Essay Prompt
The prompt I reflected on was about Esperanza's growth through out the novella. I recieved an A- on my final essay.
Esperanza's development
Mahatma Ghandi once said. “We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.
Esperanza understands the importance of this in the end of the novella when she accepts the fact
that she is part of Mango Street and that she needs to be the instrument of change. The novella
House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a collection of vignettes about life growing up in
a Latino barrio written from the point of view of an insecure young girl who is growing up on
Mango Street. The girl’s name is Esperanza. She goes through three main changes as she
develops. She starts off insecure and weak and ends confident and sure of herself. In the novella
House On Mango Street. Esperanza (main character) goes through three crucial changes that
cement her personality. She starts off as an insecure girl who can not stand up for herself and
ends the book as a confident and some what sophisticated young woman who is determined to
make her way in the world
At the beginning of this novella, Esperanza is very insecure and lacking self confidence.
One example of this, is in this quote “You live there? The way she said it made me feel like
nothing. There I lived there. I nodded” (Cisneros 5). In this passage a nun is surprised to see
Esperanza standing in front of her dilapidated house. Her reaction causes Esperanza to feel
ashamed and insecure. Another example of her self-consciousness is when she says, “Someday I
will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my
jokes without my having to explain them. Until then I am a red ballon tied to an
anchor” (Cisneros 9). This shows her insecurity because she is not sure of her self and she does
not have any one to talk to or share with so she does not have friends yet. This also shows
Esperanza’s selfishness. The reader can tell this through the heavy use of my throughout the
quote. This quote shows both her insecurity and selfishness. A third example of her insecurity
is when she is describing her name she says, “In English my name means too many letters. It
means sadness, it means waiting. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday morning
when he is shaving, songs like sobbing” (Cisneros 10). In this quote Esperanza is describing her
name and how she dislikes how it sounds and how it is butchered by non spanish speakers. This
shows how she is embarrassed and insecure about her identity. Esperanza is very insecure and
selfish at the beginning of this novella.
In the middle of the novella Esperanza starts to show her strength and personality. One
example of this is in this quote, “I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am the one
who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate”(Cisneros
89). In this quote Esperanza is describing how she leaves the table without cleaning up. This
shows how she is starting to build her identity as a strong woman. Another example of this is in
this second quote, “I like coffee, I like tea. I like the boys and the boys like me. Yes, no maybe
so. Yes, no, maybe so...”(Cisneros 49). In this quote, Esperanza is talking about how boys like
her and she likes them back. This shows her confidence in herself and the fact that boys like her.
Esperanza starts to show strength and her personality in the middle of the novella.
By the end of the novella, Esperanza is mature and confident in her self and her abilities.
One example of this is in the quote, “A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my
pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody
to shake a stick at. Nobody’s garbage to pick up after” (Cisneros 108). In this passage Esperanza
is talking about her dream home and what she wants in it. She is accepting what she wants and
how she can achieve through hard work and perseverance. Another example of her strength is
in this second quote, “Tomorrow it will rain. Yes. Tomorrow, they said. How do you know? I
asked. We know. Look at her hands. Cat Eye said. They turned them over and over as if looking
for something special. She is special” (Cisneros 104). This shows how she has matured and
wants to know how adults are so sure about what they say. She final starts to question what they
say and what they mean instead of just excepting what they say. A third example of her maturity
is when she says, “I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. ‘I say, and so
she trudged up the wooden stairs,her sad brown shoes taking her to the house she never liked’”
(Cisneros 109). This quote shows how she has come full circle and accepts who she is and where
she comes from. She acknowledges her life and the shoes on her feet while aspiring for more.
The last very subtle hint about her maturity is in the writing for the first time the reader sees her
use quotation marks. At the end of the novella, Esperanza is strong and mature.
Esperanza goes through three main changes as she develops. She starts off insecure and
weak. However, by the book’s end, she is confident and sure of herself. In the beginning the
reader sees her insecurity when she constantly complains about her neighborhood, her family,
and most importantly, her house. In the middle of the novella, the reader starts to see growth
when she describes how she wants to overcome gender stereotypes and she also shows an
interest in the boys in her neighborhood. Finally, the reader sees her as mature into a self
confident and strong, mature young woman who is ready to live her life. These are the three
changes Esperanza goes through during the novella. Esperanza overcomes gender inequality,
poverty and racial segregation, challenges that effect many young people in the world and in this
country. Her story is one of success and how she was able to overcome her challenges by herself
which can serve as inspiration to many people.
