Adolescence and Sexual Development in The House on Mango Street: How It Relates to Modern Society
In Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, a major theme is adolescence and the developing awareness of the opposite gender, which subsequently leads to a loss of innocence. One of the first places that these themes are seen is the chapter “Hips.” With the statement, “One day you wake up and they are there. Ready and waiting like a new Buick with the keys in the ignition” (49), this chapter focuses mainly on the growing awareness of the opposite gender. “They” refers to boys and the fact that they are “ready and waiting” alludes to the idea that the shift from adolescence to adulthood is a rapid process that seems to occur just over night, especially for a …show more content…
Furthermore, in “The Monkey Garden,” these themes are also highly prominent. For Esperanza and other children in her neighborhood, the monkey garden is a place for games and childish behavior, thus representing adolescence, but because Sally and the boys use it for more mature and grown-up purposes such as when Tito and his friends take Sally’s keys and one boy says, “You can’t get [them] back unless you kiss us” (96), it soon becomes a symbol of Esperanza’s loss of innocence, her transition from adolescence to adulthood, and her growing awareness of the male population. When Esperanza, desperate for help, tells Tito’s mother about what her son is up to, she simply responds, “What do you want me to do...call the cops?” (97). This demonstration of indifference by Tito’s mother towards her son’s manipulative actions not only teaches Tito that what he is doing is not wrong in any way, but also shows Esperanza that this is how she should expect to be treated, thus incorporating the issue of gender roles. Not only is this concept present in the novel, but it is present in today’s society as well. Beginning with the societal motif of the ever popular
In Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, a major theme is adolescence and the developing awareness of the opposite gender, which subsequently leads to a loss of innocence. One of the first places that these themes are seen is the chapter “Hips.” With the statement, “One day you wake up and they are there. Ready and waiting like a new Buick with the keys in the ignition” (49), this chapter focuses mainly on the growing awareness of the opposite gender. “They” refers to boys and the fact that they are “ready and waiting” alludes to the idea that the shift from adolescence to adulthood is a rapid process that seems to occur just over night, especially for a …show more content…
Furthermore, in “The Monkey Garden,” these themes are also highly prominent. For Esperanza and other children in her neighborhood, the monkey garden is a place for games and childish behavior, thus representing adolescence, but because Sally and the boys use it for more mature and grown-up purposes such as when Tito and his friends take Sally’s keys and one boy says, “You can’t get [them] back unless you kiss us” (96), it soon becomes a symbol of Esperanza’s loss of innocence, her transition from adolescence to adulthood, and her growing awareness of the male population. When Esperanza, desperate for help, tells Tito’s mother about what her son is up to, she simply responds, “What do you want me to do...call the cops?” (97). This demonstration of indifference by Tito’s mother towards her son’s manipulative actions not only teaches Tito that what he is doing is not wrong in any way, but also shows Esperanza that this is how she should expect to be treated, thus incorporating the issue of gender roles. Not only is this concept present in the novel, but it is present in today’s society as well. Beginning with the societal motif of the ever popular