Sandra Cisneros’s novel The House on Mango Street displays predetermined roles, physical harm and sexual assault as challenges that the women on Mango Street face in society, which limits their potential to succeed. In the first instance, Esperanza describes how her great-grandmother demonstrates the feminine role on Mango Street. Esperanza’s great-grandfather prevents her to be free, so instead, “she looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow” (Cisneros 11), illuminating the life of a female in this neighborhood. Restrained by her husband, Esperanza’s great-grandmother spends her life looking out the window, which is ordinary in Latino culture; therefore, she is unable to escape, suggesting that society has a biased preconception of the women on Mango Street, thus giving them the same role, which is to be a housewife.
…show more content…
One day, her father gets upset when he catches Sally talking to a boy at school, “and then, he broke into his hands” (93), revealing how women are mistreated in society. Many women face similar consequences as Sally does; her father’s actions prevent her from being an independent individual, blocking her from the freedom to live her life the way she wants to and exemplifying the physical abuse women face on Mango Street. Finally, Esperanza showcases her sexual assault experience that takes place at the carnival. Specifically, Sally leaves Esperanza all alone, and she “couldn’t do anything but cry” (100). Before, Esperanza had never imagined the possibility of being raped someday; but, without Sally, she experiences something that she never wanted, which exposes that the women on Mango Street are vulnerable, and they are viewed as sexual objects, which dehumanizes them in
One day, her father gets upset when he catches Sally talking to a boy at school, “and then, he broke into his hands” (93), revealing how women are mistreated in society. Many women face similar consequences as Sally does; her father’s actions prevent her from being an independent individual, blocking her from the freedom to live her life the way she wants to and exemplifying the physical abuse women face on Mango Street. Finally, Esperanza showcases her sexual assault experience that takes place at the carnival. Specifically, Sally leaves Esperanza all alone, and she “couldn’t do anything but cry” (100). Before, Esperanza had never imagined the possibility of being raped someday; but, without Sally, she experiences something that she never wanted, which exposes that the women on Mango Street are vulnerable, and they are viewed as sexual objects, which dehumanizes them in