T.H.O.M.S : Esperanza's future

     What's next for Esperanza? What does her future hold? Those are the questions we are left with once the novel ends. The last part of this book is kind of an open ended conclusion. It tells us that Esperanza is coming back, but not specifically what for. This quote does give us a hint as to what Esperanza is going to come back to Mango Street to achieve.
In the last vignette Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes, Esperanza states,

"They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.(110)"

     From this quote I can draw many inferences. But one that makes much sense would be saying that Esperanza will most likely go away, get her life together, and maybe get an education, so she can come back to Mango Street and help the people there. Some of the people that live there, have been there forever and don't know how to get out because they're so attached. But Esperanza wants to change that, she wants to help them know that there is more to life out in the world.

     Going back to the independence of women, earlier in the book there was a vignette named Rafaela, and it tells the story of how Rafael's husband wouldn't let her out of the house because she was too beautiful.

"Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her elbow and dreams...(79)"

     I believe that Esperanza is going back to Mango Street to help the people like Rafaela, who can't escape out because either their husband's are controlling them or society is closing them in.
     That also leads me to the conclusion that Cisnero's character Esperanza might have written this book to help the women of Mango Street; or women all around the world like them. To show them that they can be independent and it's okay to achieve their dreams and bend the rules of society a bit. It is okay for women to fight back and stand up for themselves. And they should do so.

T.H.O.M.S : boyz & qirlz .

     Should parents raise their boys and girls differently or the same? Personally, I thought they should be raised differently and at first, I thought so did the author of The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros. But as I was writing I realized that she really doesn't think they should be raised differently and neither do I. She gives us many hints throughout each vignette of the book as to why she thinks this.

First off in Alicia Who Sees Mice, Cisneros writes,

"...her father says...And anyway, a woman's place is sleeping so she can wake up early...and catch the hind legs hide behind the sink...Alicia, whose mama died, is sorry there is no one older to rise and make the lunchbox tortillas. Alicia, who inherited her mama's rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for the first time at the university.(31) "

      This shows that men believe a woman's place is taking care of house chores and waking up early to cater to the kids, not a man's. I think Cisneros opposes this statement because when she begins telling about Alicia's studies from Esperanza's point of view, Cisneros is implying that women should embrace their independence and make the most of themselves, not only stay at home and rot their lives away. 

     Secondly, in Beautiful & Cruel, Cisneros explains the relationships between boys and girls, but girls should embrace their feminine side but shouldn't let men control them.

"Nenny says she won't wait her whole life for a husband to come and get her...She wants things all her own, to pick and choose...(88)"

     It is exemplified here that society has shaped life to the point where the woman has to wait on the man. But from Nenny's point of view, Cisneros tells us that women shouldn't live this way and should be independent and not wait on a man. Not just parents, but society raises boys and girls differently. Boys should make the first move always and it's not ladylike for the woman to do so. This is what exactly the opposite of what Cisneros means in this quote.

     Lastly, in Red Clowns, Esperanza gets sexually harassed by boys.

"Sally, make him stop. I couldn't make them go away, I couldn't do anything but cry.(100)"

      In this quote, it obviously shows that boys are stronger than girls. And once again, this is how society raises kids. Cisneros adds this vignette to show that boys & girls shouldn't be raised differently because this is the result of that happening. Men embrace their power to the fullest and take advantage of women.

      In conclusion, I would say that Cisneros thinks boys and girls should be raised the same so society can be equal and there won't be any gender discrimination. This would make life much more fair and easier for everyone else.

A Little Taste of My Life .

Table of Contents

1. Another Life Claimed

2. "In Jesus Name...Hallelujah!"

3. A step to the rest of my life

4. My hair, your hair, their hair, our hair

5. Blame it on the flu, got ya feeling blue

Another Life Claimed

Cancer. The most deadly, ugly disease claiming thousands of lives every year. It is like the silent killer that can’t be caught. But in this case, her family killed her, she didn’t have to die. I have a family filled with religious souls, but this time religion was taken a bit too far. My cousin, Leilani, was a beautiful woman in her 30s and then she got cancer. Our family does not have any kind of history of cancer, so i guess she was just a not so lucky 1 in every 5. 

