Historical Context
This novel takes place in the authors
hometown, Chicago. Mango Street is a
poor, Latino neighborhood in the late
1960s. Esperanzas personality is also
based on this neighborhood. She was
seeing that many of the women that lived
there werent as independant as she had
thought. Esperanza started thinking to
herself if she would be as independant as
she is right now when she grows up.
Esperanza has many different
experiences while she is in Mango Street.
This also makes her see things differently
as she is becoming a woman.
Reflections
Every novel is unique in its own ways but
this one stands out from many of them.
Mango Street doesnt go in chronological
order, like many normal novels, instead it
gives you the feeling that an actual 12year-old is telling you the story. The
House on Mango Street is about a young
girl named Esperanza. When Esperanza
moved to Mango Street, she didn't feel
like she belonged there. She had always
wanted her own house with nice things for
herself and her family. During this time
period she has many experiences such as
making new friends and knowing that you
Character Analysis
Themes
Sometimes you cant always have
what you want- when Esperanza
saw the new house
You should be grateful from where
you come from- I am going to tell
you a story about a girl who didnt
belong
Change can be good- Esperanza
made new friends
Dont be ashamed of yourselfwhen she goes to the baptism
party and her uncle makes her
dance with him even though she
had old shoes and felt good about
herself when they were done
True friends are hard to some byEsperanza has had acquaintances
but not friends
Getting what you want doesnt
always turn out as you expect itEsperanza got a new house but
didnt like how it looked
In order to go against your
expectations you must make a
change- she adapted to the new
change of the house and made