essay 1: The house on mango street
The prompt I chose to do for my first essay was to describe how the life experiences of three different women influence Esperanza to only depend on herself in order to escape Mango Street. My initial grade for this essay was a 71, but once I revised it, the score became a 92. When writing essays, I've been taught that you need to write in present tense, and in 3rd person point of view. And because of that, I've become more aware of keeping the writing in the right tense since before, maybe I'd write in past tense, and the next sentence will be in present tense. Something I still need to work on is creating strong thesis statements.
the final draft: the house on mango street
You’ve Only Got Yourself
Denis Waitley once said; “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Which basically translates to accept your life as you are given, or to change what you are not happy with. In The House On Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza struggles at trying to accept her life as it is. By watching the successes and mistakes of the young women in her neighborhood, Esperanza is trying to learn how to not let her poverty and gender hold her back from doing all that she wants to do. Sally, Esperanza's mother, and Marin are a few examples of women who live on Mango Street and that influence Esperanza to not rely on someone else to attain her happiness and help her escape her life on Mango Street.
Marin is a positive influence on Esperanza; she teaches her to only rely on herself. For example, Esperanza states that Marin is, “waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life” (Cisneros 27). In this sentence, Esperanza talks about Marin’s plan for escaping Mango Street. She explains that Marin is waiting for a man to pick her up and whisk her far away from the tragic life of Mango Street. But as the book progresses, Marin is still waiting, and Esperanza takes Marin’s experience to mean that she can not rely on someone else to change her life. Another example of Marin’s influence is when Marin tells Esperanza, “If she stays here next year, she’s going to get a real job downtown because that’s where the best jobs are, since you always get to look beautiful and get to wear nice clothes and can meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house” (Cisneros 26). Marin explains more about her plan to escape Mango Street in this passage. She stresses the importance of using her beauty to attract people who are capable of helping her flee. Esperanza sees that Marin is leaning on someone who may never come. This has a positive influence on Esperanza because it helps her to realize that escape is only certain if she relies on herself to achieve her dreams.
Another influence on Esperanza is her friend Sally. One example of Sally’s influence is shown when Esperanza says, “Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but married just the same. She met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar, and she married him in another state where it’s legal to get married before eighth grade. She has her husband and her house now, her pillowcase and her plates. She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape” (Cisneros 101). Esperanza knows that Sally chooses to get married at a young age only to escape her abusive father. This shows that Sally is confusing being “rescued” with being in love and is the only reason she gets married so young. But this is not the only way that Sally has influenced Esperanza. For instance, “Sally says she likes being married because now she gets to buy her own things when her husband gives her money. She is happy, except sometimes her husband gets angry and once he broke the door where his foot went through, though most days he is okay” (Cisneros 101). This passage explains more about Sally’s life now that she’s married. She has been able to leave one abusive relationship, but now is being trapped within another type of abusive relationship. By making this mistake, Sally proves to Esperanza that women should not rely on a man to escape. This proves that Sally is has a positive influence on Esperanza.
Esperanza’s mother is another character who influences Esperanza in helping her to learn to rely on only herself. Her mother has grown up in a similar condition that Esperanza is in now, and looks up to her mother to learn from her mistakes. “I could’ve been somebody you know? my mother says and sighs. She has lived in this city her whole life. She can speak two languages. She can sing an opera. She knows how to fix a T.V.” Esperanza’s mother, as well as Esperanza, had many talents but let her poverty hold her back. She admires her mother very much, but doesn’t want to continue her life the same way her mother did. In this quote, Esperanza is received advice from her mother about never giving up. “Shame is a bad thing, you know. It keeps you down. You want to know why I quit school? Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains” (Cisneros 91). Her mother explains how she threw away her education because she was ashamed of her lack of nice clothes. This helps motivate Esperanza to not let her shame of her home cause her to and give up on making a better life for herself. Understanding her mother mistake of letting what others think get in the way of achieving her dreams, influences Esperanza to not let anyone get in her way of achieving her goals. Therefore, Esperanza’s mother further influences her to pursue her dreams by getting a good education.
