Macbeth Review

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Jamaica Kincaid- "Girl"

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Analysis

Earl of Tennessee

Earl, a jukebox repairman from the South, is Esperanza’s main focus in this vignette. Cisneros describes Earl’s life using lots of imagery and similes. His apartment, described as a breath of mold and darkness, and the sounds of his returning home give readers auditory, visual, and olfactory imagery. Not only in this vignette but throughout the book, her uses of imagery help to more accurately portray her time on Mango St. and the its community. She also uses similes and personification to describe Earl’s dogs, “but leap and somersault like an apostrophe and comma.” (The Earl of Tennessee, pg. 71) The Earl of Tennessee is related to the theme of maturity than runs throughout the book. Esperanza, even though she often times pushes herself into mature things, is still naive and young at heart. This is exemplified by her beliefs about Earl’s wife. Certainly, the girls that the neighbors see entering his house are not the same woman. Readers are left to assume that Earl is bringing home prostitutes or just many women in general. Either way, this assumption does not cross Esperanza’s mind. To her, he just has a wife. This innocence represent her inner youth, despite the maturity level she believes she has reached.

Sires

This vignette is a dramatic contrast to The Earl of Tennessee. Here, it is evident that Esperanza has matured quite a bit. She begins to notice boys and gets caught up in daydreams about them. Not only does this illustrate her maturation, but it also shows the tough decisions that teenagers face. Esperanza impulsively wants to be like Lois and “sit out bad at night, a boy around my neck and the wind under my skirt.” (Sire, pg. 73) However, the mothers advice still rings in her ear, “But Mama says those kinds of girls, those girls are the ones that go into alleys.” (Sire, pg. 73) This is a common conflict for teenagers, deciding between impulses and morals. Although she is lured by her impulses, Esperanza does seem to show that her values outweigh them. She admires Lois’s beauty, however she notes that she cannot tie her shoes. She follows this by saying, “I do.” This is reassuring that Esperanza values wits and character over material things like beauty. This in turn, keeps her from following her maturing instincts.

Four Skinny Trees

This vignette uses a tree to represent Esperanza.  She admires their attempt at beauty and strength in an unpromising place. "Four who grew despite concrete. "Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be." (Four Skinny Trees, pg. 75) This is relates to Esperanza in how she seeks beauty and good in everything around her. This has been an apparent trend in the past vignettes, and is brought into more light by this metaphor. Cisneros uses personification to associate the trees to herself. "Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth..” (Four Skinny Trees, pg 74) This is also related to Esperanza's frustration with the world. She is often conflicted with the fact that she lives on Mango Street and that her home is not the model house seen on magazines and TV. She wonders why she is different, yet she uses this anger to build strength and character. Lastly, this vignette displays Esperanza's teenage emotions. LIke the classic teenager, she is trying to find her place in the world and often times feel misunderstood by her friends and family. This is exemplified by the quote, "They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them.” (Four Skinny Trees, pg 74).

No Speak English

In this vignette, there are many themes represented. The first is the theme of femininity and beauty. Although Mamacita is not the traditionally slim, beautiful woman, Esperanza still finds her to be breathtaking. Cisneros describes this with great visual imagery, "All at once she bloomed. Huge, enormous, beautiful to look at, fromt he salmon-pink feather on the tip of her hat down to the little rosebuds on her toes. I couldn’t take my eyes off her tiny shoes.” (No Speak English, pg 77)  Mamacita, although Esperanza doesn't know her well, is another one of the women that she admires. In many ways, Esperanza and Mamacita are very similar. They both are unique, yet beautiful in their own unconventional ways, and they both yearn for a home. Mamacita for her pink home back in her country, and Esperanza for one of her own. Esperanza, even though she many not realize it, admires these similarities. She also admires Mamacita's adherence to her heritage. This is something that she can relate to and Mamacita is someone she can look towards for guidance.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

Rafaela is another woman that Esperanza can look towards. However, Esperanza does not look at her admiringly, but rather cautiously. Rafaela is confined to her home, and seems to be caught up in material things. She is always looking for something better, and that is a dangerous path to go down. Unlike Esperanza, she seems to lack the ability to find beauty and good in the little things. She then gets caught up in wishes and dreams. This is emphasized by the last line, "And always there is someone offering sweeter drinks, someone promising to keep them on a silver string." (Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays, pg 80)

Sally

This vignette is about Sally, a pretty girl that Cisneros describes with great imagery, "The boys at school think she's beautiful because her hair is shiny black like raven feathers and when she laughs, she flicks her hair back like a satin shawl over her shoulders and laughs." (Sally, pg 81) Sally's story relates to the theme of sexuality and society's expectations for females. Her father, who is constantly degrading her confidence, represents these societal expectations. Sally also shares similarities with Esperanza. They both have dreams and wishes to escape their lives on Mango Street. "Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street, far away and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you." (Sally, pg 82) 

