Written by A.C.
Picture below: Author with her book
Information
Author: Sandra Cisneros / Genre: Fiction / Published: 1983
Summary (contains spoilers)
The House on Mango Street, published in 1983 and written by Sandra Cisneros, follows Esperanza Cordero, aspiring to grow herself while understanding her relationship with the street that could never be home: Mango Street.
Esperanza’s name has two meanings: hope and sadness. As a young girl, she had pieces of her home scattered across the world, hoping to find a place she could call home. From Loomis to Keeler to Paulina, the Cordero family has built young memories in houses that will never be theirs. Cordero's latest home was a crooked, lopsided red home overlooking the houses on Mango Street. With a new house, neighbors, and street, Esperanza’s young eyes travel through the gnarled roads of Mango Street, from Meme Ortiz’s wooden planked apartment, Rachel and Lucy’s three-way bike, to Louis’s other cousin Marin.
Esperanza’s feet drag her from familiarity to stagnant fragments of happiness. Happiness about riding bikes through the cobblestones of Mango Street, happiness feeling the wind brush through her hair in a golden Cadillac, and happiness laughing with her sister. Despite wandering in and out of foreign homes, schools, and languages, Esperanza is never without the reality of police officers arresting but never defending, of cafeterias, and of wearing the same old shoes each year. Mango Street is also never without misfortune either. While people reside on Mango Street, they are never really living.
As Esperanza becomes a teenager, her vulnerability as a Latina begins to feed into society, affecting her relationships with other women and herself. From Minerva, wife of a beating husband; to Sally, daughter of a father who abuses; to women trapped by foreign languages, and Esperanza herself, harassed because of her virginity. As Esperanza grows older, she discovers not just the shining houses of Mango Street, but the dirty, corrupted roads.
Once, Esperanza’s fortune read, “... A home in the heart.” Each passing day brings new misfortunes, realities, and bruised arms despite these things occurring in the same red house. At the young age of sixteen, Esperanza wishes for a home, a warm embrace far from Mango Street. She wishes for a life without men who beat their wives and menacing stairs that creak under each step. She wishes to someday leave Mango Street while finding the courage to step on the same cobblestone streets to bring the women and children of Mango Street into freedom with her.
How the Book Relates to the Modern World
From blatant racism to sexual harassment and poverty, The House on Mango Street exposes the struggles of our underserved minority population, specifically the Latinx community. It is the raw representation of misogyny and the crumbling walls that truly shed light on today's financial and shelter struggles. With recent price hikes and economic degradation, families across the world are struggling to even buy shelter and stable homes for their families. Female voices and self-delegation have been even more disregarded in recent months with the overturning of the precedent Roe v. Wade. Cisneros also referenced the toxic social hierarchy, separating families of color from wealthy families through home motifs, a constant issue that has caused the wealthy to become more affluent and the impoverished to become even more underserved. These references, issues, and relations are constant reminders that the modern world still requires awareness and exposure to these issues.
Why the Book Should be Read in Schools
Students are often given sugar-coated lessons on poverty, racism, and women, understanding only a baseline of information about these detailed, intricate issues. Reading this book in schools allows students to become less normalized to poverty, recognize subtle racism, and most importantly, understand the struggles of women. The House on Mango Street will also delicately introduce the diverse cultures, communities, and humans among us, allowing students to continue breaching the language and cultural gaps modern standards have created. Sandra Cisneros captures delicate and heavy topics with warmth and humor, embracing students with a bittersweet tale to read.
Rating
Esperanza Cordero’s perspective encapsulates the pain of women and the struggles of young children throughout the novel. Her experiences are tear-jerking, hilarious, heart-warming, and welcoming to all. The House on Mango Street evokes an aspirational urge that will leave you bursting to read the novel again.
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