The House on Mango Street By Ryan Casolo, Lily, Erica, T-Mac who hasn’t been here or done anything

Sire Sire (Esperanza’s neighbor who her father calls a punk but she still fantasizes about him), Lois (his promiscuous girlfriend), and Esperanza Esperanza is walking on one side of the street Sire is staring at her from the other side of their neighborhood

Sire Deeper Meaning Esperanza is wishing she was older so she could be with Sire but at the same time she doesn’t want to grow up When her father says that Sire is a punk he is being protective of Esperanza She is transitioning from innocence to maturity by breaking the control her father has over her

Four Skinny Trees Esperanza is referring to four skinny trees in her neighborhood She is talking about how these trees are misplaced and don’t fit in This all happens from the confines of her house and even her bed room

Four Skinny Trees Deeper meaning Esperanza is explaining that her and these misplaced trees are alike She is working against the grain to succeed and live in a poor neighbor hood like the trees trying to live in a sea of concrete Literary Device- Personification- “For skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.” (74)

No Speak English Mamacita She moved in across the street with a man. She can only say eight words in English Mamacita lives in the house across the street During the day Mamacita and the baby boy are home. Mamacita knows three English phrases He not here

No Speak English Deeper Meaning Mamacita is trapped by her lack of knowledge of English. She is unable to communicate with other people so they don’t know how she is really feeling. Literary Devices – Simile – “The taxi door opened like a waiter’s arm.” (76) Simile – “A foot soft as a rabbit’s ear.” (76)

Common Threads In each story the characters are trapped In “Sire”, Esperanza is trapped by her age it is restricting her from being with Sire In “Four Skinny Trees”, Esperanza is trapped by the town she lives in. The town is poor and if she lived in a better neighborhood she could achieve more In “No Speak English” Mamacita is trapped by her inability to speak English

Questions Why does Esperanza’s dad think that Sire is a bad kid? Why does Cisneros express the feeling of being trapped in these three stories? What is the significance of adding this vignette to the book?

Thanks