The Earl of Tennessee to Sally

The Earl of Tennessee

“The Earl of Tennessee” is about Esperanza's neighbor Earl who she is questioned about. He is secretive with his blinds down during the day and only working at night. The only time the kids see him is when he goes and comes home from work. Or, he always comes outside to tell them to be quiet when they are sitting on the steps outside his apartment. He is from the south and a jukebox repair man. People who live on Mango Street that Earl has a wife who lives somewhere else. But, the kids and Esperanza’s mom all describe the women differently. I think that Earl is bringing prostitutes in his apartment because they come and go, they all look different, and they always walk quickly inside, lock the door and never stay long. I think this is interesting because sometimes you don’t know anything about the people you live around but eventually over time you and other people will start to assume things about that person.

Sire

“Sire” is about a boy who stares at Esperanza every time she passes his house. He makes her feel weird inside but, a good weird because he is always looking at her and she notices it. It shows that Esperanza likes to be noticed by boys and she isn't use to it. But, Sire has a girlfriend nmes Lois and Esperanza takes a good look at her and admires her feminine looks. Esperanza’s dad calls him a punk, and her mom wants her not to talk to him. At the end of the vignette Esperanza states that she wants to sit and be with boys and know what it is like to be held and kissed. This shows the coming of age because she is realizing that she is in a point in her life where she wants to associate herself with boys.

Four Skinny Trees

Esperanza is thinking about the four skinny trees that are outside her and Nenny’s bedroom. She feels a connection with these trees and that they understand her. The trees represent Esperanza because there skinny with pointed elbows and don’t have a lot of strength but they are here when they don’t belong here. Whenever Esperanza feels down on herself she looks at the four trees and it makes her feel important and that she’s here for a reason.

No Speak English

There is a man across the street who works very hard day and night to save money for his wife and child to come to the United States. Mamacita and a child arrive in a taxi. Esperanza describes her all dressed in pink and is huge and beautiful. Mamacita doesn't come down from the third floor apartment and she only knows three phrases in English “he not here”, “no speak english”, and “holy smokes”. Mamacita stays home all day listening and singing to Spanish songs. She is very homesick and misses her pink house. Mamacita doesn't want to forget where she came from and she is not comfortable in the United States. She is unhappy with where she is and she shows that with not trying to do new things and not trying to learn english. I like this vignette because it shows how some people are so adapted to where they came from and  if they move they can’t stop thinking of home.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

This vignette talks about Rafaela’s husband who locks her indoors when he goes out because she is so beautiful. She is getting old but is still so young from sitting outside the window too long. Rafaela asks Esperanza and her friends to go buy her some coconut or papaya juice and she throws them a dollar from her balcony. This gave me a sad and trapped feeling inside because she is looking outside her window all day watching life happen but she can’t do that.

Sally

Sally is a girl in Esperanza’s school who is very pretty. Sally is not aloud to go out because her father is very strict. She wears makeup and black clothes, Esperanza wants to be like her. Boys say stories about Sally and Esperanza overhears them talking but she does not believe them. After school she goes straight home pulling down her skirt and taking her makeup off. At the end of the vignette Esperanza wonders if Sally wishes she didn’t have to go home and would go to a room by herself, where she wasn't judged and could be by herself. I think this chapter is very important because people get sick of society always judging and making comments on you and that the room alone to yourself would be nice. It would be nice to not always have to live up to people's expectations and to be yourself.

Earl of Tennesse - Sally

The Earl of Tennessee is about a recluse that lives in a basement apartment in Esperanza’s neighborhood. The vignette centers around no particular event; it simply paints a picture of the life of this lonely old man. Since he works nights, he stays inside with the blinds closed most of the day, only coming out to tell the neighborhood kids to stay quiet. He owns two dogs, always wears a felt hat, and repairs jukeboxes for a living. As is the case with many of these vignettes, The Earl of Tennessee gives us a few details about a certain neighbor of Esperanza’s whose life is otherwise left a mystery. It is up to the reader to “fill in the blanks” of the neighbor’s life; to extrapolate from what little information is given about them what their life might be otherwise. Earl clearly likes music; he owns “boxes and boxes” of records (p. 71) and gives them out to the children, “all except the country and western,” (p. 71), which he is clearly most fond of. This adds some depth to his character, as it enlightens the reader as to what Earl might do in his free time, and adds to the sense that he is a very solitary person; living alone, he only has his records to keep him company. The idea that Earl is a very lonely person is again emphasized when the reader learns that he sometimes comes home with a woman, walking into the apartment fast and leaving quickly, and that the woman apparently looks different each time. The implication here is that Earl regularly hires prostitutes, the last resort of a man who has never found love and is probably too late now to do so. This description of the prostitutes Earl comes home with is also another example of Esperanza’s unreliable narration, as she, in her innocence, believes that Earl is simply coming home with his wife, assuming that the varying descriptions of this woman’s appearance are simply a result of confusion about what she looks like, rather than realizing that they are in fact all different women.

