Sandra Cisneros, the author of ‘The House on Mango Street,’ shows how an unlikely connection forms between the narrator Esperanza and the natural world around her— namely trees and plants— that somehow help her find the innate strength and inner peace that resides within her. Esperanza’s first bond with greenery is shown in the very first vignette, ‘The House on Mango Street,’ where she is disappointed at the lack of a front yard and only finds some comfort in four struggling little elm trees on the curb. She finds beauty in plants, and the sparseness of Mango Street makes it ugly to her. Nevertheless, her sense of identity is shaped by the slightest hints of greenery— the resilient elm trees inspire resilience in her; as shown in ‘Four Skinny
