Vignettes from The House on Mango Street

Cisneros' Vignettes
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Cisneros' Vignettes
Cisneros writes forty-four vignettes, ranging in length from a page fragment to two or three pages, which make up The House on Mango Street (2004). The book can be read as a collection of short stories or as an unconventional novel made from drawings. The work also exhibits other structural elements that characterize it as a novel, such as the repeating picture of a comfortable house, which serves as a metaphor for the freedom that Esperanza longs for. The narrator's persistent presence unites the vignettes as chapters of the same book. However, the vignettes do not have as much character growth as short stories do. This essay will address three vignettes and why they are important to the book, as well as three additional vignettes and why they are significant to me.
Vignettes Relating to the Entire Book
My Name
Esperanza explains the origins of her name and what it means. She claims that although "hope" is translated into Spanish as "hope," it signifies something different, something melancholy (Cisneros, 2004). She was given the name Esperanza in honour of her great-grandmother. They were both born in the Year of the Horse, as per Chinese culture. Esperanza is informed that this is bad karma for women, but she doesn't agree. She believes it to be a fabrication created by males who "don't like their ladies strong" (Cisneros, 2004). It is unlucky for both men and women when a woman, like Esperanza's great-grandmother, is born in the Year of the Horse. The lack of peaceful, obedient wives and daughters that a patriarchal society expects forces the men to doubt the propriety of their domination. More importantly, the women suffer because their independent souls are imprisoned and are unable to roam freely.
Esperanza claims she wished to interact with her late great-grandmother because of her character. Unfortunately, she was forcefully betrothed to her great-grandfather after he actually "carried her off" at one point. Because of this infringement on her freedom, Esperanza's great-grandmother "gazed out the window her whole life, like so many women, sit their misery on an elbow" (Cisneros, 2004). Esperanza is concerned that since she got her name, she might also succeed in her grandmother's window seat position, constantly looking out of the window. Despite her early age, the protagonist is cognisant of the sexist community that seeks to tame her and deprive her of her freedom and will.
Beautiful & Cruel
Esperanza claims that no husband will pursue her because she is the family's unattractive girl. Nenny, who is attractive, declares she won't hold out for a marriage indefinitely. She wishes she had a say in who or what took her away from her house. Esperanza asserts that Nenny can discuss options because she is attractive. Esperanza says she won't "grow up tame" and wait around for marriage her entire life (Cisneros, 2004). She decides to acquire her authority from a new source, behaving like a man because she wishes to be strong like the stunning women in movies.
Esperanza decides to undertake a "silent battle" to combat the potent force of macho. She won't play the stereotypical female role....