House On Mango Street Expectations

The ability to finally own your own home is often one of the most exciting events in a person’s life. In the novel, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, the protagonist, Esperanza, finally moves into her very own house. But, rather than being pleased with the new accommodations she views the house as a physical representation of the disappointment she feels continuously throughout her life. Her experiences are explained in the very first chapter of the novel also titled “The House on Mango Street.” When mainstream culture portrays a specific image of what life is supposed to be like it can be difficult to accept anything other than the mass-produced image of perfection. Her desires show the expectations produced by the prevailing economic status, while her disappointment shows the conflict between expectations and reality. Esperanza has lived in other rented apartments before living on Mango Street. While living at an apartment on Loomis she is approached by a nun from …show more content…
The use of simple sentences helps to further strengthen the childlike perspective, Esperanza states “A real house. One I could point to. But this isn’t it. The house on Mango Street isn’t it” (Cisneros 5). The simple sentences not only reflect the innocence of the child narrator but also show what Esperanza and her family have been reduced to because of their economic situation. The dominant class is expressed through media and other cultural aspects in the society, while the lower class is put into boxes of simple wants and needs. The simplistic nature of the sentences show how the lower class has been transformed into a child itself. Since they do not have the same resources as the dominant class they are forced into a childlike position where they receive the guidance and standards from the dominant class, like the way a parent would to a