Sire is a vignette that focuses on the theme of Esperanza’s growing maturity. It describes her attraction to a neighborhood boy and the various facets of her teenage infatuation. Esperanza’s parents tell her that Sire is a punk, and that she should not talk to him. This “bad boy” facet of his personality, though, only serves to make her more attracted to him. Esperanza is also slightly afraid of Sire; when she walks past him and his friends, she tries not to look at them. She is somewhat jealous of his girlfriend Lois, watching her and Sire ride around on Sire’s bike together, and informing the reader of her shoe-tying skills and their superiority to Lois’s. Finally, at the end of the chapter, Esperanza rather explicitly expresses her desire to start being sexually active, to have “a boy around my neck,” (p. 73) hating to have to spend “every evening talking to the trees, leaning out my window, imagining what I can’t see.” (p. 73) She also mentions a dream she had in which she was being held by a boy, and briefly fantasizes about being held and kissed by Sire.

In Four Skinny Trees, Esperanza gives the reader a rare showing of her frustration with the conditions she lives in. She begins the vignette with the sentence “They are the only ones who understand me,” (p. 74) which already indicates that she feels frustrated alienated. The only people she feels understand her are not, in fact, people, but rather four trees planted by the city in a futile attempt to beautify Mango Street. At first glance, they seem pathetic and flimsy, but they have great strength hidden in their underground root systems, and in their resilience as the continue to grow and never bend, as they “grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger.” (p. 74) The four trees also find solidarity in each other; as Esperanza explains, if one of them were to fail, “they’d all droop like tulips in a glass.” (pgs. 74-75) Esperanza finds comfort and strength in the endurance of these trees; when she is “too sad and too skinny to keep keeping,” (p. 75) she looks to the trees for inspiration, which grew despite being planted practically in the concrete, which never stop reaching for the sky.

No Speak English is another portrayal of one of Esperanza’s neighbors, this one even more wretched than most. She is an old lady, very obese, who reluctantly moved to America after her son made enough money to buy her a trip from Mexico and to take her in. She does not speak any English, and misses Mexico dearly. Her homesickness is painfully apparent, as she spends all day listening to and singing Mexican songs. Her son clearly tries hard to make her feel more at home, even painting the walls pink to resemble those of her old house, but the old lady does not become any less miserable. Her son becomes increasingly frustrated by her homesickness, upsetting her further, and the final straw occurs when her grandson begins to sing the jingle for a Pepsi ad he saw on TV; the woman’s refrain of “No Speak English,” from which the title of this vignette comes, turns from an explanation of her language skills to an imperative, as her grandchild’s assimilation into American language and culture is breaking her heart. The old woman’s uncomfortableness with English and American culture is evident as English is described as “the language that sounds like tin” (p. 78) This vignette depicts one of the sorrier members of Esperanza’s neighborhood, and possibly also is a reflection on Esperanza’s wish for a nice, quiet home of her own; in her own way, Esperanza is homesick too, although she yearns for a home that she does not yet have.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays, is yet another vignette about yet another neighbor pining for yet another unattainable dream. This time, the neighbor in question is a beautiful young lady with an abusive husband who goes so far as to lock her inside when he is out. Rafaela listens to the music coming from the bar down the street and wishes that she could go and dance there. Since she, being imprisoned in her own house, cannot go anywhere, she instead gives a dollar to the children, asking them to buy her coconut or papaya juice from the store, and drinks her juice, wishing there were lighter and sweeter drinks to drink and a lighter and sweeter life to live. Again, this is a portrayal of a neighbor of Esperanza’s whose life is far from perfect, and who is made very human and very relatable by the small and insignificant details of her day-to-day life that are given to the reader.

Sally is a very intense and moving vignette about a girl who Esperanza admires very much and who is very pretty, but who has a troubled home life. Esperanza wants to be like Sally; she wants to learn how to “paint [her] eyes like Cleopatra,” (p. 81) and wants Sally to teach her how. She absolutely adores Sally, her looks, her clothes, everything, and wants very much to be friends with Sally. As well as finding her quite beautiful, Esperanza sees something mysterious in Sally as well; she sees how Sally spends much of her time alone, “as if no one was watching,” (p. 82) and asks several questions of Sally, like “What do you think about when you close your eyes like that? And why do you always have to go straight home after school?” Esperanza sees how Sally is reluctant to go home, and knows that her father is very strict and disapproves strongly of Sally showing any hint of sexuality. Esperanza empathizes deeply with Sally, possibly more deeply than with any other character so far, and wishes for Sally to find love.

