1. The House on Mango Street is about Esperanza Cordero who is a young Latina living in an unstable society and her journey of transformation into adulthood. The novel tells about her life as a young girl in this area of her town, where she is faced with hardships, one of them being sexually assaulted, and comes out of each difficult moment with more wisdom and knowledge about the world than in the beginning of the book. Esperanza wants to leave Mango Street, but realizes that she is mentally scarred by the place where she grew up. She wants to leave and then come back to help others who are unable to escape this place. The author's purpose is to teach her readers about unbelievable things that occur in the real world. The author shows us how well Esperanza copes with the situations she is put into.
2. The theme of the novel is a resolution of personal conflicts and hope of better life. Esperanza had to face many challenges, but overcame them. Yes bad things happened, but she didn't give up. She wanted to leave everything that she had dealt with behind, and not look back. She wished to start a new life, and though she knows this isn't thoroughly possible, she still had hope. She knew that she deserved better and would work to get it.
3. The author's tone is blunt, straightforward and sometimes negative. It seems that she doesn't really care about much, not even herself. This is shown when she says, "I am an ugly daughter," "My Papa's hair is like a broom, all up in the air. And me, my hair is lazy," "In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting."
4. Anaphora: "Not my house. Not my car. Not my room. Not my family."
Onomatopoeia: "Bam! Buzz."
Simile: "My life, it is life the number 9."
Alliteration: "...crumples like a coat and cries."
Idiom: "Get your head out of the clouds."
Personification: "But I think diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone."
Synesthesia: "a loud color"
Hyperbole: "Anthony Haselbauer is a giant!"
Symbol: The American flag, symbolizing the American dream that Esperanza wants so desperately.
Metaphor: "Like it or not, you are Mango Street."
Characterization
1. Indirect characterization: "He worked two jobs. He came home late and left early. Everyday." "...first annual Tarzan jumping contest, Meme won. And broke both arms."
Direct characterization: "She is very sassy." "She was a horse woman too."
Both approaches are used so that the characters and the way they are introduced are more realistic. These methods allow the reader to imagine and infer aspects of the characters but then they can also directly get to know what the author wants them to see about the characters.
2. The book is pretty simple so the syntax/diction doesn't really tend to change when focusing on specific characters. The story is viewed entirely through the eyes of Esperanza as she describes the settings and gives the reader insight on the characters, which tends to be biased toward the smaller characters. The way Esperanza talked to and about characters did vary since each played a different role in her life.
3. Esperanza is definitely a dynamic and round character. At the beginning of the book she is naive and who slowly learns about growing up as the story unfolds. At first, all she wanted to do was play and interact with the children living in the neighborhood, but then she began to interest herself in boys and sexual matters. She was maturing. Esperanza is left disappointed at the end because it isn't what she expected. She goes on to worry about more important things like leaving Mango Street.
4. After reading this book, I can say that I met a character. Esperanza went through stages of life that all of us go through. She was a curious young girl with dreams, she set goals and wanted to become something greater and learned a lot along the way. She was a character with real emotions, hardships, and aspirations. She resembled someone who is determined to achieve something in the real world.
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