Shame in Sandra Cisneros the House on Mango Street

Sarah Clanton Professor Nixon ENGL 1102 MW March 7, 2013 â€Å"Shame is a bad thing, you know. It keeps you down†: The Power of Shame in Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street In Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s main goal is to one day have a house of her own that she can be proud of. Of course this is many people’s dream, but for Esperanza it means everything. It’s such a big deal to her because she’s ashamed of where she lives now, so she wants something better for herself in the future. While shame plays such a major role in the novel, this theme has received little attention from critics. Many critics focus mainly on how literacy and writing help Esperanza to find herself and to help her with her problems. In fact,†¦show more content†¦Esperanza’s situation is a reminder that shame can have a positive effect on people’s lives by being a source of motivation and inspiration. Everyone knows that poverty can lead to feelings of shame and humiliation, but what many people don’t realize is that sometimes overwhelming feelings of shame and humiliation lead to poverty. In her article â€Å"In the Search of Identity in Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street,† Maria de Valdes goes as far as to refer to shame and poverty as a â€Å"syndrome† because she believes they’re so closely associated. â€Å"It is a closed circle,† Valdes asserts. â€Å"You are poor because you are an outsider without education; you try to get an education, but you can’t take the contrastive evidence of poverty and ‘it keeps you down.’† In other words, poverty and shame are an endless cycle because a person will be ashamed to be impoverished, but won’t be able to move up because shame will always hold them back. This can be seen in Esperanza’s mother, who didn’t finish school because she was too ashamed that she didn’t have nice clothes like the other girls. â€Å"Shame is a bad thing, you know,† she warns Esperanza. â€Å"It keeps you down† (91). Shame kept her down by preventing her from finishing school, and in turn her lack of education kept her from pursuing her dreams. Instead, she settled into the housewife life, which she still regrets: â€Å"I could’ve been somebody, you know† (91). She says it sadly, like she’s mourning the loss of whatShow MoreRelated Comparing Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek1645 Words   |  7 PagesEthnic Identity of Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek  Ã‚      The novels The House on Mango Street (Cisneros 1984) and Woman Hollering Creek (Cisneros 1992) relate the new American through the eyes of Cisneros. The women in both novels are caught in the middle of their ethnic identity and their American identity, thus creating the New American. Cisneros moved between Mexico and the United States often while growing up, thus making her feel homeless and displaced (JonesRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Analysis1145 Words   |  5 PagesEsperanza’s Dreams Living in a poor city and trying to escape it is not easy and it becomes a part of someone whether they want it to or not. Sandra Cisneros novel The House on Mango Street portrays the struggle of a young Latina girl from a bad neighborhood who is trying to have a better life. From the beginning, it is evident that the dreams of this young girl are to be independent, become a writer, and have a home of her own. To begin with, the author makes it clear from the start that EsperanzaRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin And The House On Mango Street1732 Words   |  7 Pagesparticular, have been major agents to this cause, serving as both reminders of those struggles and remembrance to readers of the endeavors those authors sought to accomplish. Two particular works, The Awakening by Kate Chopin and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, spearheaded movements for freedom by tackling the prejudice of gender roles, expressing through their novels’ characters and experiences the arguments for individual freedom and the challenges that must be conquered to achieve thoseRead MoreThe House on Mango Street600 Words   |  3 PagesThe short story by Sandra Cisneros revolves truly around the tittle â€Å"The House on Mango Street† and how her family moved from places to places to get there. The recollection of the street names her family lived on and how every time they moved à ¢â‚¬Å"there’d be one more of us† added to the authors focus of emphasizing how important the word â€Å"home† meant to her throughout the story. The family of six included Mama, Papa, brothers Carlos and Kiki, and sister Nenny. According to the author’s memory, sheRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1854 Words   |  8 Pages The Street That Changed a Life The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, displays a great emphasis on culture and people helping form a young girl into a young lady. The main character, Esperanza, has to navigate a mentally and physically challenging life growing up in a poor, Hispanic neighborhood while still learning how to mature and rise above the poverty that surrounds her. Thus, the question arises: in what way and to what extent does close human interaction change Esperanza’s lifeRead More Essay on Themes of House on Mango Street, and The Bluest Eye1602 Words   |  7 PagesDisturbing Themes of House on Mango Street, and The Bluest Eye  Ã‚   Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois, the only girl in a family of seven. Cisneros is noted for her collection of poems and books that concentrate on the Chicana experience in the United States. In her writing, Cisneros explores and transcends borders of location, ethnicity, gender and language. Cisneros writes in lyrical yet deceptively simple language, she makes the invisible visible by centering on theRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Analysis768 Words   |  4 PagesSandra Cisneros, an Hispanic-American author, is most known for her first novel, The House on Mango Street. The story follows a young Latina girl named Esperanza who moves to a low-income Chicago neighborhood and encounters new people and experiences new challenges, one of which is the struggle of choosing to be desired and looked at by men or being independent. Most, if not all, of the women in the novel are often perceived as powerless since they are usually stuck in some type of relationshi p,Read MoreThe House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Essay example2527 Words   |  11 PagesThe House on Mango Street, is written by Sandra Cisneros. Sandra Cisneros was born and grew up in Chicago. She was raised by her mother and father who were both of Mexican descent. She grew up in a relatively large family; she was the third child out of seven children. Cisneros’ childhood consisted of her growing up in one of Chicago’s Puerto Rican neighborhoods. As a child she also traveled back and forth to Mexico with her family. Understanding Cisneros’ background is important for understandingRead MoreEssay on Analysis of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros4759 Words   |  20 Pagesâ€Å"The House on Mango Street† by Sandra Cisneros I will now concentrate on the background of the novel that moved Sandra Cisneros to write it by investigating the novel with special regard to its different dimensions. 1. The Novel 1.1 Summary The novel â€Å"The House on Mango Street† is written by Sandra Cineros. It deals with family, neighbourhood and dreams of a young Mexican girl, Esperanza Cordero growing up in Chicago. The novel begins when the Corderos move into a new house on Mango StreetRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Essay On Poverty1031 Words   |  5 Pagesdoes growing up in extreme poverty shape the morals and goals of a person? In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza is raised in a poverty stricken neighborhood with few positive role models in her life. In the few scenes school is mentioned, they do not mention Esperanza’s grades or schoolwork, but focus rather on superficial events. The House on Mango Street reveals that the surplus of events associated with growing up in extreme poverty can cause children

