The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is very interesting book by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. The book was published in 1984. This is a book that every person who experienced living in rough live or neighborhood can relate and can familiarize themselves with. Cisneros also provided and incorporated some aspect of Latino American culture in her story and the physical, emotional and mental growth of Esperanza who grows up in rough neighborhood in Latino community in Chicago, Illinois. The House on Mango Street is about young Latino girl named Esperanza which means hope in her Spanish. Esperanza tells her story of growing up in the Chicago Chicano rough neighborhood which most people would refer to it as “ghetto”. She is from large family where everyone sleeps in one bedroom house. She is determined young lady and wants better life then her neighborhood could provide for her. She wants to live and say bye to her poverty lifestyle and establish better life for herself. The story of Esperanza and neighborhood might sound very sad and one can get vivid imagery of impoverished neighborhood and people but I thought that this book had a lot more than that. It had sense of community, belonging and coming back to one’s community and serving even after life gets better for the person that left their community to perspire.  

            In Conclusion, the story of Esperanza was very intriguing and profoundly sad and happy story or vignettes. The character of Esperanza was full of hope and that what her name meant in Spanish. She was very smart girl who wanted better life then she saw on her neighborhood and how girls acted impractical in education and other social lives but Esperanza was different girl.