The influence of Marin, Sally, and Esperanza's mother all teach her about independence and trusting herself to be successful. With Sally’s mistakes, Marin’s plan, and her mother’s advice, Esperanza realizes that she is in control of her life and is the only one who can really truly save herself. Many young women could find a relatable story through reading about the struggles faced by the people in Esperanza’s neighborhood. Even if it’s feeling that they need to rely on someone else to make themselves happy, reading Esperanza’s story will help them realize that they only need themselves.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.
Denis Waitley once said; “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Which basically translates to accept your life as you are given, or to change what you are not happy with. In The House On Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza struggles at trying to accept her life as it is. By watching the successes and mistakes of the young women in her neighborhood, Esperanza is trying to learn how to not let her poverty and gender hold her back from doing all that she wants to do. Sally, Esperanza's mother, and Marin are a few examples of women who live on Mango Street and that influence Esperanza to not rely on someone else to attain her happiness and help her escape her life on Mango Street.
Marin is a positive influence on Esperanza; she teaches her to only rely on herself. For example, Esperanza states that Marin is, “waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life” (Cisneros 27). In this sentence, Esperanza talks about Marin’s plan for escaping Mango Street. She explains that Marin is waiting for a man to pick her up and whisk her far away from the tragic life of Mango Street. But as the book progresses, Marin is still waiting, and Esperanza takes Marin’s experience to mean that she can not rely on someone else to change her life. Another example of Marin’s influence is when Marin tells Esperanza, “If she stays here next year, she’s going to get a real job downtown because that’s where the best jobs are, since you always get to look beautiful and get to wear nice clothes and can meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house” (Cisneros 26). Marin explains more about her plan to escape Mango Street in this passage. She stresses the importance of using her beauty to attract people who are capable of helping her flee. Esperanza sees that Marin is leaning on someone who may never come. This has a positive influence on Esperanza because it helps her to realize that escape is only certain if she relies on herself to achieve her dreams.
Another influence on Esperanza is her friend Sally. One example of Sally’s influence is shown when Esperanza says, “Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but married just the same. She met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar, and she married him in another state where it’s legal to get married before eighth grade. She has her husband and her house now, her pillowcase and her plates. She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape” (Cisneros 101). Esperanza knows that Sally chooses to get married at a young age only to escape her abusive father. This shows that Sally is confusing being “rescued” with being in love and is the only reason she gets married so young. But this is not the only way that Sally has influenced Esperanza. For instance, “Sally says she likes being married because now she gets to buy her own things when her husband gives her money. She is happy, except sometimes her husband gets angry and once he broke the door where his foot went through, though most days he is okay” (Cisneros 101). This passage explains more about Sally’s life now that she’s married. She has been able to leave one abusive relationship, but now is being trapped within another type of abusive relationship. By making this mistake, Sally proves to Esperanza that women should not rely on a man to escape. This proves that Sally is has a positive influence on Esperanza.
Esperanza’s mother is another character who influences Esperanza in helping her to learn to rely on only herself. Her mother has grown up in a similar condition that Esperanza is in now, and looks up to her mother to learn from her mistakes. “I could’ve been somebody you know? my mother says and sighs. She has lived in this city her whole life. She can speak two languages. She can sing an opera. She knows how to fix a T.V.” Esperanza’s mother, as well as Esperanza, had many talents but let her poverty hold her back. She admires her mother very much, but doesn’t want to continue her life the same way her mother did. In this quote, Esperanza is received advice from her mother about never giving up. “Shame is a bad thing, you know. It keeps you down. You want to know why I quit school? Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains” (Cisneros 91). Her mother explains how she threw away her education because she was ashamed of her lack of nice clothes. This helps motivate Esperanza to not let her shame of her home cause her to and give up on making a better life for herself. Understanding her mother mistake of letting what others think get in the way of achieving her dreams, influences Esperanza to not let anyone get in her way of achieving her goals. Therefore, Esperanza’s mother further influences her to pursue her dreams by getting a good education.
The influence of Marin, Sally, and Esperanza's mother all teach her about independence and trusting herself to be successful. With Sally’s mistakes, Marin’s plan, and her mother’s advice, Esperanza realizes that she is in control of her life and is the only one who can really truly save herself. Many young women could find a relatable story through reading about the struggles faced by the people in Esperanza’s neighborhood. Even if it’s feeling that they need to rely on someone else to make themselves happy, reading Esperanza’s story will help them realize that they only need themselves.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.