House on Mango Street

House on Mango Street

3) Since this book takes place within one year, we as the readers get a great look at Esperanza's childhood. We get to see her grow from a carefree child to a responsible young woman. The main concept that we get to see throughout the story is growth, not only sexually but emotionally as well. Esperanza seems to grow in a very remarkable way. Although she dreams of leaving Mango Street, by the end of the year she has significantly matured. She realizes that she cannot leave Mango Street and she must help the other woman that live there. As a child I can relate to Esperanza very well. The first house I lived in was in a neighborhood that was rather poor. We did not have a very large house due to the small amount of income my family was receiving. I remember driving through other wealthy towns and dreaming of living there someday. Once I grew older, my family was able to move into a large house in a much better neighborhood. I was so excited about this. I remember driving back to see our old house. I thought that I would just look at the houses and have terrible thoughts. This was not the case. I feel the same way as Esperanza did in the story. I thought about all the great times I did have there and what a friendly community it was. Although I did not continue to live there like Esperanza did, I still feel like it is a good neighborhood even though it is so rundown.

4) Esperanza's mother is a very smart and strong willed woman throughout the novel. Esperanza feels that her mother has "failed" at life. She thinks that her family could be much better off anywhere but Mango Street. Since her mother does not have the willpower to leave Mango Street, Esperanza can only dream of her doing it on her own someday. Although she loves her mother, she wants to show her that she can be better off later in life not living on Mango Street. As times progresses in the story, Esperanza realized that she has much more to do for Mango Street and cannot leave. I think this can be a great lesson for children. This can allow children to realize that if you put determination to something, it can be done. It also shows children how to care for others in your community. Even though Esperanza wants to free herself from Mango Street, she realizes that she must give back to her community that is full of poverty. This can help children realize that although we strive for what we want in