Symbols are everywhere in literature and they are open to interpretation.

According to
How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, “Symbols, though, generally don’t
work so neatly. The thing referred to is likely not reducible to a single statement but will more
probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations” (Foster 105). In the book,
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros uses two houses to symbolize several different
things. For instance, adaptation, learning, and hard work.
The House on Mango Street, highlights how houses can represent adaptation. The main
character, Esperanza, lives with her family on Mango Street in a small, humble house. Cisneros
narrates, “We didn’t always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third
floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I can’t
remember” (Cisneros 3). Moving changes things and it makes a person reevaluate their life.
When a person moves, they have to adjust mentally and physically. For instance, physically, the
bedroom could be in a different spot in the house. Mentally, friends and family relationships
change. Overall, the house on Mango Street symbolizes adaptation because the characters
have to adjust.
Additionally, the house on Mango Street symbolizes learning. A lot of life lessons can be
learned by cooking in a kitchen, living with siblings, and even cleaning up. The house that
Esperanza lives in provides her with all of these opportunities. For example, Esperanza thinks,
“But everybody wants to ride it today because the bike is new, so we decide to take turns after
tomorrow. Today it belongs to all of us” (Cisneros 15). This quote shows how living with a lot of
siblings can cause issues when someone receives a new thing. In this scenario, it is a new bike.
Esperanza learned that it’s better to share than be selfish.
Another thing the house on Mango Street symbolizes is hard work. For instance,
Cisneros writes, “I want a house on a hill like the ones with the gardens where papa works…
People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on
earth” (Cisneros 86). The house that Esperanza lives in allows her to dream and know what she
wants to work for. It also makes her understand how blessed she is to have hard working
parents. Her situation as a child motivated her to become very successful and wealthy. All in all,
the house on Mango Street influenced the work ethic that Esperanza has.
Sandra Cineros’s book, The House on Mango street, depicts a house that symbolizes
adaptation, learning, and hard work. This house contributes the interpretation of the work as a
whole because the readers wouldn’t fully comprehend the impact the last chapter has. For
Esperanza’s entire life, she dreamed of having a house that she could call her own. Therefore,
when she purchased the house… She had achieved everything she wanted and learned as a
little girl. Clearly, the house on Mango street serves a purpose greater than being a roof over the
character’s heads.