house on mango street quotes about growing up

What is she saying about the way prejudices shape our perceptions of “us” and “them”? In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros writes of “those who don’t know” about her neighborhood and the people in it.How is Esperanza’s identity shaped by her community? How does her identity shift throughout the vignettes?.Cisneros writes, “I’m going to tell you a story about a girl who doesn’t belong…” Why does she feel she doesn’t belong? Is her experience universal for all adolescent girls?.It is describing to us the physical appearance of Esperanza, and her family not having lunch meat, her having to pack a rice sandwich, and the fact that she is “very skinny”go hand and hand and show food insecurity. Although this doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s skinny because of food insecurity, it just adds to the food insecure image you get when the author includes things that directly show food security. This again shows food insecurity because had she had not been suffering from food insecurity she would not need to borrow lunch money, and she would not be skinny like the book said. Furthermore on page 54 Ezperanza says “-and borrowed money for lunch and bus fare because Aunt Lala said I wouldn’t get paid till next Friday ” Esperanza had to borrow money for lunch because she did not have her own lunch and her own money.

“I get to school with my mother’s letter and a rice sandwich because we don’t have lunch meat.”(Esperanza p.44) This quote is telling us that she had to make a rice sandwich for lunch instead of buying lunch meat because the family must be on a heavy budget. Lastly Cisneros shows the effects of poverty in America is through the family’s experience with food insecurity. They think that it is dangerous, and statistically the more dangerous neighborhoods are generally the lower income areas. They think we are dangerous.”(Esperanza p.28) This tells us how other people view the neighborhood. In the vignette “Those Who Don’t” Ezperanza says, “ Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared. This was not the only way Ezperanza described the neighborhood to us. This quote is directly emphasizing the setting and the imperfections. She is describing the setting of the neighborhood and picturing the description in my head I can just imagine an old looking run down neighborhood. “Around the back is a yard mostly dirt, and a bunch of boards that used to be a garage.” Said Ezperanza on page 22. The family could not afford to fix the pipes so they had to use the washroom next door.Second, Cisneros highlights the effects of poverty in America through the neighborhood the family lives in. We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk gallons”(Esperanza p.4). The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them because the house was too old. “We had to leave the flat on Loomis quickly.

Moreover to the fact that the family struggles with housing Ezperanza explains to us more of what she has gone through in terms of housing. Every Time her family would move another one of her relatives moves in with them which once again shows poverty because it potentially means that the relatives did not have housing of their own which adds to the idea of the family suffering with housing. She directly tells us that she remembers moving a lot which is a clean and clear sign that her family is suffering from poverty.įurthermore on the same page Ezperanza says”Each time it seemed there’d be more of us”. She couldn’t even remember all the different places she has lived.

Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I can’t remember.” (Esperanza P.3) This quote is Esperanza naming only some of the different houses/locations she has lived in. Before that we lived on Loomis, and before that we lived on keeler. There are bits and pieces scattered throughout the book that tell us that the family has struggles with housing, however in specific in the vignette “The House On Mango Street” Ezperana says “We didn’t always live on Mango street. Cisneros highlights the effects on poverty in America in the book through the family’s struggles with food insecurity, housing, and the neighborhood they live in.The first way that Cisneros shines light on the effects of poverty in America is through the family’s experience with housing. Or even being without a house all together? In the House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros you would get an idea what life could be like while undergoing poverty. Could you imagine sharing a bedroom with multiple people, constantly moving from house to house with more people living with you in the next.

House on mango street quotes about growing up