Should parents/guardians raise their teenage girls in the same way that they raise their teenage boys? Why or why not? What rules should be the same for girls and boys? What should be different? Explain. Cisneros obviously believes that parents do raise their teenage boys/girls differently...But according to the following vignettes, does she think they should? How do you think Cisneros would answer the question above?
I believe that parents/ guardians should raise their teenage girls differently from how they raise their teenage boys. I believe this because girls and boy have two different ways of thinking. In general, girls are more sensitive than boys, they are constantly thinking about things emotionally and physically. How does my hair look right now? Why isn't he talking to me? Will I ever look as pretty as her? These questions run through minds of teenage girls. On the contrary, boys don't tend to worry about their appearance as much and are more leniant in the way they feel about themselves.
Some rules that should be the same for boys and girls are that they should be held to the same expectations. Grades at a good standard for average teenagers. Tidiness is good. Chores are being done. Rules are being followed. These are very common rules that are set for both boys and girls. On the other hand, girls should be allowed to spend more money than boys. This doesn't mean they are allowed to blow up their parent's credit cards, it means that they should be able to spend money at a good extent. At the same time the items that they are spending on should be something they need not something they want just to have it. I guess the rule goes for boys too. But in the end, parents/guardians should just be more thoughtful in expressing their feelings towards girls since they are more emotional.
In the vignette, Marin, Esperanza says
“Since you always get to look beautiful [...] and take you to live in a big house far away.” (26)
what Cisneros is trying to say is that girls are raised to be married, they should be treated differently from men because women often worry about their looks. This is the result of the pressure to get married in the future.
Another quote that she says is,"Nennys says she won't wait her whole life for a husband to come and get her." (88) This shows that Cisneros feels that marraige is key to life of women. This is why they should be treated differently compared to guys.
The last four vignettes from the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros holds many details about Esperanza's place on Mango Street. "The Three Sisters" is a mystery to be looked at carefully. While "Alicia & I Talking on Edna's Steps" tells the story of being at home. "A House of My Own" talks about Esperanza being independent in her dream home. "Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes" sums up the story of Esperanza and her adventure through life. The many stories she tells all bound together to bring out the true meaning of the book. Each vignette adds to Esperanza's picture of "home."
In the future Esperanza will become big. She will be successful and live in the dream home that she sought for in "A House of My Own."
"Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own. [...] Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem." (108)
Here, Esperanza talks about her dream house. It is obvious that her intentions are to find a nice house all to herself. One that would not be seen on Mango Street. She wants to be independent, and does not like the idea of having to rely on others. This shows that maybe she will be strong enough to "come back for the others" that live on Mango Street. When she says, "clean as paper before the poem" I think this means that while writing a poem, a jumble of words can fill the paper but before the poem has been written the paper is clean. She wants a new beginning in the house of her own. And then maybe later on she will fill the poem with a jumble of her own words. When Esperanza is successful and settled down, she will come back for Mango Street.
In the vignette, "Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes," Esperanza shows that she is strong enough to leave Mango Street and intends on leaving the place where she doesn't belong.
"One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away." (110)
This quote shows that Esperanza will leave Mango Street. She doesn't belong and needs a way out. Later on in the vignette she writes.
"They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out."(110)
This shows that Esperanza's intentions are to come back and help the poor people who are unable to leave the nightmares of Mango Street. She wants to make things better and help others. This is why she says goodbye to Mango Street but not forever. This is only the end of the beginning in Esperanza's life.
Fill The Cup Table of Contents 1. Mickey Mouse Can’t Trick Me 2. I Can Pour Milk? 3. Regret 4. Elaine Sayaphupha Ma 5. Lalala
Mickey Mouse Can't Trick Me.
She tells me all of the time that Mickey Mouse is waiting for me. My dad gets the weekdays and sometimes I see my mom on the weekends. Every time I do, Mickey Mouse always follows me around. The thought of him makes me cringe. I am forced to decide my fate according to him. My mother looks at me for a long time, “What do you want to do?” I sat watching Cartoon Network, the thoughts of living with her in Disneyland was overwhelming for such a small child as I. Of course I wanted to go to the place where dreams came true but at the same time I didn't want to leave my dad. I figured that she didn't really live in Disneyland, just someplace near it. But she said that if I did live with her, I would see Mickey Mouse everyday. I realize now that Mickey Mouse can't trick me.
