House On Mango Street Symbols

In her novel The House on Mango Street (1984), Sandra Cisneros expresses the story of a young, indigent girl, Esperanza, who had recently moved onto Mango Street and is ashamed of the family’s shabby new community. Cisneros develops the story through a series of vignettes that express Esperanza’s experiences in her new home like the people she meets, their lives, hardships they face, obstacles that she has encountered, how they’ve affected her, and how her mind was changed. Through these vignettes, Cisneros uses various literary devices to give an insight on the thought processes of Esperanza, and her lifelong dream. Symbols of a red balloon, shoes, trees, and windows are used by the author to characterize Esperanza as an adolescent, female writer who wishes more than anything to grow up, escape the clutches of the poverty that seem to have a firm grasp on the neighborhood, and flee to the brighter opportunities of life available, away from Mango Street. …show more content…
In the vignette, “Boys and Girls”, Esperanza dreams about how long it is before she can escape, but “until then [she is] a red balloon” (9). Esperanza pictures herself having the potential to rise up higher in life like a balloon. She knows that her family’s current living conditions aren’t up to her standards and she’s determined to change her future to something brighter. Furthermore, Esperanza goes on to describe that she feels like “a balloon tied to an anchor” (9). She seems to be held back by her family, since she can’t leave them for the time being. Responsibilities to her family, especially to her younger sister, prevent her from pursuing her dreams. In the end, Esperanza is left to wait for an opportunity to a better