Plot Overview

About the Author

The House on Mango Street takes place

in 1984 in the city of Chicago. Esperanza
Cordero (the main character) is trying to
find herself, while everything around her
is changing. The story is about a year in
Esperanzas life. In this year Esperanza,
twelve years old, moves from her old run
down apartment into an old run down
house on Mango street (which is a big
improvement). Esperanza is not pleased
by this turn in events because she was
promised a beautiful house with privacy,
but instead she got the complete
opposite.
Esperanza matures a lot over this year
she makes new friends, has her first
crush, goes through her first heartbreak,
and suffers through a sexual assault. The
story not only talks about Esperanzas
life, but the lives of the people around
her.
Around the summertime Esperanza hits
puberty and starts liking boys. After
Esperanza meets a girl named Sally she
starts writing, and shares her work with
the women in her neighborhood whom

Sandra Cisneros is an American author,

but comes from a Mexican decent. She
grew up with both parents and grew up
the only daughter in a family of 6
brothers. Throughout her life Cisneros
would migrate from America and Mexico,
this lead her to feel like she did not
belong to either culture. The novel The
House on Mango Street is the first book
Sandra Cisneros ever wrote, she wrote
the novel in 1894, and later went on to
write Woman Hollering Creek and Other
Stories in 1991.

Historical Context
The novel setting is Chicago, 1984, in an
old run down neighborhood. The novel is
written in vignettes. The culture that
surrounds the novel is Chicano culture
(Mexican-Americans). A lot of the
characters live in poverty.

The House on Mango

Street
Sandra Cisneros
Emily Ramirez
18 September 2016

Essential Quotes
Quotes from The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros: In English my name
means hope. In Spanish it means too
many letters. It means sadness, it means
waiting (10). No, this isnt my house I
say and shake my head as if shaking
could undo the year Ive lived here. I dont
belong. I dont ever want to come from
here (106).

Reflections
The novel made me think about my life
because Esperanza is trying to find
herself while the people and things
around her are changing. So, basically
were in the same boat, I am still trying to
find myself while the people around me
are changing.

Character Analysis

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Esperanza: Twelve year old, Chicana

(Mexican-American) girl (Main
Character).
Lucy: Esperanzas best friend, sister to
Rachel, born in Texas.
Rachel: Esperanzas best friend, sister to
Lucy, born in Texas.
Sally: Esperanza befriends her, sexually
bold, is abused by her father, runs off and
gets married.
Nenny: Esperanzas little sister,
Esperanza is often responsible for her.
Marin: A young woman from Puerto Rico,
teaches Esperanza and her friends about
boys.
Papa: Esperanzas father, born in Mexico.
Mama: Esperanzas mother, grew up in
the United States.
Alicia: Esperanzas friend who attends
college, tries to escape the neighborhood
through marriage.
Cathy: Esperanzas first friend in the
neighborhood, not Latin American or from
Mexico.

Some major themes in the story are You

are not bound by expectations, but only
what you limit yourself to, Be thankful for
what you have, and finding who you are.

A few motifs and symbols in The House

on Mango Street are Esperanzas
expectations of a new house showed
some foreshadowing because you do not
always get what you want.
Another, would be the imagery of the
house she was expecting to get and the
house she actually received.
One last one is, a metaphor of this quote
Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon
tied to an anchor. Which means
Esperanza is not letting herself be free
she must stay in the position she started
in.

You are not bound by expectations, but

only what you limit yourself to. Which
means you do not need to follow the
expectations of others, only the
expectations you hold yourself to.
Esperanza limits herself to the
expectation of her family and friends.
Be thankful for what you have. Which
means Esperanza lives in poverty so she
does not have much. She must make the
most out of what is available to her.
Finding who you are. Which means
Esperanza is trying to figure out who she
is throughout the novel.