I Can Pour Milk?
“Come on you can do it” My father encourages me as I tilt the milk carton towards the cup. My sister too watches me in hopes that I succeed. Slowly the milk rushed into the cup and I made sure not to let the carton slip. Grasping tightly to the handle, I filled the cup to the top. I can pour milk.
My dad and sister encourage me in all of my dreams. At age 5 I learned how to read. At age 8 I kicked my first soccer ball. At age 10 I watched my dad and sister cheer me on in the stands as I scored another goal. At age 14 I still see my dad and sister at the dining room table cheering me on as I pour a glass of milk into a different cup, one that is endless, one that never gets full until my family stops supporting me. At age 48 the cup is still not full.
Regret
Rose Mavu, a brave woman that now carries the last name of her second husband. The woman that has been in my life countless of times, but that’s the way I see it. Rose, the woman that missed out on her children’s childhood and has many years to make up. Rose.
An hour was all it took to fly down to Southern California for a soccer tournament. I play on a Class I soccer team that competes nationally. Instead of staying in a hotel with the rest of my team I stay at Rose’s house. She buys me everything I want. Almost everything. Money can’t buy the experience of having a mother can it? She left when I was two, my sister six. I never hated her for it because I had my father make up for all of the missed memories. I can tell she regrets leaving us and I understand why she had to do it. The last time she’s seen me play soccer was when I was nine and playing for a recreational team. It was boring to her. Five years later she realizes what she missed out on.
The whistle blows and she takes sips out of her coffee mug. The cup a bright blue reflects off of the sunlight. A ball rolls towards me and I pick it up, I shout to my teammates to push up and then punt it as far as I could. She is amazed. It was only a kick wasn’t it? I did not even do anything special. She is amazed.
Every little touch I had on the ball was followed by the cheering of Rose. Five years ago she sat on the sideline of my soccer game with no expression whatsoever. Now it’s a different story. Her eyes bulge out whenever I dive for the ball, she tells me to be careful.
At the end of the game she is stunned. In her head I can tell that she regrets missing out on watching me play. She regrets passively watching my other game five years ago because now I play at a different level. Rose regrets not being able to experience the growth I had made since the last time she watched me.
Rose, my mother; regrets not being in my childhood. She understands that phone calls and visits every now and then weren’t enough. She takes another sip from her cup as tears puddle in her eyes. I love my mother and I understand why she had to leave. I have no hate towards her because in the end I know she is my mother.
Elaine Sayaphupha Ma
She treats me as if I was her own child, even though I know I'm not. At the age of 9 she was already forced to watch over me since my dad had to work overtime. I can tell she wishes that she was as lucky as I. Hanging out with friends was never easy for her since I was always around to watch. Elaine never complained. Now that she is in college, I can tell she's happier since I'm not there to worry about. Now she can take her own road in life instead of dreading the path of mine. Whatever I wanted I got, whatever she wanted it always had to get questioned. She tells me that it's okay and that she didn't mind watching over me. But I know she did. My sister can't re-do what she missed in the past and for this my cup is still not filled.
Go clean your room, how many times do I have to tell you this she says. I’m sorry god you don’t have to yell at me for everything. You’re so disrespectful and all you care about is yourself. It’s not fair. You get everything that you want. Why can’t I have my own life? Why can’t I hang out with my friends like you do? It’s not fair that I have to watch over you all of the time. I turn back to my room and start picking my clothes off of the ground.
Lalala
Some people in the world have it hard. I see an old women everyday on the bus wearing the most jewelry and fancy clothes that she can wear, but it seems like she is still unhappy. It seems like she regrets what happened during her life and wishes she can change things. At the same time, she is a beautiful old lady and I can see that all she wants is for someone to love her. She’s always stressed out. Her mopped hair highlights the wrinkles on her face. Sometimes I wish there was something I could do to help but I can’t. The lady continues to sit on the bus with her hands clasped and her jewelry clinking with every swift move of the bus.
