The journey of discovering one’s sexuality can bring about many emotions and questions. Sexuality can be an extremely confusing and frightening time for many young girls. Esperanza experiences a variety of new emotions and experiences new things because of her growing sexuality. In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza is a young girl facing many new challenges in her life including her developing sexuality. Symbolism is used in the text. Sandra Cisneros’s use of symbolism in the different shoes symbolizes Esperanza’s complicated journey into the new, confusing world of sexuality.
When Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy receive the high heels in the chapter “The Family of Little Feet,” they feel powerful. At first, …show more content…
Esperanza is beginning to experience things that make her see sexuality in a bit of a different light. The reason Esperanza despises her “old saddle shoes” that are the same ones she gets “every September” (47), is because they make her feel like a little kid. The fact that she has been receiving them “every September” (47), make it evident that she has been wearing them since she was a little girl, and therefore, the shoes make her feel immature and childish. The shoes are also partially “white” (47), which symbolizes innocence and further shows that she feels childish. The other color on the shoes is “brown” (47). The “brown” (47), color on the shoes symbolizes a kind of masculine quality. Esperanza dislikes the “brown” (47), shoes because she is beginning to experience a new sense of femininity through her sexuality and the manliness of the shoes goes against it and her feminine outfit. Esperanza says her shoes are “scuffed,” “crooked,” and “look dumb” (47). This shows how previously, Esperanza was extremely frightened of her sexuality and the dangers of pretty shoes, but now she desires to look attractive and have pretty shoes. Esperanza is asked to dance by a boy and says that she just “can’t” (47). She is too embarrassed her feet and can almost feel them “growing bigger and bigger” (47), just like how her embarrassment from the shoes continues to grow. Once her …show more content…
Sally wears “black [shoes] made out of suede” (82), and Esperanza desires to own a pair just like them. The fact that the shoes are black mean several different things. Black can symbolize fear or mystery. Therefore, the “shoes” (82), symbolize how sexuality is somewhat frightening and mysterious to Esperanza. Black can also symbolize power. Sally uses her sexuality as an advantage, and the reason Esperanza is so drawn to her is because of this air of maturity and powerfulness. In “The Monkey Garden,” Esperanza notices how much more sexually mature Sally is than her. Sally is playing a “game” with the boys because they have “stolen her keys,” but Esperanza does not “get it” (96). The game is that Sally has to “kiss” the boys to “get the keys back” (96). Esperanza is worried for Sally due to this sexual exploitation and tries to stop it. After the other kids make Esperanza feel “stupid” (97), she goes and hides under a tree and feels like she wants to die. While there, Esperanza looks at her “feet in their white socks and ugly round shoes” (98). This symbolizes how Sally and the other kids seem to be growing in their sexuality, whereas Esperanza is stuck in her innocent world like how she still has her old shoes. The fact that her shoes seemed “far away” and “didn’t seem to be [her] feet anymore” (98), symbolizes how she feels lost in her own sexuality and as though she does not
When Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy receive the high heels in the chapter “The Family of Little Feet,” they feel powerful. At first, …show more content…
Esperanza is beginning to experience things that make her see sexuality in a bit of a different light. The reason Esperanza despises her “old saddle shoes” that are the same ones she gets “every September” (47), is because they make her feel like a little kid. The fact that she has been receiving them “every September” (47), make it evident that she has been wearing them since she was a little girl, and therefore, the shoes make her feel immature and childish. The shoes are also partially “white” (47), which symbolizes innocence and further shows that she feels childish. The other color on the shoes is “brown” (47). The “brown” (47), color on the shoes symbolizes a kind of masculine quality. Esperanza dislikes the “brown” (47), shoes because she is beginning to experience a new sense of femininity through her sexuality and the manliness of the shoes goes against it and her feminine outfit. Esperanza says her shoes are “scuffed,” “crooked,” and “look dumb” (47). This shows how previously, Esperanza was extremely frightened of her sexuality and the dangers of pretty shoes, but now she desires to look attractive and have pretty shoes. Esperanza is asked to dance by a boy and says that she just “can’t” (47). She is too embarrassed her feet and can almost feel them “growing bigger and bigger” (47), just like how her embarrassment from the shoes continues to grow. Once her …show more content…
Sally wears “black [shoes] made out of suede” (82), and Esperanza desires to own a pair just like them. The fact that the shoes are black mean several different things. Black can symbolize fear or mystery. Therefore, the “shoes” (82), symbolize how sexuality is somewhat frightening and mysterious to Esperanza. Black can also symbolize power. Sally uses her sexuality as an advantage, and the reason Esperanza is so drawn to her is because of this air of maturity and powerfulness. In “The Monkey Garden,” Esperanza notices how much more sexually mature Sally is than her. Sally is playing a “game” with the boys because they have “stolen her keys,” but Esperanza does not “get it” (96). The game is that Sally has to “kiss” the boys to “get the keys back” (96). Esperanza is worried for Sally due to this sexual exploitation and tries to stop it. After the other kids make Esperanza feel “stupid” (97), she goes and hides under a tree and feels like she wants to die. While there, Esperanza looks at her “feet in their white socks and ugly round shoes” (98). This symbolizes how Sally and the other kids seem to be growing in their sexuality, whereas Esperanza is stuck in her innocent world like how she still has her old shoes. The fact that her shoes seemed “far away” and “didn’t seem to be [her] feet anymore” (98), symbolizes how she feels lost in her own sexuality and as though she does not