The house on Mango Street

Lindsay Barber 

The Earl of Tennessee

The vignette begins by vividly describing the setting as old and used, but also beautiful.  The flowers show the beauty in it, even though they are described as dusty and infested with cockroaches.  The tone is mysterious, creating confusion for the reader when it describes the few times the children actually see Earl is when he goes to work.  His blinds are always drawn during the day with a heavy old wooden door that moans when he returns late at night.  Earl is depicted as a man who is very predictable, he always has a routine; he wakes up, goes to work, and wears the same felt hat everyday.  This conclusion can also be drawn by the motif of the damp, moldy smell that follows him around like a thick fog.  The theme of loyalty is explored here because everyone seems to have a different idea of what his wife looks like, when each of these women have quick, short visits to his house.  Since the point of view is being told matter of factly, it’s hard to tell what feelings are felt by Esperanza, so the reader can make their own thoughts and opinions.

Sire

As Esperanza is growing up, she notices the looks that she gets from boys on her street.  The boy Sire who lives on her street, and also the boy she has a crush on, frightens her.  She knows that she gets attention from him as she walks down the street, but never looks him back.  I feel emotions of sympathy for her because he is not liked by her parents who warn her that he is a punk and not to talk to him.  When she meets his girlfriend, she studies her physical appearance and notices the pink polish on her toes and her made up face; but starts comparing actual skills such as tying shoes.  A skill Esperanza has and she doesn’t.  Lois doesn’t have common sense or the knowledge of many basic things; she is the girl that wonders into dark alleys, Mama warns Esperanza.  Towards the end of the vignette she becomes envious that she doesn’t have someone like how Sire and Lois have each other and she longs for someone to be with.

Four Skinny Trees

I feel upset upon reading the first paragraph where Esperanza feels that she has no one.  No one understands her or could possible know how she feels besides four skinny trees.  She feels that she is a raggedy excuse for a person who just takes up space like the trees planted by the city.  The reoccurring theme of being optimistic and her ability to find the best in anything or anyone shines through.  Esperanza that their strength is a secret, just like hers.  Her unseen talent is compared to that of the hidden tree roots underground.  I am overwhelmed by feelings of inspiration once I finished the vignette.  She was able to recognize that they are her own inspiration.  When there is nothing else to look at, Esperanza finds solitude, her reason to push, and reach for the stars. 

No Speak English

As Esperanza observes the man’s wife, Mamacita, she noticed how she not once, left their house.  She missed Mexico, a part of her that she would never get back.  Although the woman is hugely fat, she is still found to be beautiful in the eyes of Esperanza.  Mamacita sits by the window all day; similar to how Esperanza’s unhappy grandmother did when she was not satisfied with her life.  Esperanza is able to simplify things, down to where she believes that she is kept in the house out of fear of not being able to speak English.  The vignette remarks about the loud yelling and arguments between the two and how she is always kept inside.  Because of her young age and naïve, she might not able to comprehend the full situation.  It breaks her heart that he insists to speak the ugly language that she is unable to understand.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

Rafaela is another woman trapped up in a house when her husband is away, demonstrating the path that Esperanza wants to avoid at all costs.  Rafaela is so beautiful and in love that she sacrifices her freedom to be with her husband.  Even if it means that she is sometimes miserable.  Esperanza categorizes her into a certain group of women that are drawn to oppressive men.  This is evident when she suggests that even when she was to become independent, she would just go to another bar and find another one.  Esperanza exemplifies greater writing skills along with her own internal and external conflicts that she explores such as her sexuality and autonomy. 

Sally

Sally is another girl who attends Esperanza’s school and idolizes her.  She represents a kind of sexual maturity that Esperanza finds intriguing.  As time goes by, Sally starts to slip away when she returns home each day to her overly religious father who finds her beauty have a potential for creating trouble.  Esperanza pities her and wishes that she could just move somewhere else away from him and his ways.  Esperanza romanticizes Sally, and it is clear that she is beginning to choose Sally’s path, at least temporarily.  Now that Esperanza wants to be Sally’s new best friend, Rachel and Lucy begin to slowly fade away from the story line.      

Vignette Analysis

Earl of Tennessee is about Esperanza's neighbor, Earl, a jukebox repairman from Tennessee. Esperanza portrays him as a decent guy, always giving away old records to kids. The main point of this story is the woman always visiting Earl. Esperanza doesn't know what they do, but she does know that "They walk fast into the apartment, lock the door behind them and never stay long." This shows that although Esperanza is maturing, she is still a child. She still doesn't know what a strange and cruel place the world can be, but she's learning.

