"The Earl of Tennessee"
In this vignette, Esperanza and the rest of Mango street witness Earl, a resident of Mango street, taking numerous hookers into his apartment. The recurring theme of Esperanza’s childish naivety is presented in this chapter as she is unaware of what this means by calling the women his “wife.” As a young girl, she does not understand the concept of prostitution, and believes that him with another woman must be his wife. Esperanza’a obliviousness is demonstrated in the lines, “The word is that Earl is married and has a wide somewhere. Edna says she saw her once when Earl brought her to the apartment. Mama says she is a skinny thing, blond and pale like salamanders that have never seen the sun. But I saw her once and she’s not that way at all. And the boys across the street say she is a tall red-headed lady who wears tight pink pants and green glasses,” (Cisneros 71). The innocent confusion of Esperanza’s experience illustrates that she is not fully aware of the flaws of her world, created by the poverty in her neighborhood. This vignette made me feel like a young kid again, when I pictured every couple as happily married.
"Sire"
This vignette is significant in The House on Mango Street because it represents the maturity of Esperanza and her desire to be a "big girl." Throughout the book, Cisneros has signified many developmental changes in Esperanza's personality, for example, the motif of the attention of boys has been shown to be an important part of Esperanza's maturity. In this chapter, Esperanza notices the attention of a particular boy, Sire, and learns to appreciate it as a form of flattery. This is demonstrated on page 73, "It made your blood freeze to have somebody look at you like that. Somebody looked at me. Somebody looked," (Cisneros 73). Cisneros purposely portrays Esperanza's giddy enjoyment in order to contrast it with her jealousy and disappointment of Earl's real girlfriend, Lois. It is obvious that Esperanza looks up to her and is jealous of her because she describes her as, "tiny and pretty and smells like baby's skin," (Cisneros 73). She also describes her having, "big girl hands" and wearing makeup, two clear symbols of maturity. Esperanza's lack of maturity is also demonstrated when she does not understand where Sire takes Lois and what they do. This chapter made me feel sorry for Esperanza because she craves an innocent love, which is strengthened but empty when her disappointment in Sire's desire for someone else upsets her.
"Four Skinny Trees"
In "Four Skinny Trees," Esperanza appreciates the beauty of four trees in her concrete neighborhood. The trees make her feel secure, for she is depicted "understanding" them and they "understanding" her. They serve as a reminder for Esperanza to "keep," meaning keep on going, referring to the theme of hope in the book. This is articulated in the lines, "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. When there is nothing left to look at on this street. Four who grew despite concrete," (Cisneros 75). These lines are significant because they demonstrate the emotional strength necessary to live in such a neighborhood as Mango Street, where the hardships of poverty are never hard to find. In the last sentence of the quote, Cisneros alludes to the theme of the hope of working hard regardless of the financial situation. This chapter reminded me of "Alicia Who Sees Mice" because of the unforgettable motivation of Alicia despite the many struggles she faces in her life. This chapter made me feel empowered because Esperanza's faith in these trees will hopefully become a part in her own life, and she may possibly "grow despite concrete" too.
"No Speak English"
In this vignette, an unnamed man on Mango Street saves up all of his money to get his family to America, however, once the woman arrives she immediately wishes to return home. The quote, "He worked two jobs. He came late and he left early. Every day," (Cisneros 76) describes his unwavering work ethic to ensure that he could be with his family. His efforts are not recognized, for as soon as she arrives she wants to go back home. She is described as a solitary home body, who only seeks the comfort of her real home in her home country. A quote on page 77, "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 77) not only demonstrates the woman's yearning for her home, but also Esperanza's appreciation of her home on Mango Street because she says that she would cry if away from home, just as the "Mamasita" does. Towards the end of the chapter, the man says, "'Ay, caray! We are home. This is home. Here I am and here I stay. Speak English. Speak English. Christ," expresses the man's frustration due to the disappointment in her lack of appreciation of his outstanding efforts. This chapter made me feel upset because the man's work is going unnoticed, when he simply wanted to live with his family and the woman can only think of what she wants rather than all that the man did for her.
"Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays"
This chapter reminds me of the introduction to the book, when Cisneros discusses her grandmother's sorrow of her life of regret. However, in this chapter, Rafaela is held back by her husband, not by her fear of living. Her negligent husband is obviously insecure that she will leave him, "...gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at," (Cisneros 79), limiting her from enjoying the experiences of her young life. She "wishes she could go there(the bar) and dance before she gets old," (Cisneros 79), displaying her longing to experience her time being young and beautiful which she will never get back. She will eventually look back at her life filled with disappointment of the absence of the life she was able to have, but was restricted by her selfish husband. What I took away from this chapter is the importance of time and how we have so little of it because Rafaela is not able to utilize her time doing something she wants to do, and she will regret it for the rest of her life. A symbol of this occurs at the end of the chapter, as Rafaela is described drinking sour drinks while people are off drinking much sweeter drinks, alluding to the status of her enjoyment of life, "Rafaela who drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays and wishes there were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room..." "And always there is someone offering sweeter drinks..." (Cisneros 80).
"Sally"
The struggles of Sally, a beautiful girl who lives on Mango Street, represent the cruel pressures of society, in other words, "the combine." Sally is described as a "girl with eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke. The boys at school think she's beautiful..." (Cisneros 81) and Esperanza'a apparent admiration of Sally is repeatedly emphasized. For example, "... I want to buy shoes just like yours, like your black ones made out of suede, just like those. And one say, when my mother's in a good mood, maybe after my next birthday, I'm going to ask to buy the nylons too," (Cisneros 82) Sally's distinct appearance and differences becomes an issue when she loses her best friend and rumors are spread by children in the school. Regardless of these issues, the main reason of Sally's isolation is her beauty. People were jealous of her distinguished appearance and therefore were compelled to deteriorate her superior attractiveness so that she would not stand out. Sally becomes particularly antisocial at this point, secluding herself from all activities besides school. The cause of these hardships results from her undeniable view of the importance of the opinions of others. This is demonstrated when Esperanza describes a place where she could escape all of her troubles, "You could laugh, Sally. You could go to sleep and wake up and never have to think who likes and doesn't like you. You could close your eyes and you wouldn't have to worry what people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you're strange because you like to dream and dream," (Cisneros 83).
In this vignette, Esperanza and the rest of Mango street witness Earl, a resident of Mango street, taking numerous hookers into his apartment. The recurring theme of Esperanza’s childish naivety is presented in this chapter as she is unaware of what this means by calling the women his “wife.” As a young girl, she does not understand the concept of prostitution, and believes that him with another woman must be his wife. Esperanza’a obliviousness is demonstrated in the lines, “The word is that Earl is married and has a wide somewhere. Edna says she saw her once when Earl brought her to the apartment. Mama says she is a skinny thing, blond and pale like salamanders that have never seen the sun. But I saw her once and she’s not that way at all. And the boys across the street say she is a tall red-headed lady who wears tight pink pants and green glasses,” (Cisneros 71). The innocent confusion of Esperanza’s experience illustrates that she is not fully aware of the flaws of her world, created by the poverty in her neighborhood. This vignette made me feel like a young kid again, when I pictured every couple as happily married.
"Sire"
This vignette is significant in The House on Mango Street because it represents the maturity of Esperanza and her desire to be a "big girl." Throughout the book, Cisneros has signified many developmental changes in Esperanza's personality, for example, the motif of the attention of boys has been shown to be an important part of Esperanza's maturity. In this chapter, Esperanza notices the attention of a particular boy, Sire, and learns to appreciate it as a form of flattery. This is demonstrated on page 73, "It made your blood freeze to have somebody look at you like that. Somebody looked at me. Somebody looked," (Cisneros 73). Cisneros purposely portrays Esperanza's giddy enjoyment in order to contrast it with her jealousy and disappointment of Earl's real girlfriend, Lois. It is obvious that Esperanza looks up to her and is jealous of her because she describes her as, "tiny and pretty and smells like baby's skin," (Cisneros 73). She also describes her having, "big girl hands" and wearing makeup, two clear symbols of maturity. Esperanza's lack of maturity is also demonstrated when she does not understand where Sire takes Lois and what they do. This chapter made me feel sorry for Esperanza because she craves an innocent love, which is strengthened but empty when her disappointment in Sire's desire for someone else upsets her.
