How does esperanza feel about her two languages

Where else does Sandra Cisneros use related images to suggest complicated themes? Where else does the author use this technique?

Describe the following situations in terms of the sensations they might evoke in different parts of your body: a entering a dark basement b seeing a pet die c learning that someone you secretly care for also likes you d making a speech at your high school graduation e seeing a baby brother or sister for the first time.

The last sentence of the book is: "For the ones who cannot out. Why do you think Cisneros has chosen to break perceived rules of grammar here? Might there be any relation between "breaking" grammar and breaking out of Mango Street? The people on Mango Street 1. Why is where Esperanza lives more important than who she is? How old do you think Esperanza is? Where in the book does Cisneros suggest her age?

Of what is Esperanza ashamed? What makes her cry? What makes her angry? We can find an example of this in "My Name": "At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. How does Esperanza see herself?

How does she think other people perceive her? Although Esperanza is clever and often very perceptive, she is still a child, and Cisneros sometimes shows her failing to see the significance of things that would be obvious to someone older. An adult might be suspicious about the new car and would probably not wave so cheerfully when Louie was taken away. What is the effect of making Esperanza what is sometimes called an "unreliable narrator"? Where else in the story does Cisneros use this technique?

What is the nature of her strength? How does Cisneros establish this characteristic elsewhere in the book? What is the significance of the information in so many of the chapter titles, i. How important is this information to your sense of who these people are?

What other details does Cisneros use to establish them? How would your sense of these people change had the author employed other details—how they look, what they wear, what they do for a living?

How does she feel about it? How do you think her house might look to a stranger? In "Boys and Girls" [], Cisneros writes, "The boys and the girls live in separate worlds. What kind of men and women are they likely to become when they grow up?

What does she admire about these women? What things can they teach her? In the stories "My Name" and "No Speak English," Cisneros describes a gulf between two languages, a gap of meaning and of feeling. In English, for example, Esperanza means hope; in Spanish, says the narrator, it suggests sadness and waiting [10]. How does Esperanza feel about her two languages—and by extension, about her two cultures? How does she feel about the society outside her barrio?

When Esperanza visits Elenita to have her fortune told, the witch tells her that she sees "an anchor of arms" and "a home in the heart. How do they tie in to themes Cisneros develops elsewhere in the book?

What do they want to leave? Describe the ways in which different people try to escape, as well as the result of their efforts. Aunt Lupe tells Esperanza that writing "will keep you free. What does freedom mean to you? What activity gives you a sense of freedom?

The three sisters tell Esperanza, "When you leave you must remember to come back for the others. In what way does Esperanza reconcile her longings to escape Mango Street with her loyalty to her origins? How might a writer like Cisneros come to terms with leaving a place like Mango Street? How would you choose to remain faithful to a place you needed to leave? Write a description of your home, using language that tells the reader both how it looks and how you feel about it.

Then write a description of your own family, using metaphors that not only tell the reader what your relatives look like but that suggest how you feel about them.

After rereading the story "My Name," write about your own name. Who gave it to you? What language does it come from? What does your name originally mean? If you were named after someone in your family, tell a story about that person. How well does your name "fit" you? If you were going to rename yourself, what name would you choose and why? Esperanza describes the "Four Skinny Trees" as "four who do not belong here but are here.

Write a description of an object in your neighborhood that reflects your feelings about yourself. Cisneros offers one view of Chicano culture in The House on Mango Street —the view her main character sees from her street in Chicago. How does this view of Chicano culture fit into the larger social fabric of the United States? What ceremonies and values set it apart?

What value does it ascribe to women? Drawing on independent research, present a different—or a more detailed—view of this culture. How might The House on Mango Street be different if the narrator were a boy? How is the book similar to or different from other books you may have read that feature young narrators, for example, Catcher in the Rye , Ellen Foster , or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Related Books and Guides. Bryan Washington. Ocean Vuong. Breakfast of Champions. Although Mamacita is unhappy, her sadness springs from her own helplessness, not from her husband.

Rafaela is trapped at home, but she does have the freedom to make exchanges with the children through the window. When Minerva comes to Esperanza for guidance, Esperanza says she can do nothing to help. Esperanza will have to work hard, and quickly, if she does not want to end up like Minerva. Without language, Mamacita is miserable. While others make fun of her appearance, Esperanza views Mamacita as a tragic figure. She believes Mamacita is stuck at home because of the language barrier.

In other vignettes, Esperanza has associated naming and linguistic ability with power and freedom, and here, she shows that the converse of that theory is true. Because Mamacita does not speak English, she must live her life in a cage. If self-expression does equal freedom as Esperanza hypothesizes, becoming a writer suddenly makes sense as the perfect way to escape the neighborhood.

SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Esperanza Sally Nenny. Themes Motifs Symbols. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics. What are three details about the sisters that make them mysterious? The sisters appear mysterious because their arrival is described as being related to the wind and the moon.

They also speak in riddles and incomplete statements, which they finish for each other. What happened when Esperanza took the note asking if she could stay for lunch? She had to point out her house to the sister superior. She ended up staying for lunch this one time but in the future she had to go home. The Family of Little Feet The mother of the little foot family gives Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza a paper bag with three pairs of high-heeled shoes. The girls are pleased with the way they look in the high-heels, and practice strutting their stuff around the neighborhood; they raise the interest of men and the disdain of other girls in the process.

Analysis: The shoes change the girls by giving them self-confidence and awareness of their blossoming sexuality. What did Esperanza buy? How did she go about buying it? What did the girls discover in the furniture store that made Esperanza feel stupid? The fact that they were too young to be wearing shoes like that, and if he said that he was going to callthe cops then he could have scared them into taking the shoes off. One day she asks her mother to write a note giving her permission to pack a lunch and eat in the canteen.

Why does Esperanza lie about her home? The humiliating experience Esperanza endures with the nun is similar to experience in chapter 1, because in both cases, she was ashamed of her house. Possible response: She cries because she is disap- pointed. The canteen is not special, and Esperanza went to a lot of trouble to get to eat there. This reveals that Esperanza is envious of Nenny for her physical looks. Nenny, whose real name is Magdalena, is a pretty, dreamy little girl for whom Esperanza is often responsible.

Since Nenny is immature, she is often a source of embarrassment for Esperanza when the two of them play with Rachel and Lucy. Read an in-depth analysis of Nenny. But as the story progresses, Esperanza and Nenny seem to grow closer. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.