Anyway, her family is deeply religious and they believed that God would heal her and that she didn’t need the doctors help. Therefore, she rejected getting chemo therapy. The most awful decision she would make in her entire lifetime. 

I remember every time my mom and I would go visit her, she’d get smaller and smaller and smaller until she looked like an anorexic person. She would hardly eat anything but a bag of chips in an entire day, if that. She was just wasting away like an old memory. Fast forward about a month, she’s in the hospital.
I walked into her room. All I wanted to do was race back out into the hallway and cry. The site of her was almost frightening. I didn’t know who this person was, this mysterious dying woman looked nothing like my cousin I had once known. Her eyes were swollen shut and literally busting out of the sockets. Her body, swollen like a blown up balloon. All of the tubes going in and out of her throat and arms. I’ll never forget the sight.

A few days later, my mom and I got the call on our way to church. Coincidentally as soon as my mom’s phone rang, the song “Goin Up Yonder” began to play on the radio. Next thing I know, tears just flow down both of our faces.

“In Jesus Name...hallelujah!”

I was baptized once long ago as baby, but I had to get baptized once more when I got older. It was one of the most nerve wrecking events in my life. One, I was very afraid of going underwater and I thought I would drown if I did so; and two the whole church would be watching! Only in the second grade, I was about to take a major step in my life.
I was highly intimidated by the green colored pool tub on stage in the church. I didn’t want to go underwater and I would do everything in my power not to. But suddenly as I got in my white robe, I was no longer afraid of the water. A joyous sensation came over me and I was actually excited to get baptized. My mom was front row in the sanctuary with the biggest smile on her face. She was so proud and I loved that feeling.
Second in line, take a deep breath, and pray for the best as I stand by and watch my friend get baptized. Down the stairs I go into the lukewarm water, shaking as if I was going into an execution. The pastor is in there already and he has me sit on a bench in the tub. The water rises to my chest and I panic. Can you not put my head underwater? I whisper to the pastor and he gets an awfully confused look on his face. What? he asks me. I repeat my question. To this day I don’t think he heard me because as he hollered a few words to the church, he then said In Jesus name!
I’m underwater now. In a split second I am up choking on water, doing all I can to get it out of my nose, while everyone around me is lifting my hands up in praise. All I hear is Hallelujah here, Hallelujah there. The sudden dunking shocked me. I felt like I had been thrown into a tsunami.
I could barely walk out of the tub, shaking violently in shock. I couldn’t wait to get in the back room and change. Again, as I was taking off my robe I felt good. Something had overcome me, something changed in me. Eb where are you? I hear my mother’s voice. In the bathroom! I respond. To see the big smile on her face once she saw me made my world so much better.

A step to the rest of my life

High school here I come! Only a few hours more will I be a part of this 8th grade class filled with outrageous, relentless, evil teenagers. Never thought the day would come, always imagined what it would be like and who with, but it was here now. I would walk across the stage in only two hours. Wake up early; do hair, make up, and put together the perfect outfit. The next thing I know, I’m walking down the aisle of the Koffman auditorium to my assigned seat in the audience.
Cautiously looking for my family in the audience. There, over there! I excitedly wave at my family as if I haven’t seen them in years. As the long, grueling hour passed by for them to call my name, I impatiently waited and attempted to cheer the loudest when someone’s name was called in order to keep myself entertained, and from being completely overtaken by nerves.
My row then gets up and nervously walks to the staircase up to the stage. Millions of thoughts are raging through my mind at this moment. What if I fall off of the stage? What if my heel breaks? What if I forget to look at the camera? What if I trip walking off of the stage? What if people start to boo me? At this point, my hands are clammy and shaking. Ebone Qualls.
I grab hold of the railing as a precaution, smile big, and walk up the stairs as I hear people throughout the audience scream for me. Friends and family mostly I’m assuming. As I accepted my diploma and shook every person’s hand on stage I was overcome with joy and accomplishment. I was ready to take on the world and everyone in it. I had made it through pre-school, elementary school, somehow made it through hell in 7th and 8th, and got accepted into the school of my dreams. I had done it, ASTI here I come and you best as hell get ready for me.

My hair, your hair, their hair, our hair.

