Cisneros does not condemn the boys who raped Esperanza; thus, undermining women’s voice. Based on Esperanza’s context, male violence is a typical aspect, and condemning the boys for rape would be a peculiar aspect. While Cisneros indicts her culture and men, she receives more criticism concerning the explicitly and anger she uses while writing the novel. Cisneros conveys a broad range of her abilities to critique her cultural values by condemning it.
The house on Mango Street is a typical narrative that demonstrates female tradition, where literary quality and culture are of value. Esperanza is seen as a considerate, sensitive, innocent, and loving child to others though she is extremely vulnerable. Esperanza’s language is quite peculiar though she seems to be excellent as she speaks the language of her comfort. As a young, optimistic poet, she expounds her mental capabilities with time until she becomes mature in the context of reality. Cisneros reflects her story in the timeframe of the novel relating her challenges to that of Esperanza, bringing the coming-of-age aspect to the readers( Elander, 2020). Despite the injustice occurring around Esperanza, she does not collapse in despair; instead, she has plans of getting out and sees herself owning a house of her dreams and vows to remember her origin and identity. Esperanza realizes that she has a significant role in the community, making her be determined to improve people’s lives in society.
A young girl narrates her story while growing in an imperfect society, though she also relates how poetry becomes her hotcake in the neighborhood. Esperanza’s family had just relocated to a poor locality in the Latino neighborhood known as Chicago, which appears to be Cisneros’s hometown. Esperanza is so disappointed regarding the house they had just moved in because it does not meet her expectations based on her lifetime dreams. The house is tiny and seems to be falling apart, and still, they have to share the same bedroom as a family. While interacting with residents in the neighborhood, it is evident that most people have complicated and stressful lives. Residents of Mango streets face the risks of crime apathy, poverty, and endless pandemics. Several families live in tiny houses, and single mothers experience a severe challenge of raising multiple children. The illustrations demonstrated in the novel describe the same environment under which the author was raised.
As Esperanza enters adolescence, she realizes that she has the responsibilities of an adult. She has to get a job to aid in paying her schooling fees in high school. While Esperanza develops into womanhood, the desire to have freedom, being independent, and her interest in knowing about sex and boys escalate. As Esperanza grows, she becomes aware that all women in Mango Street faced the challenge of mistreatment from men. Esperanza has to accept reality since all her neighbors and female friends lack freedom of movement and experience physical abuse. As Esperanza seeks to acquire more experience in sex life, she accompanies her friend to a hook up at a carnival. In the process, some boys accost her, and in the end, one guy seems to rape Esperanza.
Sally, one of Esperanza’s friends, is subjected to frequent abuse by her dad and decides to get married at a tender age to alleviate the beatings. In the long run, she ends up living in an imprisoned life. On the other hand, Esperanza is optimistic about getting freedom. During a funeral occasion, she comes across three elderly sisters who intervene about her desire to leave Mango Street (Biddle, 2019). They assure her that she will accomplish her wishes though she had to promise to return to the community.
Meanwhile, Alicia, Esperanza’s friend, helps her to foresee her responsibilities in the community. Alicia explains the narrator’s significance in society was to help people realize who they are, and her absence would cost the city a lot. After all, if Esperanza didn’t offer a helping hand, then nobody else would have resolved the situation. Esperanza decides to chase her dreams of quitting the barrio to have an independent life and pursue her writing career. However, she has to admit never to forget her identity and originality. She is determined to return to the community at one point in life to assist people in her town
Cisneros demonstrates themes in the novel such as the home, gender, identity, society and class, domestic and sexual abuse, and belonging, among others. Esperanza’s desire to escape her neighborhood to attain freedom has no relations with poverty. The narrator tries to escape the harsh gender roles that seem to be strict and oppressive in her cultural context. In Mango Street, men are dominant over their wives, and they keep beating their daughters and wives, illustrating the inferior aspect of the female gender. Being a woman, according to the novel’s culture, is enough to cause abuse. From Esperanza’s rape case to Sally’s oppression are evidence that disvalues the female gender. Despite the poor relationship between men and women, the novel does not meet the audiences’ expectations. Therefore various individuals perceive the house on Mango Street to be violating the roles of gender in society.
The house on Mango Street uniquely presents society and class. Esperanza does not claim that they are poor; instead, class and poverty are depicted when residents of Mango Streets admire the beautiful and well-kept vicinity of the neighboring apartments. On the contrary, they struggle to live in their tiny apartments, and even the mayor could not intervene in solving their problems. The home plays a significant role in the novel. The perception of houses and homes are critical in Mango Street as it symbolizes allegory and imagery in the context (Ariyanti, 2016). The main challenge experienced by Esperanza is overcoming her fears of experience and isolation and creating a sense of belonging to a home. Esperanza develops a feeling that a home is the most significant part of her life, making her feel proud and creating a vision of owning a home of her dreams in the future.
Identity is well portrayed in the novel when Esperanza seeks her real status and self-esteem while trying to fit in. Esperanza struggles with recollecting herself within Mango Street’s environment as the place appears not to be of her main interest. The main character realizes that she can tell stories, which is the only aspect that defines her. Through her writings, she could reconcile herself and create a favourable background to make her feel comfortable (Udumukwu, 2016). The novel portrays an array of domestic and sexual abuse depicting the plea of women in the Chicano community. On several occasions, women face brutal beatings from men, and at some point, they would be confined in their houses, indicating domestic violence. Esperanza’s sexual harassment and rape depict sexual abuse, and several women also experienced the same challenges. Sally faces brutal beatings from her father after attempts to control her sexually. As a result, she opts to seek refuge through marriage, hoping for the best only to realize that she had gone to a worse situation under the hands of another man.
Conclusively, the novel is a typical example of a story that conveys various aspects of life, as seen in different societies. Cisneros explains her childhood development through Esperanza, who relates her challenges to inspire women on their rights and point to the ills of the community. Despite Esperanza’s problems, she is determined to achieve her goals, a clear indication of not giving up irrespective of the situation. Due to their poverty condition, Esperanza is motivated to strive at owning her dream house. With such implication, the narrator inspires women living in unfavourable conditions that they have the potential of achieving their dreams regardless of the time place or culture where they live.
Reference
Ariyanti, A. (2016). Moral Values Reflected in “The House on Mango Street” Novel Written by Sandra Cisneros. EFL JOURNAL, 1(1), 25-48.
Biddle, R. (2019). A Conceptual Framework for Identity, Metaphor, and Theme in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. 62(2), 83-95.
Elander, M. (2020). The Representation of Space in The House on Mango Street: A literary analysis with pedagogical implications for upper secondary students.
Gilb, D., Valdez, L., Steiner, S., & Garcia, C. (2016). Mexican American Literature: A Portable Anthology. R. A. Gilb (Ed.). Bedford/St Martin’s, Macmillan Learning.
Taylor, B. E. (2018). “The Only Way Out Is In”: Negotiating Identity through Narrative in The House on Mango Street and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal, 2(1), 5.
Udumukwu, O. (2016). 10. From Wonder to Resonance: Space, Identity, and Feminism in Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street. Compass-Comparative Literature in Africa, 4, 253.