Esperanza understands the importance of this in the end of the novella when she accepts the fact
that she is part of Mango Street and that she needs to be the instrument of change. The novella
House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a collection of vignettes about life growing up in
a Latino barrio written from the point of view of an insecure young girl who is growing up on
Mango Street. The girl’s name is Esperanza. She goes through three main changes as she
develops. She starts off insecure and weak and ends confident and sure of herself. In the novella
House On Mango Street. Esperanza (main character) goes through three crucial changes that
cement her personality. She starts off as an insecure girl who can not stand up for herself and
ends the book as a confident and some what sophisticated young woman who is determined to
make her way in the world
At the beginning of this novella, Esperanza is very insecure and lacking self confidence.
One example of this, is in this quote “You live there? The way she said it made me feel like
nothing. There I lived there. I nodded” (Cisneros 5). In this passage a nun is surprised to see
Esperanza standing in front of her dilapidated house. Her reaction causes Esperanza to feel
ashamed and insecure. Another example of her self-consciousness is when she says, “Someday I
will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my
jokes without my having to explain them. Until then I am a red ballon tied to an
anchor” (Cisneros 9). This shows her insecurity because she is not sure of her self and she does
not have any one to talk to or share with so she does not have friends yet. This also shows
Esperanza’s selfishness. The reader can tell this through the heavy use of my throughout the
quote. This quote shows both her insecurity and selfishness. A third example of her insecurity
is when she is describing her name she says, “In English my name means too many letters. It
means sadness, it means waiting. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday morning
when he is shaving, songs like sobbing” (Cisneros 10). In this quote Esperanza is describing her
name and how she dislikes how it sounds and how it is butchered by non spanish speakers. This
shows how she is embarrassed and insecure about her identity. Esperanza is very insecure and
selfish at the beginning of this novella.
In the middle of the novella Esperanza starts to show her strength and personality. One
example of this is in this quote, “I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am the one
who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate”(Cisneros
89). In this quote Esperanza is describing how she leaves the table without cleaning up. This
shows how she is starting to build her identity as a strong woman. Another example of this is in
this second quote, “I like coffee, I like tea. I like the boys and the boys like me. Yes, no maybe
so. Yes, no, maybe so...”(Cisneros 49). In this quote, Esperanza is talking about how boys like
her and she likes them back. This shows her confidence in herself and the fact that boys like her.
Esperanza starts to show strength and her personality in the middle of the novella.
By the end of the novella, Esperanza is mature and confident in her self and her abilities.
One example of this is in the quote, “A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my
pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody
to shake a stick at. Nobody’s garbage to pick up after” (Cisneros 108). In this passage Esperanza
is talking about her dream home and what she wants in it. She is accepting what she wants and
how she can achieve through hard work and perseverance. Another example of her strength is
in this second quote, “Tomorrow it will rain. Yes. Tomorrow, they said. How do you know? I
asked. We know. Look at her hands. Cat Eye said. They turned them over and over as if looking
for something special. She is special” (Cisneros 104). This shows how she has matured and
wants to know how adults are so sure about what they say. She final starts to question what they
say and what they mean instead of just excepting what they say. A third example of her maturity
is when she says, “I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. ‘I say, and so
she trudged up the wooden stairs,her sad brown shoes taking her to the house she never liked’”
(Cisneros 109). This quote shows how she has come full circle and accepts who she is and where
she comes from. She acknowledges her life and the shoes on her feet while aspiring for more.
The last very subtle hint about her maturity is in the writing for the first time the reader sees her
use quotation marks. At the end of the novella, Esperanza is strong and mature.
Esperanza goes through three main changes as she develops. She starts off insecure and
weak. However, by the book’s end, she is confident and sure of herself. In the beginning the
reader sees her insecurity when she constantly complains about her neighborhood, her family,
and most importantly, her house. In the middle of the novella, the reader starts to see growth
when she describes how she wants to overcome gender stereotypes and she also shows an
interest in the boys in her neighborhood. Finally, the reader sees her as mature into a self
confident and strong, mature young woman who is ready to live her life. These are the three
changes Esperanza goes through during the novella. Esperanza overcomes gender inequality,
poverty and racial segregation, challenges that effect many young people in the world and in this
country. Her story is one of success and how she was able to overcome her challenges by herself
which can serve as inspiration to many people.