Compare And Contrast Reverend Hale And The Crucible

A Tragic Hero This short essay will delve into character analysis of two characters from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I will be discussing a few qualities of Reverend Hale and John Proctor, and also arguing why I believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero of the story. Reverend Hale is a man who comes to Salem with a mission. He had recently discovered witchcraft in his own town where he was the minister, and now his services were being requested elsewhere (Miller, 9). His talents were becoming known, and he was very proud. He had intentions of being Salem’s hero by purging their small town of witchcraft and evil while increasing his reputation as a witch catcher. He truly strives to be a virtuous man, and seems to carry that†¦show more content†¦However, John secretly fights his own personal battles. Mark Twain said, â€Å"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.† John Proctor shone brightly, but just like everyone else, he had a dark side. Abigail Williams was the Proctor’s servant hand for a while, but secretly had a short lived affair with John. His wife Elizabeth caught on and kicked Abigail out of the house. John, a man who had lived with such great character for much of his life, could no longer live with himself if he kept up the lie. He confessed to his wife and ended things with Abigail. Fast forward to the courtroom, when John is trying to save his wife. Elizabeth Proctor has been accused by Abigail of witchcraft. The Proctor’s new servant, Mary Warren, is supposed to testify against the rest of the girls. The judge, unfortunately, isn’t believing Mary. Ultimately, John is forced to confess his affair with Abigail to the judge and everyone else in the room as a last resort to save his wife. He hopes that this will be enough to convince the judge that Abigail is only trying to get Elizabeth out of the way so that she can have John to herself. It doesn’t work. Mary accuses John of being with the Devil and forcing her to lie in court. In the end, John has one choice. He can lie and sign a paper telling the town that he has broken his ties with the Devil, or he will be hanged if he truthfully denies it. Again, John Proctor must struggle with his soul. It is heart wrenching toShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast Reverend Hale In The Crucible1639 Word s   |  7 PagesMacbeth or Professor Moriarty, while typically portrayed as â€Å"evil,† are morally complex characters that view themselves as protagonists, similar to Reverend Hale. In Arthur Miller’s seminal recreation of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, a group of Puritan farmers, landowners, and priests collide in a tale of desperate fear and hysteria. Reverend Hale, a minister with what appears limitless knowledge of the supernatural, is thrust into an event that his expertise could never prepare him for.Read MoreI’m Not a Witch†¦ or a Communist! I Plead the 5th! Essay1089 Words   |  5 Pagesdestruction of many good Christian people and their families. Arthur Miller, who was arrested during the McCarthy era, wrote The Crucible, a play about the 1692 Salem witch trials, to expose the absurdities of McCarthy’s â€Å"witch hunt†. One of the most obvious similarities between the two time periods is McCarthy’s counterpart Abigail Williams, the infamous antagonist from The Crucible. In February 1950, McCarthy stated to the public that he held â€Å"A list of 205 that were made known to the Secretary of StateRead MoreThe Paradoxical Nature of Belonging Depicted in Arthur Millers The Crucible1318 Words   |  6 PagesIn Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, we are positioned to see belonging as paradoxical, in that the positive, human quality of belonging inevitably carries with it the negative and dangerous corollary of exclusion. By belonging, we are automatically excluding others and excluding ourselves from other groups. The Crucible achieves this complex presentation of belonging through a variety of interconnected techniques which will be explored in this essay. These techniques may be categorized into four mainRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1899 Words   |  8 Pageslistening to this advice , spreading bits of untruths as harmless as white lies to the more severe, like in the case of the Salem Witch Trials or the McCarthy trials during the Red Scare. Arthur Miller delved deeply into this topic in his famous play, The Crucible, in which he compared the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy trials as a comment on the self-preserving, rash, and gullible nature of human beings, in order to open the audience’s eyes to the error of their ways. He wanted them to see the negativeRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay1900 Words   |  8 Pageslistening to this advice, spreading bits of untruths as harmless as white lies to the more severe, like in the case of the Salem Witch Trials or the McCarthy trials during the Red Scare. Arthur Miller delved deeply into this topic in his famous play, The Crucible, in which he compared the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy trials as a comment on the self-preserving, rash, and gullible nature of human beings in order to open the audience’s eyes to the error of their ways. He wanted them to see the negative