Sire is about Esperanza's newfound feelings for boys. In this chapter, she notices Sire, a punk that lives in the neighborhood, stares at her when she walks past. She ignores him, and pretends not to be scared of him. She also describes his girlfriend in extensive detail. You find out in the last paragraph of the chapter that she wants to be like his girlfriend, and have a boyfriend like Sire. This vignette is one that shows how Esperanza, throughout the course of the book, is becoming less of a little girl and maturing into a young woman who knows more about life and her place in society and the world.

Four Skinny Trees describes four raggedy excuses for trees planted in her city. She admires their strength, their ability to stand strong and send roots beneath the ground and "grab on with their hairy toes" and also says that they teach her to keep strong. These trees are almost like Esperanza's role models, telling her to be her own person and be unique, and not be a weak woman, like the Chinese and Mexicans like. They also tell her that no matter how tiny she is, she can break through the concrete and reach for the sky, and she can always just be and be.

No Speak English is about Mamacita, the mother of the man across the street from Esperanza, and her struggles to accept America as her home, and learn to adapt to this strange environment. Her son had been working two jobs and earning as much money as possible to pay for his mother and his baby son to come to America, however, once she comes, she is unhappy, and wants to go back to her home in Mexico. She is unhappy, and is afraid of something, maybe english, and all she does is sit in her room and cry all day. Esperanza understands this, and says that if she was away from her pink house in Mexico, she would cry too. Esperanza also notices how upset Mamacita is once her baby boy starts speaking english as well.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice On Tuesdays is one of the shorter vignettes in the book, and maybe one of the sadder ones too. Rafaela is a young woman who is Esperanza's neighbor, and is always leaning out her window because her husband won't let her come outside, every once in a while, she asks Esperanza and her friends too buy her a drink from the convenience store, and she is always complaining of how bitter the drinks are and how she wishes someone would offer her something sweeter. This story shows how we always want something better or sweeter, but we're never willing or sometimes never able to reach for or work for that something. Esperanza understands this, and seems to feel sympathetic for Rafaela

Sally is a vignette about Esperanza's friend Sally, a girl she desperately wants to be like. Sally, with her "satin black hair" and "eyes like egypt" is admired by all the boys in her school, and Esperanza wishes she could be the same. Esperanza, however, also thinks that maybe Sally doesn't want all the boys to lover her. She thinks that maybe Sally wants peace and quiet, and to rub off her eyeliner and get rid of her fancy clothes. She thinks that maybe Sally just wants to have a peaceful place to be, where she can laugh and all her troubles would go away.

Vignette Analysis

Earl of Tennessee

The character that is introduced in this vignette, Earl, is a jukebox repairman from the south who lives next door in Edna's basement. Both Earl and his home are described using expressive imagery, as well as literary devices like similes and metaphors. "...Moldy and damp like the smell that comes out of his apartment whenever he opens the door." (The Earl of Tennessee, pg 71) This line occurs three times throughout the vignette emphasizing the gloominess of his apartment. The imagery adds to the scene that Cisneros has conjured in the reader's mind, making it all the more detailed. She adds things like the "scrape of concrete" or the "excited tinkling of dog tags" to describe the routine that Earl always follows.  "They don't walk like ordinary dogs, but leap and somersault like an apostrophe and a comma." (The Earl of Tennessee, pg 71) By comparing the dogs to literary terms, she shows she is growing as a poet, as this line in somewhat poetic. Like we saw in the earlier chapter when her aunt tells her to keep writing because it will keep her free, Esperanza grows stronger at making connections and seeing beauty in everything. This vignette illustrates Esperanza's naive nature at describing Earl's wife as always looking differently when he is actually having prostitutes over. The reader is left with a feeling of sympathy for Earl. He works the night shift somewhere, which is a hard thing to do, and lives in a closed, damp space which doesn't emit any feel of being homey or comfortable. This vignette makes the reader of aware of the struggle that many people endure and push through. 

Sire

The vignette "Sire" is about Esperanza's growing awareness in boys and signifies her beginning to come of age. Sire symbolizes the option of pursuing a crush rather than following her dreams and becoming a defined individual. "They didn't scare me. They did, but I wouldn't let them know." (Sire, pg 72) Esperanza is nervous about how she now sees boys and how they see her. Though she is somewhat uncomfortable with the boy's stare, she enjoys the attention. Esperanza feels like Marin and how the boy stared at her that night under the lamp post. She begins to understand as she matures and this vignette is one of the key points in her maturity. Lois, Sire's girlfriend, is a symbol of the cliched idea of feminism as seen by describing her as "tiny", "pretty", and "smelling like a baby's skin." Cisneros criticizes the idea of a helpless women in the way she talks about Lois being unable to tie her own shoes. She is helped by Sire, supposedly the man and strong one in the relationship because most of her beauty lies in her weak, dependent nature unlike Esperanza who is stronger than that. Going back to the previous vignette, Earl of Tennessee, who's sexual activity isn't questioned and is accepted which contrasts to Lois, who Esperanza's mom criticizes. This symbolizes the gender stereotype because for men it is fine, but women are considered not proper and low. Imagery like "the long like ladies' bones" (Sire, pg 73) help add the image of how a female should look in order to better fit her role as support to the male. 

