Literature Analysis #3

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

1. The "House on Mango Street" is a short Mexican novel by Sandra Cisneros about a young girl, Esperanza Cordero, who is living in an unstable society. The novel tells about her life as a pre-teen and teenager in this area of her town. She goes through hardships, one of them being sexually assaulted, and comes out of each difficult moment with more wisdom and knowledge about the world than in the beginning of the book. She wants to leave Mango Street, but realizes that she is mentally scarred by the place where she grew up. The author's purpose is to teach her readers of the outside world, and the unbelievable happenings the could occur in the real world. The author shows us how well Esperanza copes with the situations she is put into.

2. The theme of the novel is a resolution of personal conflicts and hope of better life. Esperanza wants to leave everything that she has dealt with behind, and not look back. And though she knows this isn't thoroughly possible, she still has the hope inside of her that she can forget her previous life.

3. The author's tone came across to me as calm, sometimes optimistic, and other times quite negative, like she doesn't really care about much. Not even herself.
"I am an ugly daughter."
"My Papa's hair is like a broom, all up in the air. And me, my hair is lazy."
"In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting."

4. Personification: "But I think diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone." p. 58
Simile: "My life, it is life the number 9." p. 10
Metaphor: "Like it or not, you are Mango Street." p. 107
Alliteration: "...crumples like a coat and cries." p. 68
Idiom: "Get your head out of the clouds." p.
Synesthesia: "a loud color" p.
Hyperbole: "Anthony Haselbauer is a giant!" p.
Onomatopoeia: "Bam! Buzz." p.
Symbol: The American flag, symbolizing the American dream that Esperanza wants so desperately.
Anaphora: "Not my house. Not my car. Not my room. Not my family." p.

1. This author uses indirect characterization, though she is very descriptive and figurative in her language. Esperanza is introduced through indirect characterization; she tells us about the places where she lived before living in their house on Mango Street.

2. The author doesn't really tend to change the syntax/diction when focusing on character since. again, its a simple book. The story is viewed entirely through the eyes of Esperanza. She describes the settings and gives the reader insight on the characters. The story is biased toward the smaller characters since it is all told through the eyes of thirteen year old Esperanza.

3. The protagonist, Esperanza, is definitely dynamic and round. She starts off as a naive girl who slowly learns about growing up as the story unfolds. At the beginning all she wanted to do was play and interact with the children living in the neighborhood but then she begins to interest herself in boys and sexual matters. She becomes curious and is disappointed at the end because it isn't what she expected so she goes on to worry about greater things like leaving Mango Street.

4. I met a character through this story. A character that went through stages of life everyone experiences. She was a curious girl filled with desires and dreams. She had set goals that became stronger as the story unfolded. She wanted to become something greater and learned a lot along the way. I viewed her as a really character after she is abused by the boys at the fair. She tells of how much anger she feels toward Sally because she left her alone. She tries to place the blame on someone which is a common human reflex.