Mango Street Turning Point

In life, as in literature, people develop based on major events that occur in their lives. These events shape who the person will become, and help them find their place in the world. One prominent example of this is contained in the novel, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. In the novel, the protagonist’s life goal changes when a tragic event occurs while she is at a carnival. Prior to the turning point, the protagonist, Esperanza Cordero was very materialistic and childish. Esperanza and her family lived in a small house on a Mango street, which was an inner-city street with a lot of crime. Esperanza was embarrassed of her family’s house, and wanted a large house just for herself. Once she got out of Mango Street, she decided, she would never come back. She was also very immature for her age. While other girls her age were interested in boys, and didn’t enjoy playing with the little children, Esperanza still played with the smaller children, and did not spend as much time with the older ones. We know that other people even told Esperanza that she was too old to be playing with the little children when Esperanza thinks “Who was it that said I was getting too old to play the games? Who was it I didn’t listen to?” As you can …show more content…
Sally and Esperanza went to the carnival together but, Sally left her alone and walked off with a random boy. While Esperanza was waiting at the tilt-a-whirl for Sally a group of boys encircled her. Then, although it is not clearly stated in the novel, it is assumed that one of the boys raped Esperanza. This is assumed when the author writes “I couldn’t make them go away. I couldn’t do anything but cry. I don’t remember. It was dark. I don’t remember.” This event changes Esperanza because now, instead of being self-centered, she wants to help others so that they don’t have to face the same difficulties that she has