Four skinny trees 

By developing an awareness of the beauty around her, Esperanza finds confidence and strength. Though the trees aren't beautiful and are "raggedy excuses", they remind her of herself with their "skinny necks and point elbows." (Four skinny trees, pg. 74) The trees help Esperanza remember she is strong and one day she will do great things. "Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down...This is how they keep." (Four Skinny Trees, pg. 74) When she feels small and insignificant, the trees remind her she can do anything she sets her mind to. Despite the harsh city environment and the concrete paved streets, the trees still sprouted and grew strong. Imagery such as "between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth..." provoke images of determination and ferociousness as well as personifying the trees to be humanlike. 

No Speak English

In this vignette, again the theme of seeing beauty everywhere is brought up. "Huge, enormous, beautiful to look at..." (No Speak English, 77) Esperanza is noticing the beauty in everything, from the scraggly trees to the overweight woman. The community of Mango Street wasn't very welcoming to Mamasita, especially seeing that she doesn't speak the same language. Though Esperanza doesn't seem to notice it, Mamasita and herself are many ways. Mamasita longs for her mom because it is the only place she knows and feels comfortable in while Esperanza longs for a house of her own, somewhere she is proud to call home. "She still sighs for her pink house, and then I think she cries. I would." (No Speak English, 77) Mamasita's husband isn't sympathetic towards her which negatively impacts her transition from her old life. Though Esperanza barely knows the women, she sympathizes with her expressing her understanding and maturity which has grown throughout the book. At the very end, we see how torn up Mamasita is that her little son is learning English as his first language. She believes that his heritage and upbringing is no longer in her own hands because her native tongue is not being taught to her son. 

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

Rafaela, a beautiful young girl being kept in an apartment due to her husband's lack of faith in her, falls into a depression as she imagines she was allowed outside. Her confinement is something that Esperanza wants to avoid. Esperanza wants to be someone, an individual, which is why she refuses to give into her love of attention and stays away from boys who find her desirable. Rafaela dreams about freedom and what she would do to get it back, but it is too late. All she has are the occasional drinks that Esperanza and the kids buy for her when she gives them money. "And always there is someone offering sweeter drinks, someone promising to keep them on a silver string." (Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays, pg 80) The sweeter drinks symbolize better, but empty promises that girls can be tempted with and the enjoyment that Rafaela can not ever fully enjoy. This vignette brings up a feeling of longing and yearning to be free, something that Esperanza plans to steer clear of. 

Sally 
Sally is an important person in Esperanza's life because she is someone Esperanza aspires to be, someone who makes heads turn. She is another example of the idea of feminism. Though Esperanza thinks she has it all, Sally's father doesn't approve of this beauty and abuses her. "They are very strict in his religion." (Sally, pg 81) Her beauty brings up memories of his sisters's which makes him sad. Something happened to them, not explained in the book, that made Sally's father despise beauty so much. Espernaza's naive nature is also pictured in this vignette. She doesn't understand that Sally has problems at home, she just sees it as a random change in personality. "You become a different Sally. You pull your skirt straight, you rub the blue off your eyelids. You don't laugh, Sally." (Sally, pg 82) The theme of there is more than meets the eye comes up in this vignette when we find that though Sally is gorgeous, popular, and seemingly happy, her home isn't filled with love and doesn't approve of her. She escapes her abusive father in her dreams where she can make up anything she likes and she can love and be loved. 

Vignette Analyses

"The Earl of Tennessee":  

The “Earl of Tennessee” is a chapter that explores yet another of Esperanza’s unique neighbors that potentially have an impact on Esperanza’s choices in character as she grows up. Here Earl is seen as a character that is obsessed with ambition and makes no room in his life for love. He is at work all day and “his blinds are always closed during the day.” (Cisneros, page 70). This shows how he has no interest in endeavors of the outside world. His boxes of moldy, damp 45 records are a testament to his is disinterest of beauty, and the fact that he so freely gives them away shows that he has no one with whom to share them. This can be likened to the music box in “Gil’s Furniture Bought and Sold,” in which Gil hoards his music box for the sake of his own personal attachment to its beauty, while Earl has no interest in them, except for the country and western which may play into his own personal identity that he keeps with him so far from the South. The introduction of his wife in by no means romantic and somewhat forceful, showing Earl’s attempt, and subsequent utter failure at love due to his ambition that dominants his life during the day.  

