The House on Mango Street Author Date of Birth Childhood Sandra Cisneros 1954 Led a somewhat migrant childhood moving back and forth between Chicago and Mexico City

The House on Mango Street Focus of Works Her works looked closely at the lives of Mexican-Americans living in America Specifically her works look at the roles of Mexican-American women looking for a more independent role in the workplace and family

The House on Mango Street The book was received with critical fanfare Background The book was received with critical fanfare Perhaps more notably it was a commercial success, a rare accomplishment for a Hispanic writer at the time of its release Winner of “Before Columbus American Book Award”

The House on Mango Street Highlighting the Novel Chicano literature relates the values and traditions of Mexican-American values The House on Mango Street is a collection of over 40 vignettes These short stories give readers a true sense of what it is like to live in a Mexican-American neighborhood

The House on Mango Street Overview The story follows a year in the life of a young Mexican-American girl named Esperanza Esperanza’s family has moved into a new house on Mango Street Mango Street is populated by people with many different life stories, both stories of hope and despair. The story focuses on the tiny, often overlooked details of a community A kid’s first bicycle A girl struggling to attend college and care for a family at the same time The mysteries of hips and womanhood Having a boyfriend or becoming interested in boys for the first time

Literary Focus Publication 1984 Type of Work Novella Setting (time) Setting (place) 1984 Novella 1960s Chicago (Mango Street) A poor Hispanic neighborhood that would be a close reflection of the same types of place Cisneros would have lived in growing up

Literary Focus Point of View Conflict 1st Person Allows the reader an intimate look at the thoughts and feelings of a girl that is seeing both her physical feelings about the world and her mental feelings changing Varied-ranging from poverty, to sexual anxiety, to just general anxiety about growing up and maturing

Literary Focus Symbols Shoes Are representative of both Esperanza’s financial position in society and her sexual place in society When she is wearing her “poor” shoes she feels ugly and self-aware When she wears her mother’s high heels she feels glamorous and sexual

Literary Focus Symbols Trees Esperanza looks at the impossibility of trees: how they grow so tall, how their branches reach to the sky, how they grow despite concrete The trees are representative of Esperanza’s own dreams Despite the difficulties that surround her she can look to the trees for inspiration that the impossible can happen

Gender Roles in Society The American Dream Personal Identity Literary Focus Motifs and Conflicts Maturity Womanhood Roles of Women Sexuality Gender Roles in Society The American Dream Personal Identity Romance versus Humiliation Beauty versus Integrity Women and Power

Insightful and thoughtful Narrator who uses poetic descriptions Characters Esperanza Insightful and thoughtful Narrator who uses poetic descriptions Feels shame over her family’s lack of wealth, especially the new neighborhood and house her family has moved into

Esperanza’s younger sister and closest companion Characters Nenny Esperanza’s younger sister and closest companion Some division with her sister because their separation in age prevents Nenny from knowing the physical and emotional changes her older sister is having to cope with in her life

Supporting Characters Marin Rachel and Lucy Sally Flirtatious and boy crazy; shares her knowledge about womanly things Esperanza’s best friends who love words as much as she does Sexually confident and someone that Esperanza admires