How the configuration of Esperanza´s character constructs the

representation of Chicano Feminism

in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros?
CHAPTER 1: The Chicano Feminism movement and Sandra Cisneros
literature
1. The Chicano Feminism
Thise social movement in the sixties was important for the American
women, the issue of the traditional role association evolved through
feminism´s emergence. The wWomean could position on the same man´s
step, however it was a big trouble for “the women of color”, their desire can´t
be compared with the white and middle-class women because they suffered
a double discrimination, it turned in another way of oppression for coming
from the same ethnic group. 
“Chicano” is a word that refers to a group of people with Mexican ancestry, it
allows them to identify culturally and politically in the Anglo-American
society. The Chicano movement surged as a consequence of the
discrimination and structural inequalities formed by Mexican-Americans
where the aim was to changechanging the inequality, improving the
education and the political autonomy of Chicano society. An ideology of this
movement was “the ideal Chicana”, where the woman was presented as
patient and the attendant to keep the family together, her role consisted
basically into supporting her husband and teaching herthe children. The
wWomen began to question their traditional roles in the family on account of
changes in families’ structure, as a result of the participation on Chicano
movement. For that reason, it was necessary to create “The Chicano
Feminism”, so we can understand in what consisted and what was the aim
of this movement, according to the sociology García (1989) “Chicana
feminism struggled to gain equal status in the male-dominated nationalist
movements and also in American society”. Furthermore, it is relevant to
mention that this movement didn’t focus only on gender´s trouble, it also
focused on the position of Chicanas in American society as “women of
color”, like mention García (1989) “they were affected by both race and
class in their everyday lives”. 

1. The Chicano Feminism on Sandra Cisneros literature

Sandra Cisneros was born in 1954 in Chicago, she was the only daughter of
seven children in a family. Her family traveled frequently between Chicago
and Mexico and often they settled in a different house, it reflected on the
constant moving of Esperanza's family in The House of Mango Street. Since
Cisneros was a child, she loved the books and grew up surrounded by
them, it allowed express herself in poetry and other genres. She is part of a
group of Chicanas writers who stood out in the eighties, and she focus her
books in the Chicana women´s conflict when they have to identify like a
woman in their own ethnic group, on the one hand suffering frequently
abuses by the dominant Anglo-American society, and on the other hand by
their own ethnic group. 
The Chicana identity is evident on The House on Mango Street through how
Cisneros use the language to communicate her ideas from Esperanza´s
narration, evidencing her ethnic background. The use of “Spanglish” is a
characteristic of the Chicano English´s variety, and according Betz (2012):
In language contact situations, what is generally known as “Spanglish” is varied.
Sometimes it is used as an expression of that context and sometimes to
express “orgullo,” or pride, in the particular variety, whereby it is neither
dominated by “Mexican” identity, nor by a “US” identity.
Thus, Cisneros uses this narration´s style to stand out her dual ethnic
background, it allows her to identify like a “Chicana”. However, Esperanza,
the main character and the narrator of the book, clings to English tongue
because it's the dominant ethnic group. Cisneros shows us through
Esperanza´s perspective, a pure childhood view, her desire to be a
successful writer and independent woman, thus she expresses her
displeasure for her hispanic culture when she clings to English tongue. 
Around the book, Cisneros constructs the Chicana identify thought the
sexism as an ideology, according ÇETİN, KOÇSOY (2020) “As sexism is
defined as an ideology, which advocates male supremacist values, women
are identified as naturally dependent, childish, neurotic and always in need
of authority, while men are identified as naturally stronger, more logical and
rational”. The woman's body is associated with domestic work, they live in
the culture of silence, looking at the “window” and at the same time feeling
melancholic because they lost their desire to fulfill their goals in life. Most of
them depending of man's capacity for support the woman finances, so
Cisneros constructs their female characters like neediest of authority identify
them the naturally depend of the man, while she constructs to the male
characters like strongest and smartest.