"Sire":

“Sire” marks a key step in Esperanza’s character development, specifically her sexual awakening. It presents a conflict between what is the best thing to do as opposed to what Esperanza secretly desires. She is originally afraid of Sire, as he stared at her. Her parents are disapproving of Sire, and advised Esperanza to stay away from him in protection of her personal safety: “He is a punk, Papa says, and Mama says not to talk to him.” (Cisneros, page 73). A great aspect of Esperanza’s interest is Sire’s girlfriend, Lois, who is beautiful, delicate, and practically helpless. She is unable to even tie her own shoes, making her dependent on Sire. While this is certainly not an ambition of Esperanza, the finds the romance desirable, and wants it guiltily. This is perhaps representative of the difficult choices youth are forced to make during adolescence between what they truly want and what they know is right. This alludes to the spirit of peer pressure.      

"Four Skinny Trees":

“Four Skinny Trees,” is a chapter on Esperanza’s perseverance. She likens herself to four intertwined, malnourished trees that are forced to grown in an environment in which they do not necessarily belong: “four who do not belong here but are here.” (Cisneros, page 74). This coincides with the fact that Mango Street is not Esperanza’s ideal environment in which to grow up, and she is constantly looking to the future to find a better place for herself. However, the permanence of the trees in their inability to seek other places represent Esperanza’s obligation to remain, and she must make the best of what she has and grow to be her “tallest” or best, despite the conditions that are set against here. When Cisneros says: “...and never quit their anger,” (Cisneros, page 74) this is much like how Esperanza must fight against the mold of the Chinese and Mexicans not liking their women strong. She must never stop fighting against all that oppress her from her ambitions. In saying “let one forget his reason for being, they'd all droop like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around each other,” any loss of direction could result in Esperanza’s irreparable failure, forcing her to concentrate on growing into the best person she can possibly be. It also alludes to the fact that it is often tiring and difficult to keep this up; however, it is necessary for Esperanza in order to achieve her goals, ambitions, and most importantly, the person whom she chooses to become.        

"No Speak English":

Mamacita in the vignette “No Speak English” is another prime example of a figure who Esperanza aspires not to be. Mamacita and her baby made a journey financed by her hardworking husband to Mango Street, which was probably her dream. Though she eventually got it, she soon realized that it was not what she expected it to be, triggering her disinterest and depression: “Home is a house in a photograph, a pink house, pink as hollyhocks with lots of startled light. THe man paints the walls of the apartment pink, but it’s not the same, you know. She still sighs for her pink house, and then I think she cries. I would.” (Cisneros, page 77). This correlates with Esperanza, because while Esperanza aspires for certain things, in particular, a house of which she can be proud, such aspirations are not all as they appear. While Mamacita got her wish, she realizes how much she loves her last home that she escaped. However, Mamacita is also partly to blame for her sadness, as she made the decision not to capitalize on her experience on Mango Street, hiding behind her fear and self-consciousness of her inability to speak English. She is contrasted to her husband: “My father says when he [her husband] came to this country he ate hamandeggs for three months. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hamandeggs. That was the only word he knew. He doesn’t eat hamandeggs anymore.” (Cisneros, page 77). Thus, her husband decided to pursue an ambition and gained much from the experience. Mamacita serves as a warning to Esperanza to have ambition, but not to make assumptions on the other side where the grass is supposedly greener.     

"Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays":

Rafaela in the vignette “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” is another forlorn example of the perils of false steps in the decisions of her youth. Rafaela is a beautiful woman who is shut away by her husband lest she be unfaithful to him. However, in doing so, he keeps her from the joys of living, causing her to be depressed. The sweet coconut and papaya drinks symbolizes the joys of living she can never truly enjoy: “Rafaela who drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays and wishes where were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room, but sweet sweet like the island, like the dance hall down the street where women much older than her throw green eyes easily like dice and open homes with keys.” (Cisneros, page 80). Creating a lonely and forlorn mood, this is likely to have a profound effect on Esperanza’s choices as she begins to shape her future in order to avoid a future of that sort.      

"Sally":  

Sally is a girl with whom Esperanza is friends. Esperanza looks up to her due to her maturity and precociousness. Despite her boldness that allude to her sexuality, Sally is not at all the sexualized character she is rumored to be, as well as what she visually appears to be. In fact, her boldness is simply a facade, and this, again, plays into the recurring theme: ‘things are not always as they seem.’ For example, Cisneros writes: “What do you think about when you close your eyes like that? And why do you always have to go straight home after school” You become a different Sally. You pull your skirt straight, you rub the blue paint off your eyelids. You don't laugh, Sally. You look at your feet and walk fast to the house you can’t come out from.” (Cisneros, page 82). This shows that Sally is by no means what others believe her to be, and she infact, hides behind her facade from domestic problems and insecurities. Sally is an example why one must not just others or make assumptions until they truly understand who they are and why they do the things that they do.    