"Four Skinny Trees"
In "Four Skinny Trees," Esperanza appreciates the beauty of four trees in her concrete neighborhood. The trees make her feel secure, for she is depicted "understanding" them and they "understanding" her. They serve as a reminder for Esperanza to "keep," meaning keep on going, referring to the theme of hope in the book. This is articulated in the lines, "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. When there is nothing left to look at on this street. Four who grew despite concrete," (Cisneros 75). These lines are significant because they demonstrate the emotional strength necessary to live in such a neighborhood as Mango Street, where the hardships of poverty are never hard to find. In the last sentence of the quote, Cisneros alludes to the theme of the hope of working hard regardless of the financial situation. This chapter reminded me of "Alicia Who Sees Mice" because of the unforgettable motivation of Alicia despite the many struggles she faces in her life. This chapter made me feel empowered because Esperanza's faith in these trees will hopefully become a part in her own life, and she may possibly "grow despite concrete" too.
"No Speak English"
In this vignette, an unnamed man on Mango Street saves up all of his money to get his family to America, however, once the woman arrives she immediately wishes to return home. The quote, "He worked two jobs. He came late and he left early. Every day," (Cisneros 76) describes his unwavering work ethic to ensure that he could be with his family. His efforts are not recognized, for as soon as she arrives she wants to go back home. She is described as a solitary home body, who only seeks the comfort of her real home in her home country. A quote on page 77, "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 77) not only demonstrates the woman's yearning for her home, but also Esperanza's appreciation of her home on Mango Street because she says that she would cry if away from home, just as the "Mamasita" does. Towards the end of the chapter, the man says, "'Ay, caray! We are home. This is home. Here I am and here I stay. Speak English. Speak English. Christ," expresses the man's frustration due to the disappointment in her lack of appreciation of his outstanding efforts. This chapter made me feel upset because the man's work is going unnoticed, when he simply wanted to live with his family and the woman can only think of what she wants rather than all that the man did for her.
"Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays"
This chapter reminds me of the introduction to the book, when Cisneros discusses her grandmother's sorrow of her life of regret. However, in this chapter, Rafaela is held back by her husband, not by her fear of living. Her negligent husband is obviously insecure that she will leave him, "...gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at," (Cisneros 79), limiting her from enjoying the experiences of her young life. She "wishes she could go there(the bar) and dance before she gets old," (Cisneros 79), displaying her longing to experience her time being young and beautiful which she will never get back. She will eventually look back at her life filled with disappointment of the absence of the life she was able to have, but was restricted by her selfish husband. What I took away from this chapter is the importance of time and how we have so little of it because Rafaela is not able to utilize her time doing something she wants to do, and she will regret it for the rest of her life. A symbol of this occurs at the end of the chapter, as Rafaela is described drinking sour drinks while people are off drinking much sweeter drinks, alluding to the status of her enjoyment of life, "Rafaela who drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays and wishes there were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room..." "And always there is someone offering sweeter drinks..." (Cisneros 80).
"Sally"
The struggles of Sally, a beautiful girl who lives on Mango Street, represent the cruel pressures of society, in other words, "the combine." Sally is described as a "girl with eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke. The boys at school think she's beautiful..." (Cisneros 81) and Esperanza'a apparent admiration of Sally is repeatedly emphasized. For example, "... I want to buy shoes just like yours, like your black ones made out of suede, just like those. And one say, when my mother's in a good mood, maybe after my next birthday, I'm going to ask to buy the nylons too," (Cisneros 82) Sally's distinct appearance and differences becomes an issue when she loses her best friend and rumors are spread by children in the school. Regardless of these issues, the main reason of Sally's isolation is her beauty. People were jealous of her distinguished appearance and therefore were compelled to deteriorate her superior attractiveness so that she would not stand out. Sally becomes particularly antisocial at this point, secluding herself from all activities besides school. The cause of these hardships results from her undeniable view of the importance of the opinions of others. This is demonstrated when Esperanza describes a place where she could escape all of her troubles, "You could laugh, Sally. You could go to sleep and wake up and never have to think who likes and doesn't like you. You could close your eyes and you wouldn't have to worry what people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you're strange because you like to dream and dream," (Cisneros 83).
No comments:
Post a Comment