I must say that The House on Mango Street was one of the books that I was most looking forward to in this course. As I first started reading this book, I found myself a bit confused and wasn’t quite sure how to understand the structure in which the book is written. As I continued reading, I soon found myself quite interested in Esperanza and the way she shares the stories of the people that surround her and her own life on Mango Street. This book offers the reader a compilation of stories of different stages or different events and people in Esperanza’s life. What makes this book unique is that you don’t have to read the book from beginning to end to understand it, the reader can open any chapter and start reading. Each chapter offers us a distinct story.
I would say that one of the main takeaways for me after reading this book would be Esperanza’s desire to become her own self and not one of the many women found on Mango Street. The ones that sit by the window looking outside, the women who do not have a way out. Esperanza observes the women in her family and in her neighbourhood as her only role models, women who have been unable to break from the traditional roles imposed on them. These women are trapped in a culture that promotes and enforces patriarchal control and oppression. Esperanza is witness of this from a young age and she puts it on herself to not become one of these many women stuck in a life that denies them freedom in becoming their own self. These women are trapped either by their fathers, husbands, children or their regrets of not rejecting these traditional roles that keep them locked up, unable to escape. As Sandra Cisneros puts it at the beginning of the book: A las Mujeres, To the Women. I believe that this book is for those women that feel stuck and chained up to a life that has been unfair and that has seen them withstand mistreatment from traditional patriarchal roles. Esperanza sheds light on these women and on her culture that continuously disregards the independence of women and incessantly promotes their codependence on a male figure. Esperanza is determined to escape and aspires to be much more as she does not want to become just another woman sitting by the window.
Hi Stephanie!
This book was also for me, one that I was looking forward to read since the beginning. I agree with you in that the style of the book is pretty innovative and permits the reader to not only stay focused on Esperanza’s life, but to also be aware of the experiences and lives of other women such as Sally, Ruthie, and so on.
I also agree with you on how Esperanza’s dream is to change her own destiny and do not repeat the same mistakes that the women around her have made. She does not want to be another woman in a window, who sees the world pass by her, being unable to enjoy it.
A sad thing about this book, however, is that the other women who are “left” in Mango Street did not run with the same luck than Esperanza. Maybe, that’s why they urge her to come back and don’t forget where she comes from.
Hi stephany !
So far, I have not given any thought to the directions of the reading. As you point out, it is true that we can read any vignette at any time because they are loosely related to each other. However, I do not agree with you when you say that we can read, we do not need to read the book from beginning to end to understand it. I believe that the book has a precise reading direction, because Esperanza builds her self-awareness and her need to escape by observing the events that occur in her life. Therefore, if we want to follow this process, I think it is necessary to read from beginning to end.
Stay safe!
Aurélien.
“Esperanza is determined to escape and aspires to be much more as she does not want to become just another woman sitting by the window.”
Yes, this is true. I’d add, however, that one of Cisneros’s achievements is the sympathy she shows to such women. At no point does she judge them, which I think could have been a temptation.
As to the question of whether the book has a “reading direction.” While surely some of the chapters could be in a different order, I suggest that the first few belong at the beginning, and the last few definitely belong at the end. For (as Aurélien says) there is a process of learning over the course of the narrative, and that process is indicated by the difference between beginning and end.