"Earl of Tennessee"-"Sally"

"The Earl of Tennessee"

In “The Earl of Tennessee”, Esperanza is narrating the life of another one of her neighbors. The title of the chapter is rather ironic, as an earl is a term for a noble or an aristocrat, but the Earl being discussed in the chapter is a crude, unkind man. This contrast demonstrates the theme of the differences between the lifestyles of independent people. Earl uses his independence to remain detached from any obligations, shown by his frequent change of female partners, whom the children of the neighborhood believe are his wives. This vignette evoked a disturbing feeling within me, because of the unrefined mannerisms of Earl and the way Esperanza describes his lifestyle.

"Sire"

            “Sire” is a vignette that illustrates the theme of the desire to grow up. Esperanza describes Sire, a boy that she often sees, and his girlfriend whom she envies. The beginning of the vignette describes Esperanza’s increasing self-confidence. She dares to look into the eyes of the boy, while the other girls avoid him and his friends by crossing the street. This symbolizes Esperanza’s effort to mature and enter adulthood. She then describes Sire’s girlfriend, Lois, and how she wishes she could obtain her lady-like features. Although Esperanza admires Lois for her boyfriend and lady-like features, it is apparent that she understands the significance of the more important things in life, such as education. Her childish desires do not completely take over her mind, as her parents and her logic influence bring her back into reality. This vignette is one of my favorites so far because it very clearly shows how Esperanza’s maturation affects the way she feels and thinks.

"Four Skinny Trees"

            “Four Skinny Trees” is an extremely powerful vignette. Esperanza’s conflicted mind seeks the comfort of trees, to whom she can relate. The reader can see how lonely and confused Esperanza feels, as she believes that the trees are the only beings that can understand her. Both do not belong in the environment that Mango Street provides. Both attempt to grow in a restricted space. These similarities support the theme of struggling to grow and adapt to one’s environment. The trees inspire Esperanza to continue to live. “When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at the trees.” (Four Skinny Trees, Page 75) I believe that the complex idea of this vignette is influential to the story because it is the first times that Esperanza’s thoughts about the ugly part of growing up are revealed.

"No Speak English"

            “No Speak English” is a vignette that provides a contrast to Esperanza’s idea of home. Esperanza does not take pride in her house and she is uncomfortable with her financial and social status. Cisneros introduces Mamacita, the mother of one of Esperanza’s neighbors, as a contrast to Esperanza’s thoughts. Mamacita shares the same feelings about Mango Street as Esperanza, but for a different reason. She longs for the home to which she used to belong. This longing for her real home and pride in her heritage causes Mamacita to fear coming out of her house and emerging into the unknown world on Mango Street. Mamasita is similar to Esperanza because they both are living in places that restrict them from obtaining what they really want. I enjoyed this vignette because it differed from the others in that it did not just focus on the issues of young people, but rather focused on an issue that both the young and old encountered.

"Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays"

            This subject of this vignette, Rafaela, is a character who resembles Esperanza’s grandmother. Both have led limited lives due to the way their husbands treat them. Esperanza frequently uses the image of a woman looking out the window to symbolize wanting something you currently do not have or cannot have. Esperanza states that Rafaela, while looking out the window, wishes that she could have someone who will take care of her and treat her fairly. This wish is similar to that of Esperanza’s neighbor, Marin. This vignette supports the theme of the unjust lifestyles and poor treatment of women. All Esperanza hopes to do is be able to live the life that she chooses to live, without having her heritage and gender hinder her desires. This vignette provides me with a feeling of despair because Esperanza’s description of Rafaela’s life is rather depressing and hopeless.

"Sally"

“Sally” demonstrates how Esperanza feels about her current self and who she wants to be while also showing how these feelings are affected by the restrictions of her environment. Sally is a girl at school whom Esperanza admires for her beauty and ability to be her own person. Esperanza does not personally know Sally, but the reader can see her infatuation with her through a conversation Esperanza has with her in her head. She asks Sally all the questions that possess her mind. Because of the admiration that Esperanza has for Sally, Esperanza might be able to sort through her troubles by talking, or pretending to talk, to her. She may begin to feel less lonesome, and finally be able relate to something or someone other than trees. I think the most powerful line in this vignette is, “…without the whole world waiting for you to make a mistake when all you wanted, all you wanted, Sally, was to love and to love and to love and to love, and no one could call that crazy.” (Sally, page 83) This quote shows Esperanza’s true desires. She wants to be free from the criticism of her community and be able to love others. This vignette evoked a feeling of warmth, as Esperanza’s longing for love and freedom is described openly and mightily.