While everyone has their own vision of what romance is, most people experience something completely altered. Many people use romance and love interchangeably when in fact they have two separate definitions. In the story, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza faces the external conflict of what romance means to her and the difference between love and romance. Toward the beginning of the story, Esperanza views romance as a game. We see this when Esperanza befriends Marin: “if you count the white flecks on your fingernails you can know how many boys are thinking of you,” (27). Instead of viewing romance as a feeling associated with love, Esperanza views it as a sort of amusement. Esperanza has
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Because of this, her game became a nightmare which caused her to face fantasy from reality: “You’re a liar. They all lied. All the books and magazines, everything that told it wrong. Only his dirty fingernails against my skin, only his sour smell again,” (100). Esperanza has now come to realize the difference between love and romance and what romance really is. Among the falling action, Esperanza begins to view the romance around the world as it truly is. We see this when her friend Sally gets married: “She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape,” (101). This shows Esperanza how her friends use romance as an escape route instead of something that should be used with love. Esperanza finally knows the truth of romance. The conflict is solved when Esperanza deceides on how she wants to live her life: “not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own,” (108). Instead of saying she wants to live alone and then not doing anything to help herself achieve that dream, she basically vows and makes plans for the future to live in a house by
Because of this, her game became a nightmare which caused her to face fantasy from reality: “You’re a liar. They all lied. All the books and magazines, everything that told it wrong. Only his dirty fingernails against my skin, only his sour smell again,” (100). Esperanza has now come to realize the difference between love and romance and what romance really is. Among the falling action, Esperanza begins to view the romance around the world as it truly is. We see this when her friend Sally gets married: “She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape,” (101). This shows Esperanza how her friends use romance as an escape route instead of something that should be used with love. Esperanza finally knows the truth of romance. The conflict is solved when Esperanza deceides on how she wants to live her life: “not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own,” (108). Instead of saying she wants to live alone and then not doing anything to help herself achieve that dream, she basically vows and makes plans for the future to live in a house by