    Everybody in my family has pretty hair that grows fast. My sister’s hair is thin and like silky waves of angel hair noodles, all the way down her back. My mom has a short, curly hairstyle, but she has to cut it around twice a month because it’s like top ramen noodles that won’t stop growing. My brother recently cut his hair, but he had dreads that looked like a mop sitting on top of his head and stopped right above his shoulders. And my nephew’s hair is like soft, black curly fur, it’s almost as long as mine, and he’s only three years old!
    But my hair, my hair is like thick wool that has been cut off and won’t grow anymore. Ever since I dyed my hair, it doesn’t grow as fast. It makes my forehead break out whenever I have my bangs out, almost like an allergic reaction. My hair is hard to deal with when it’s not flat-ironed, like trying to tame a wild animal, hard to comb through, leaving my head sore after it’s been combed out, has a smell like burnt toast in the oven after being pressed, the pain of getting three shots a week, digging your car out of six feet of snow. The breakouts, the pain, and my hair that smells like burnt toast.     

Blame it on the flu, got ya feeling blue

Five days of weakness, coughing, throwing up, high on medication and not able to eat food. Five pounds dropped off as quick as you can say ouch. Cause? The flu. At first, I had just woken up with a little cough, the next day I could barely get out of my bed. As my case got worse, I began to wonder if I had swine flu. My mother didn’t agree with me and thank God she was right. Through the 3rd day, I began turning to God for help. I thought I was knocking on death’s door and I was desperate for life. All I could do was sleep because I was over medicated; full of Tylenol, Robitussin, Advair, Albuterol, Benadryl, and Zyrtec. I just wanted to be better; all I had was hope and God. 

On the fourth day I awoke feeling remarkably better, until I reached my bathroom. I had dropped an object and I bent over to pick it up. Not knowing I was coming up too fast, all of my blood rushed to my head causing me to drop to the ground, on the verge of passing out. I wasn’t going out like this. I hollered as loud as I could in attempt to wake my mom up and get her to come help me. Mom! I desperately screamed. Come here!
I could hear her jump out of her bed and run into the bathroom. She stepped into a horrendous sight, me lying on the bathroom floor. She quickly tried to pick me up and get me to her bed as I pleaded with her to just let me stay there on the floor. I was so weak and dizzy I couldn’t go anywhere on my own. But somehow she got me up and into her room and off to the hospital we went.

Windows symbolism

The House on Mango Street is composed of a series of vignettes. Each vignette has a specific subject in which the author uses symbolism as a deeper way of explaining the feelings of the characters. In My Name, No Speak English, Rafaela, and Sally, the author uses windows as a symbol. In my opinion, that is a rather strange object to choose, but when I read the stories, it actually makes a lot of sense to why she chose windows.
In My Name, the window represents how Esperanza’s great-grandmother was a wild, bold woman until she was stripped of her self expression when Esperanza’s great-grandfather forced her to marry him. 

“And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life...”(pg.11). 

This shows that the window is where she lied all of her feelings and memories of being on her own and free, without anyone else for her whole life.   
In No Speak English, a woman named Mamacita and her little boy has recently moved in across the street from Esperanza. Mamacita never goes outside, ever.

“...whether she is fat, or can’t climb the stairs, or is afraid of English, she won’t come down. She sits all day by the window and plays the Spanish radio show...”(pg.77). 

Here, I think she just won’t go out because she doesn’t speak English so she is afraid of what will happen when an English speaker asks her something and she can’t respond. So just like Esperanza’s great-grandmother, she rests all of her problems by the window all day, everyday.
In Rafaela, there is a woman named Rafaela who has a husband who won’t let her out because she is too beautiful to look at. 

“Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her elbow and dreams her hair is like Rapunzel’s.”(pg.79). 

This story is almost exactly like Esperanza’s great-grandmother. She had a husband that locked her up just like Rafaela, and both of these women just dream by a window all the time.

Lastly, in Sally, there’s a little girl named Sally who lost her best friend and has become a completely different person. She is no longer sociable and goes directly home and doesn’t come out. 

“Sally, do you sometimes wish you didn’t have to go home? Do you wish your feet...would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows...”(pg.82). 

In this vignette, the windows are not directly used with a woman resting on them, they are a dream. The windows represent something better, a better life.
In all of these vignettes, a window symbolizes the hardships, memories, of a woman/girl who has been stripped of something in her life. Each window is used to represent something that has been or could be.