I started re-reading “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros recently since I decided that when I read it sophomore year I really didn’t understand any of it. Like other books that have been assigned by my past teachers, I had fallen behind in reading it, and ended up cramming the meaningless words into my head to try and pass a test. No meaning behind the vignettes was ever absorbed, but I remembered loving the vignette style-- short little stories with deep meanings kept my attention and interest. As I read Cisneros’ book again I read it slowly. I love to absorb every little detail running through Esperanza’s (the main character) mind.
I love the point of view of the story. It’s told by a young Latino girl living in poverty. The interesting part of the point of view that ends up becoming so powerful is the fact that Esperanza is so used to living a life of poverty, so much so that my jaw will drop at things she mentions so casually. It’s like she’s ignorant when it comes to living in luxury, in the same way that people living in luxury are ignorant of other peoples’ living conditions. It’s so innocent the way she mentions her living situation, things like the way she mentioned her “stairs like crooked teeth” and rats and criminals lurking her street at night. The reader feels bad for the poor, sweet girl, but if we were to be able to tell her we feel bad, she’d ask “why?”.
I feel like I can relate to Esperanza in the sense that I also used to live in a less-than-desirable environment. I come from Rockford, Illinois and wasn’t fortunate enough to live in a very good neighborhood. There were robberies, muggings, and gang activity just a few blocks down my street. To me when I was a kid these things were normal since I had grown up with it. I feel that if I had written these things down the way I saw them, the future me would feel bad reading my old memoirs.
So far I’m only about 50 pages into “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I feel that there's a lot for me to relate to, and with this, as well as the vignette style, the book is very easy for me to read.
Look at Cisneros like a writer (like you would listen to another musician). It goes beyond point of view (although you are right, it affects style). But look at how she describes things. Those vignettes are full of metaphor.
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