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Lesson 4
“House on Mango Street”
Read & Respond
Directions:
-Read pages 26-34 of “The House on Mango Street”
-Respond to the following 14 questions in complete sentences. Write at least 2 sentences per
answer. Use quotations from the story to support your answers where appropriate.

“Marin”
1. Who is Marin? Why is she unable to leave her house? How do you think Esperanza feels
about Marin?
Marin is somebody that Esperanza looks up to. Esperanza talks nothing negative about Marin,
even though she does things that shouldn’t be associated with someone you choose to look up
to. For instance, Esperanza talks about how Marin smokes cigarettes almost every night but
still looks up to her and talks about how she is pretty and always has boys talking to her. It is
almost as a jealousy thing. I also believe that the reason Marin cannot leave the house is
because she seems to be a trouble child. She always talks about boys and Esperanza even talks
about how her even might even consider sending her away because she is “too much or a
handful”.

2. How is Marin like Esperanza’s grandmother? How is she similar to other women in the story?
How is she different from other women in the story?
Marin is wild just as Esperanza says her grandmother was. Unlike other women in the story,
she doesn’t seem to care about anything other than her own enjoyment of life and she doesn’t
seem to care much about others around her and what they think. However, like other women in
the story, Marin feels that she needs a man to support her in life. Evidence of this is when
Esperanza says that Marin “is waiting, for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her
life.”

3. What words does the narrator use to give you a sense that Marin is not in control of her life?
In the story the author states, “Marin lights a cigarette and is doesn’t matter if it's cold out or
the radio doesn’t work or if we’ve got nothing to say to each other. What matters, Marin says,
is for the boys to see us and us to see them.” This leads me to believe that Marin is not in
control of her life because she is almost lead with this idea that she needs to be seen by boys to
be important. She smokes cigarettes which is usually done by someone who is stressed so I
believe that her leading the lifestyle gives her a lot of stress and I believe that she knows she is
not in control of her life.

“Those Who Don’t”

4. What social comment is Esperanza making in "Those Who Don't"?
Esperanza is making the comment that many people fear her culture. Many believe that they
are dangerous and may attack at any moment.

5. What do you believe will make the separations in our society change? Aside from racial
segregation, what other factors separate people? Will this change?
I believe that money creates a big separation in our society. Many people of the same social
class tend to hang out with each other. Although there are many times where people will come
together and put money aside and become a society, it is usually only during problematic times
which isn’t how it should be. As sad as it is, I do not believe that the world and our society is
very going to change. I think that money is always going to be something that makes you
automatically define someone.

“There Was An Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do”
6. This is another chapter providing social commentary. Esperanza describes a family of children
with no “respect for anything living, including themselves.” What does she imply is the danger
that comes from giving up on children?
Esperanza is implying that the children are going to grow up and become awful. She is saying
that they have no respect for anything or themselves so all around, they don’t care about
anything in life. This could lead to them being awful when they get older become if you don’t
have respect for even yourself, you end up doing stupid things and won't really care about the
outcome of each situation.

7. What imagery does Esperanza use to describe Angel Vargas and the plunge to earth? What
picture does this create?
Esperanza uses that "he learned how to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just
like a flying star, and exploded down to earth without even an "oh",” this creates a picture of s
child falling down from the sky like a comet. She says it almost as if they used to be good kids
but now they are falling and there is almost no hope for saving them.

8. How does what is happening to the Vargas children apply to the larger picture of society?
Society does have responsibility for children. Society teaches children things and expects them
to know right from wrong, but sadly they don't. The neighbors should have told his mother
that he wasn't listening to them before something like him dying happened.

“Alicia Who Sees Mice”

9. Alicia’s father represents the stereotypical male who believes that a woman’s place is in the
home. Alicia, like Esperanza, wants to be something different from the traditional female. Unlike
Marin who is a woman waiting for her dream, Alicia is a woman working toward her dream.
Esperanza finds much to admire in Alicia. Which lines show Esperanza’s admiration?
Esperanza states, “Alicia, who inherited her mama’s rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and
smart and studies for the first time at the university”. These lines show that Esperanza admires
her because she is defying the usual way that men depict women and is bettering her life for
herself and not a man.

10. Alicia is afraid of ‘four-legged fur’ and ‘fathers’. These may be literal fears as well as
symbolic of something else. What do you think the mice symbolize for Alicia? What about
fathers?
Alicia is afraid of the mice because they act as a constant reminder of just how poor she is,
and how hopeless life seems. Usually the poorest people in society whose homes are infested
with mice, and so the regular appearance of them in Alicia's run-down apartment makes her
afraid that she'll never be able to escape the poverty which she has to endure on a daily basis.
Alicia is also afraid of her father, of which she pretty much takes care of. For one thing, he
ignores the mice and the other manifestations of their home. It's also suggested that, since
Alicia has been forced to take on the role of mother in the household, she's been subjected to
abuse, both physical and sexual. Alicia's father tells her to ignore the infestation of mice.
Perhaps this also extends to ignoring the abuse she receives at her father's hands.

“Darius & the Clouds”

11. Esperanza says that you can never have too much sky. Why does the sky symbolize for her?
For Esperanza, the sky symbolized a safe place for her. She is comfortable with is and knows
that she could never get tired of being in her relaxed state of mind.

12. This chapter once again brings up the idea of making the best of what you have. Which lines
reinforce this idea?
The line that reinforces this is, "Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it." She is
meaning that we don’t always get everything we want in life, but you have what you have, and
you should be thankful for it no matter what.

13. Why is what Darius said “wise”?

While he generally acts like a fool and torments the girls, one day the clouds show another
side of Darius. He points to a cloud next to a cluster of "popcorn" and calls it "God."
Esperanza feels that her neighborhood does not have as much protection as others because she
has stated before that "here there is too much sadness and not enough sky." But as Darius
points out, even Mango Street, has a spirit of protection above them and that is all they need.

14. How can you relate to the ideas in this section?

Many times, we all tend to think of the times we don’t have or even think of the things we do
have but we don’t think of them to be enough to satisfy us. We are always trying to live up to
some big impression that we are better than everyone and we try to do everything we can to
finally achieve that idea. However, we need to sit back and stop thinking of the things we wish
we could do or have and be grateful for everything because there is always somebody that will
have it worse than you.