Summary of The Novel The House on Mango Street

  Sandra Cisneros, a Latina American novelist who wrote The House on Mango Street, tells the story of a young Chicana (a Mexican American girl) growing up in Chicago. The short stories in the novel are told in the youthful voice of a fictional character, Esperanza.  

Like Esperanza, the main character in The House on Mango Street, Cisneros remembers moving so often as painful experiences: '’Because we moved so much, and always in neighborhoods that appeared like France after World War II--empty lots and burned-out-buildings--I retreated inside myself’.' 

 By the age of eleven years old, her parents put a down payment on a house in Humboldt Park, a Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago. The neighborhood and the neighborhood’s people would later become the inspiration for The House on Mango, (Madsen 2000, p. 107). Here, she invites her readers into the world of Latino culture in America. In her world there are issues such as gender inequality, financial struggles, discovery of the self, and so much more.   

Esperanza, the story’s narrator, describes what it is like to live on Mango Street. She first moved with her family into a house on that street, with the move being a huge improvement from their other situation. It’s not an apartment to rent, but rather a home to own. The house isn’t in the best condition and the home is surrounded by many poor areas. In this story, she shows how segregation played in these awful areas, for the outsiders who peek into their world. For people that live there, it’s home.  

The sad reality is that the residents who live on Mango Street have no idea what it’s like to live outside. They are only used to their society. Throughout the novel, they do their best to think positive about their situation. That they must live with their conditions in order to survive.  The story shows a common lifestyle that most Hispanic people deal with, especially the Hispanics who travel to America for better opportunities. In a way, it is to figure out how they can make ends meet.  

In The House on Mango Street, there are many themes and problems, such as gender inequality, stereotypes, and language barriers. Sometimes, there are simple solutions but on the other hand it is difficult to decide on how to resolve that conflict.  This happens often in the novel. The characters’ problems are still unsolved, and they are desperately looking for answers.   

In The House on Mango Street, one of the themes argued is gender inequality. Esperanza strongly dislikes the gender roles that keep women in her community oppressed. Men on Mango Street beat their wives and daughters and restrain them to their home.  Just being a woman is sometimes the cause enough for abuse. We notice this in the beatings that Sally constantly receives, also in Esperanza's sexual assault. What is interesting is that she does not blame her assaulters. Instead, she is evoked with anger towards Sally and the other women who are in her life (Cisneros). She lashes out at what she knows, despite not being strong enough to attack the world of oppressive men. Esperanza sounds childlike, especially in this section. The terrible experience has shaken her to the core despite Esperanza’s naturally growing maturity. It is obvious that Sally is not a good friend to Esperanza, when she once again abandons Esperanza for a boy’s attention. The anger directed at Sally and the other women implies that they are also complicit in such sexual violence when they do not help each other.   

Esperanza offers a critique about the way men and women relate to one another and refuses to conform to the expectations placed on her sex by getting married or even acting in a feminine way. For our protagonist, defying gender roles and remaining independent is an act of rebellion, and a source of power as the conclusion of the story. It also strikes a sort of balance into this world with how men and women interact with one another.  

Despite all the struggles Esperanza has been through, no one can forget nor escape where they come from. Instead, they live and embrace the experiences of their past and put their story out into the present. Much like how the author did with this great book.