Griselda Ayala Perez Research Paper

The late nineteenth century was not one for child advocacy, and the master-layman dynamic of the rural Mexican rancho only furthered the silent response to the abuse Teresita suffers. Only someone in power like Tomás could actually cause any action to be taken against Tía, but he doesn’t stoop to dealing with the situation. In fact, he doesn’t even know it happens. The media and advocacy presence of America today starkly contrasts the mindset of the late 1800s. Any reader back then would have surely reacted negatively, but not nearly to the same degree.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a semi-autobiography shown through the eyes of the story’s narrator, Esperanza Cordero, an adolescent Mexican-American girl who is about thirteen and growing up in an impoverished, mostly Latino neighborhood in Chicago. The novel is a coming of age story, told over the course of about a year in a series of standalone vignettes, written in a non chronological order, that use poetic and figurative language, such as metaphors and similes, to convey its themes.

Thomas Jefferson once said,“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” This quote can be taken much deeper, with the understanding that the past is just that, history. Of course history still affects the future today, but people focus more on moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. In Sandra Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street” the author illustrates the idea, using her family members’ past, other residents of Mango Street, and Esperanza discovering who she is, that while the past can make up parts of a person, it does not have to be their whole identity.

In the book The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros is raising awareness of the racism and domestic abuse in society. In the text Esperanza is entering womanhood, a time of self-discovery and maturity in her life. Growing up in a poor community, she throughout the book expresses how she feels when she is discriminated because of her race. She also comments on other characters being victims of domestic abuse. A way Sandra Cisneros is raising awareness of racism in society is by dismissing the stereotypes they are addressed.

The novella The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is about how a young hispanic girl discovers her identity. Esperanza’s family moves to a poor, predominantly hispanic town in Chicago. As she adjusts to her new neighborhood, she learns from her neighbors and from her own experiences in this new town. In particular, her traumatizing experiences with sexual assault have impacted her. Esperanza’s identity as an independent hispanic girl is shaped by her experiences in sexual assault because it presents her with the dangers many minorities face.

Trujillo's dictatorship, resulting in the revolution, influenced Patria's physical courage to truly show. By joining the revolution Patria's moral courage counteracted her fears and encouraged her to take a step towards making a change . Finally after getting her son taken, sacrificing herself showed what she would do for someone revealing her emotional courage. This novel puts a whole new perspective on courage by demonstrating different types of courage . Many different behaviors and beliefs can link to courage; bravery, fear, and even religious faith.

Growing up as a young female teen came be hard due to the stress and peer pressure of appearance. For teenage girls from immigrant families, it came be very challenging to fit in with the “American way”. Esperanza struggles throughout the book with finding her place in society. She looks to other female role models in her community for guidance, where she finds different results. Most of Esperanza’s female role models on Mango Street have unique stories to tell of their experiences with men on Mango Street.

A texan woman, named Sandra Bearden was looking for a maid to complete housework and look after her son, so she traveled into a poor village in Mexico and met Maria. Maria, being only twelve years old, saw this as an opportunity to move to the U.S. and receive better education which produced a better life. Sadly, Maria’s dreams were crushed because Sandra began to take advantage of her both physically and mentally. Her punishments for not working included: pepper spray in the eyes, a bottle broken against her head, jamming garden tools up her private areas,

Many people are undermined by the drawbacks of belonging to a low socioeconomic status. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is raised in a poor, Latino community, causing her to be introduced to poverty at an early age. This introduction of poverty affects Esperanza in many ways, one including that she is unable to find success. Esperanza struggles to achieve success in life because the cycle of poverty restricts her in a position in which she cannot break free from her socioeconomic status.

As a child was she was by her father with Justa Samperio her mother. Justa was an alcoholic woman who mistreated and physical abuse Barraza. “One day her mother lost in his addiction and not having money, changed to Juana for three beers, allowing an older man molesting Juana and raping her. José Lugo was the man who tormented Juana over four years.” (Arcia, 2011).

In the series of vignettes The House on Mango Street, the author Sandra Cisneros details the life of main character Esperanza, a young girl living in a barrio of Chicago. As Esperanza tells the reader about her experiences in her day to day life, the reader hears about her struggles and dreams, her hopes and expectations in life and how these affect her. Being a young girl, Esperanza holds naivety and hope for the world, not having experienced many mature situations or society yet, and since she is going through the time in her life when she begins experiencing these issues, we see her heartbreak and the world she knew shatter. For example, when Esperanza and her family move to Mango Street, as our story kicks off, her parents would often talk about the life that they would get when they win the lottery, like having “A real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked.

“No, this isn’t my house I say and shake my head as if shaking could undo the year I’ve lived here (Cisneros 106).” This quote shows Esperanza’s unwillingness of accepting her poor neighbourhood because of the violence and inequality that has happened in it. In the House on Mango Street, the author, Sandra Cisneros, shows that there is a direct link between inequality, violence and poverty. The House on Mango Street shows women are held back by the inequalities that they face. Cisneros shows that racism prevents individuals from receiving job opportunities which leads to poverty and violence.

Everyone is affected by life’s circumstances. The responses to those experiences can have a positive or negative outcome in one’s future. In Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, the protagonist, Esperanza, gives us her views on life, how she views herself, and she views her future. Not only does she give her perspective throughout the story, she tells us of the numerous experiences that she grows through. These experiences have an impact on her, creating new emotions and new adult like perspectives she has never faced before.

The Story of the Vargas Family “Rosa Vargas’ kids are too many and too much. It’s not her fault, you know, except she is their mother and only one against so many” (Cisneros 29). In the novel The House on Mango Street, the author, Sandra Cisneros, touches on the many negative consequences of a single, impoverished mother raising an overwhelming amount of children. Poverty, discrimination, parental and neighborly responsibility, and respect are all issues and social forces that act upon the family; their presence or lack thereof cause several grisly occurrences to take place. Poverty was almost like a curse given to Rosa Vargas by her husband, who “left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come” (29).

In my assessment concerning the professionalism of Mrs. Perez, she is a character with a gift in counseling that makes her appropriate for a counseling job particularly the one that deals with women. Her counseling changes live and she has been able to assist many women to change for the better. From my experience with her, I feel like this is the best career for me and I have to pursue it by any means. The method through which she approaches things is the best and can be of significant help to many women with similar problems.