Duckweed free essay sample

This year in science class we students have observed many organisms. We have learned that a trait of an organism is to grow and develop. Another organism quality being that they can reproduce in several different ways. Organisms are also all made up of cells. A Lemna minor, or duckweed, fits all these characteristics. Duckweed is a tiny aquatic flowering plant that drifts in large colonies in still water. Lemna minor, like all organisms, can reproduce. In one inquiry, the students were to tend to a small pond that contains duckweed. Within a matter of days, the duckweed multiplied. Duckweed can reproduce in two different ways; one way being sexually through flowers that produce seeds, but more often than not, they reproduce asexually through vegetation growth. Duckweed, like many other plants, can reproduce in more than one way. Along with reproducing, Lemna minor can grow and develop. We again witnessed this in the simulation ponds. We will write a custom essay sample on Duckweed or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It starts from a frond, the main part of the duckweed. A tiny root hangs from the frond, into the water, for the plant to soak up nutrients. The older fronds on the plant will develop little buds. From these buds, new fronds will grow, breaking through the protective pouches. They will remain and grow on the original frond. The growth rate of duckweed is faster than other aquatic plants and is easily spread and develops in still waters. Every organism is made up of at least one or more cells, just like Lemna minor is. In another inquiry we conducted this year, we compared the duckweed cells in fresh and salt water. A cell is the basic unit of living matter in all organisms. A plant cell has a cell wall, chloroplast and plastids. These three parts are not found in animal cells but, they are present in the duckweed. Duckweed is no different than any other organism and is made up of cells, more specifically plant cells. Conclusively, Lemna minor is a flowering plant that belongs to its own family of plants, Lemnaceae, which overall adds up to the specimen being an organism. Since duckweed has the ability to reproduce, sexually or asexually, as well as grow, it is considered an organism. Duckweed, being a living thing, is constructed of many cells. Therefore, Lemna minor is one of the many observed things in science class this year that is counted as an organism.

Blood Brothers What is the importance of Linda in the play as a whole Essay Example For Students

Blood Brothers: What is the importance of Linda in the play as a whole? Essay What is the importance of Linda in the play as a whole? This essay is based on the importance of Linda and her role in Blood Brothers as a whole. Linda has a very vital role in this play as she is part of the two main characters Mickey and Edwards dream. At the beginning of the musical Linda wasnt shown much as she was a minor character at that moment, however during the middle Willy Russell brought her in as an important role that had to be introduced for the two dreams to take place. Linda is also a very vital character in this musical because she is the major cause of Mickey and Edwards death, and Linda is also the link loved by both men. This musical was set in the 1950-1960s, one of the reasons why Willy Russell wrote this musical, was to show the contrast between a working class woman and a rich woman, he cared very much about the woman rights and Willy Russell used this musical to support his belief. Linda was one of those whom to be a working class woman, she is portrayed a poor, uneducated and a hard working woman. Willy Russell invites us to judge Linda for ourselves and encourages us to give out our own opinions about her. Linda is such a significant character to Blood Brothers as what we see in her is a assertive and loyal woman and comparing Linda to all those stereo typical ladies that have an affair, Linda is nothing like them as when she was having an affair, she still cared for Mickey and her child a lot, and this clearly shows loyalty. And this loyalty is quite important to the text as a whole because it was very rare to see a person being loyal. Linda was the main reason why Mickey and Edward died and in the musical the two deaths of the two main important characters is one of the most key things of Blood Brothers, without them dying the text would be left incomplete and left without the key features of the musical superstitions. Mrs. Lyons superstition came true at the end, which was that if Mickey or either Edward find out they are blood brothers, they would die, but the real reason was Linda and her role was being the two blood brothers love and dream. Linda has also got a big role as she is the main characters wife (Mickeys wife). And she also  takes good care of Mickey like a wife is meant to do as she tells Mickey to get off those pills because she cares for him, Mickey you dont need your tablets! pg 76. This clearly tells us that she wants Mickey to stop taking the tablets because it obviously shows Linda is worried. In conclusion, I think that Linda is an important character in many different ways as I explained, such as becoming the reason of Mickey and Edwards death and also becoming he love of both of them. Willy Russell made the oppression that Linda loved them differently in her own ways but yet she cared for both of them the same.