On The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the small book is made up of many vignettes. Within the vignettes are many symbols that are scattered across the book. Sandra Cisneros does a good job of implanting these symbols in different parts of the story. As the protagonist, Esperanza narrates significant events in her life, she talks about certain objects and colors that symbolize greater things. It is mind bobbling as to how Cisneros was able to create a piece bound by many symbols that were at the same time secretly hidden for only careful readers to find. When I finished reading the book, a symbol that I found significant was the color red.
Red is referred to different times in the book. The color red symbolizes dependence and being tied down to doing something. When Esperanza talks about her difficulties finding a true friend, she explains
"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 balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor." (9)
Esperanza describes what she wants in a best friend. She sees many other people with best friends but can't seem to find one of her own. Without a best friend, she is alone. She can have other friends but not one that she has a greater connection with. Because of this, she sticks out like the color red. Esperanza is a balloon that needs to float up, to continue fulfilling it's duties, yet she is tied to an anchor. This means that Esperanza has no best friend and because of this she is forced to stay by herself and wait until she fits in and can be untied and be let free from the anchor.
In another part of the book, Esparanza says
"But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all. It's small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath." (4)
What this means is that her house is too small for her. The bad quality of it is described in the color of the house, red. Red is dependent. Her house doesn't fit her needs and this is why it forces her to feel this way.
In the book, there are many symbols that can be perceived in different ways. Red is one symbol that represents dependence and being forced to do something. Cisneros weaves this symbol in many time in The House On Mango Street.
In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros formats the book into many vignettes. Each of the vignettes can be passively read and misunderstood unless reader read carefully and follow her writing. In her vignettes titiled "My Name", "No Speak English", "Rafaela", and "Sally" there is a symbol used to portray many things. Windows. Windows can be looked at as symbols freedom and a way home. Outside of thin walls is a place better than where each of the characters in the vignettes are at.
In the vignette titled, "No Speak English", Mamacita is a foreign immigrant that only knows how to speak English. This has forced her to stay inside her "home" all day and only watch what goes on around her. She dreads living there and wishes that she could go back home. On page 77 Esperanza narrates, "She sits all day by the window and plays the Spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs about her country in a voice that sounds like a seagull." What this is trying to persuade readers is that Mamacita only wishes to go home. The land of the free is no match for what she once had before, the window is the frame of what she used to had when she looked out and saw other’s happiness.
In the vignette titled “My Name” Esperanza talks about how she does not like her name because it is named after her great grandmother. She states “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.” (11) What this is saying is that Esperanza’s great grandmother was weak, she dreaded the idea of getting married but after being forced to she was always sad. She looked out the window all of the time, like Mamacita had when she was stuck in her home with nowhere to go. Later on in the vignette, Esperanza expresses, “I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” (11) When Esperanza says this she is trying to say that she doesn’t want to be like how her great grandmother was and lose hope. She would rather be named after a strong woman.
In the vignette titled “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” Esparanza talks about another woman who has been taken advantatge of. Rafaela is a young woman who also follows in the path of staring out windows. “And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at.” (79) This shows that Rafaela is too weak and can not speak up. It isn’t her fault though. Rafaela wants a normal life and to be able to enjoy it.
In the vignette “Sally” Esperanza talks about her experiences with her friend Sally. After Sally left her for boys Esparanza writes to Sally and tries to talk about how there are other things that could get her mind off of being like the way she is. What I am trying to say is that she tries to tell Sally that she understands that Sally wants to be normal or perfect. She understands that it is hard for her to do so when under pressure from boys. Esperanza writes, “And if you opened the little window latch and gave it a shove, the windows would swing open, all the sky would come in.” (82) This means that if Sally felt vulnerable like the other women, she would be able to see what is better beyond the window and realize that how she acts can be changed. Windows are a symbol of freedom, a better life and respect. These women look out of the window in search of an answer. They long for equality and to not be treated like just another woman in the world. They want to be able to live the life they see when they look out of a window.
