Esperanza's The House On Mango Street

Early on in the novel, readers are introduced to one of the main conflicts that Esperanza will continuously struggle with throughout the story. This conflict deals with the places where she lives, whether it’s the house on Mango Street or the places prior to that. In this quote, Esperanza reflects on a past event from when lived on Loomis. Here, a nun asks her where she lives. When Esperanza points to the third floor, where she lives, the nun responded with shock by saying, “’You live there?’”, which hurt Esperanza. With the nun’s emphasis on “there”, it made Esperanza feel as if she was nothing. Even with the house on Mango Street, Esperanza also feels shameful that she lives there because it isn’t the “real house” that she and her family …show more content…
She mentions that when her name is translated from Spanish, it means “hope”. Although her name has a positive meaning, Esperanza does have conflicted feelings about her name. Part of this reason deals with the fact that it was also her great-grandmother’s name. Her great-grandmother, just like Esperanza, was born in the Chinese year of the horse. A year that, when you’re a female, is supposed to be a bad omen since there is a dislike for women who are strong. This is important because she later explains how her, “wild horse of a woman”, great-grandmother only married because her great-grandmother “threw a sack over her head and carried her off”. Supposedly, her great-grandmother never forgave him. Esperanza states that even though she inherited her great-grandmother’s name, she does not want to inherit her situation. Esperanza wants to be an autonomous individual, and from a young age, she has learned that men have the ability to stand in the way of that. Although there is no actual interaction between Esperanza and a man in this quote, this example gives readers an understanding that, in this society, women are supposed to be weak. This conflict with society will shape Esperanza’s identity as she continues to figure out her place in the world as a young …show more content…
This wish, based on the context of what happens afterwards, was to leave Mango Street. After she has made her wish and is told that it’ll come true, she is called aside by one of the sisters. At this point, the sister tells Esperanza that no matter what, she will always be Mango Street. Although Esperanza may not have a soft spot for this place, she must understand that the it’s the experiences that she has had here that have shaped her into the person she is. The struggles that she endured on Mango Street cannot be erased away because they have already affected her – Mango Street is now a part of her. At this point, Esperanza finally starts to somewhat realize that, even though she doesn’t like it, Mango Street has undoubtedly shaped her identity. Whatever happens, it’s our life experiences – both good and bad – that shape us into the people we