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Annabell Jelitto
Bigelow
English B3
7 October 2014
Significant Changes
In many books, characters go through changes that can be represented in many different
ways. They can change in looks, personalities, or even over-all maturity. The way the author
shows the growth of the character can help the audience see the significant main idea of the
book. Sandra Cisneros shows how Esperanza matures in her book The House On Mango Street.
Esperanza matures through-out the book in a significant number of ways, and her maturity is
represented by her acceptance to her situation on Mango Street. The change in her maturity is
significant because it shows her understanding who she really is by not letting her house define
her.
Esperanza matures by realizing she is not able to change her situation on Mango Street,
but she can be optimistic about her future. It is clear to see how Esperanza matures in time
through-out the book. In the beginning, she might have believed her mom when she had started
to say, When we win the lottery (86). But the time she had already spent on Mango Street
made her realize that the lottery isnt the only thing that can make your life better, but she can
work towards something that can. She was raised on dreams and stories, but now she is facing
reality and how she will have to work for something she desires instead of just dreaming of it.
She also matures in the unfortunate event in which she expects one thing but gets another. She

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tells Sally, You lied. It wasnt what you said at all (99). This shows how earlier on, she would
believe anything that was told to her, but in that event she matured and realized she cannot rely
on anyone but herself because even Esperanzas so called best friend had lied to her, and this
made her realize she has to be more self-reliant. Whether its about boys, or how to escape
Mango Street just by getting married, she realized she was on her own and that was the only way
to truly escape Mango Street.
The way Cisneros showed Esperanza maturing was significant because it shows
Esperanza accepting who she really is instead of always trying to grow up faster than she should
or pretending to be anybody other than herself. In the end of the book, Esperanza admits to her
place on Mango Street as she is questioning who could make her situation better saying, Whos
going to do it? Not the mayor (107). This is significant because it shows her understanding that
not just anybody will come and make it better, so she will have to become more dependent.
Cisneros also shows Esperanza changing her mind set on how to make her life better when
Esperanza says, Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a mans house. Not a daddys. A
house all my own, (108). This is significant because it is a major change in Esperanzas
character. Earlier she believed anything anyone would tell her such as marriage is the only way
out of Mango Street. But because of the events within her time on Mango Street, she comes to
realize it is her job to get herself out of any situation she doesnt want to be in.
Esperanza matured in a sense of her coming to terms with her situation. She eventually
realized her time on Mango Street could be just what she needed to motivate her to change the
situation she was in, and that mindset shows how she grew over the course of the book. She
matured and realized that her situation could not be changed by all the ways she was told, and it
wasnt going to change unless she did something on her own to make her situation better. This

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also affected Sandra Cisneros main idea of the book The House On Mango Street in a significant
way. It went from a young, adolescent child who thought the house she lived in defined her, to a
young woman who finally realized that she did not have to let her living situation determine or
affect her future.