Social Issues in The House on Mango Street Essay - 986 Words

The House on Mango Street: More than a Story In today’s world there are countless social problems. People are often treated as an inferior or as if they are less important for many different reasons. In The House on Mango Street, the author Sandra Cisneros addresses these problems. Throughout the story Cisneros does a thorough job explaining and showing how these issues affect the public. This novel is written through the eyes of a young girl, Esperanza, growing up in a poor neighborhood where the lifestyles of the lower class are revealed. Cisneros points out that, in today’s society, the expectation of women and their treatment, discrimination based on poverty, and discrimination because of a person’s ethnicity are the major†¦show more content†¦Esperanza tells us many stories where it is evident that women are treated as possessions and often have little or no say in the affairs of the family. Too often it seems that in Esperanza’s experi ences women are beaten by their husbands’ or fathers’. One such example of a beating is when Sally explains to Esperanza why she often has so many bruises. â€Å"He never hits me hard† (92), is how Sally tells Esperanza that her father often beats her. During many instances in The House on Mango Street people are treated according to their wealth. People often look down upon Esperanza and her peers with no reason except that they live differently because they have less money. During one part of the story Esperanza talks about strangers by saying: Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we’re dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives. They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake. (28) Cisneros shows how people often have misconceptions about people who are different from them and are often too quick to judge. This idea is shown again when Esperanza is talking to a nun and the nun asks, 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 fallShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Sandra Cisneros s The House On Mango Street Essay1075 Words   |  5 PagesSara Fitzsimmons Meola English 2 Honors 6 September 2016 Get Out In Sandra Cisneros novel The House on Mango Street the characters experience the challenges of growing up in a society full of racism, discrimination, and class distinction. Their experience is exceedingly similar to people in urban areas and cities today. Both the protagonist Esperanza, a young teen and people in today’s hispanic cities experience discrimination making progression in life challenging. The indifferent attitudes regardingRead MoreAnalysis Of The House On Mango Street1406 Words   |  6 PagesThe novel, titled The House on Mango Street in its unassuming and sincere writing style shines a beacon of truth on the socioeconomic condition of the time it is set in (of its setting), by scrupulously describing the living situations of the protagonist and her immediate family. The narrator of the story, Esperanza paints an accurate picture of her family’s inability to remain anchored at any residence up to the point when we catch up with her in the story, where s he reveals that â€Å"We didn’t alwaysRead MoreIdentity: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros1068 Words   |  5 Pagesreligious, and/or social affiliation (Babylon). In the story, â€Å"Everyday Use†, two young girls are raised by the same family but one child acts as if race is not an issue whereas the other child’s race becomes the center of her identity. Maggie knows more about her African American heritage than Dee does. Dee’s identity comes from her upbringing, from her great grandmother, to grandmother, to her own mother. Maggie’s identity seems to be solely based on her race. The House on Mango Street deals withRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Analysis1328 Words   |  6 Pageslife of a young Mexican girl named Esperanza in her coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street. The book records a year of Esperanza life, in which her family moves into a rented house on Mango Street in Chicago. While searching for her independence, Esperanza and her friends meet the issues of racism, sexuality, and male dominance. Esperanza forms the realization she will have to leave the toxic environment on Mango Street for her future, however, she plans to return and help those who are unableRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin And The House On Mango Street1732 Words   |  7 Pagesworks, in particular, have been major agents to this cause, serving as both reminders of those struggles and remembrance to readers of the endeavors those authors sought to accomplish. Two particular works, The Awakening by Kate Chopin and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, spearh eaded movements for freedom by tackling the prejudice of gender roles, expressing through their novels’ characters and experiences the arguments for individual freedom and the challenges that must be conquered to achieveRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Essay On Poverty1031 Words   |  5 PagesIn the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza is raised in a poverty stricken neighborhood with few positive role models in her life. In the few scenes school is mentioned, they do not mention Esperanza’s grades or schoolwork, but focus rather on superficial events. The House on Mango Street reveals that the surplus of events associated with growing up in extreme poverty can cause children to lack academic ambitions and accumulate social based goals insteadRead MoreSuffering and Assimilation Essay1111 Words   |  5 Pagesthe white society. 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There is always a story within a story that is waiting to be told. A story that may not be apparent to the public or even those closest to the person in question. Living in a nation like Latin America, Latin American experience this more often than not they must claim a mi staken identity that does