Discrimination In The House On Mango Street

Even though slavery had been long abolished, discrimination and racism were still very prevalent problems in the 60s. This kind of oppression was not only directed at African Americans, rather any person of color. These minority groups that face this prejudice live lives that are riddled with injustices and cruelties. The everyday troubles that they go through drive them to seek out change, to make their lives more fair and equal. Even people who are not a part of these minority groups want to seek change. They see these injustices that people face and they are smart enough to know that the bigotry against them is naive and shortsighted. Pieces of literature are often created to help open people’s eyes to the different forms of intolerance people face and to help inspire change. House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and The Help by Kathryn Stockett are similar in the fact that they both illustrate how discrimination can motivate someone to strive for change.
The racial discrimination that Aibileen faces in The Help is the main reason that she seeks to alter the societal norm. The reason that Aibileen is subjected to discrimination is because she is black. …show more content…
Esperanza is faced with these injustices because of not only her race, but also the location of her home. Many people fix stereotypes on Esperanza’s race and find themselves fearing to enter her neighborhood. Esperanza says, “They think we’re dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives” (Cisneros 28). Esperanza is saying how white people believe in the stereotypes about her race so when they go through her neighborhood, they are scared. This shows how society is very close minded and will readily believe far fetched