
Where did the Book House on Mango Street take place?
Mango Street, in a low-income Latino neighborhood of Chicago. The setting is central to The House on Mango Street – after all, it's even mentioned in the title. Esperanza and her family have just moved to a poor, mostly Latino neighborhood in a city that's commonly understood to be Chicago, the author's hometown.
What is the plot of the house on Mango Street?
The House on Mango Street is a bildungsroman (coming-of-age story) of a young Chicana (Mexican-American) girl named Esperanza Cordero. The book is told in small vignettes which act as both chapters of a novel and independent short stories or prose poems. The story encompasses a year in Esperanza’s life, as she moves to a house on Mango Street in a barrio (Latino neighborhood) of Chicago, Illinois.
How many pages does the house on Mango Street have?
The total number of pages depends upon the edition and publisher that you are interested in. Here is the page counts for the different paperback publishings for the novel " The House on Mango Street ". The first edition of the novel was published by Arte Publico Press in 1984. This edition contained 110 pages.
Who is Marin on the Book House on Mango Street?
Marin’s Character Analysis (The House on Mango Street) Marin is a young girl of approximately 13 or 14 years old whose parents have sent her to live with relatives in Chicago, who would want to return her to her parents.

What kind of fiction is The House on Mango Street?
Autobiography, Coming-Of-Age A little girl tells the story of growing up in a bad neighborhood, and how poetry becomes her ticket out of there.
Is The House on Mango Street fiction or nonfiction?
Few other books in our time have touched so many readers. BRAND NEW: From the author of The House on Mango Street, a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography--an intimate album of a beloved literary legend.
Is The House on Mango Street a memoir?
The House on Mango Street is a work of fiction and, therefore, not an autobiography. However, Sandra Cisneros did draw from her own experience as a Mexican-American in order to tell Esperanza Cordero's story.
What type of novel is The House on Mango Street quizlet?
This is an episodic novel written in small vignettes or literary sketches.
What is the theme of The House on Mango Street?
The struggle for self-definition is a common theme in a coming-of-age novel, or bildungsroman, and in The House on Mango Street, Esperanza's struggle to define herself underscores her every action and encounter.
Why was The House on Mango Street Banned?
The novel has been banned from several school curriculums and was listed on Banned Book Week's list of frequently challenged young adult fiction for 2014-2015 because of its depictions of domestic and sexual violence. Get a head start on the morning's top stories.
What was the author's purpose for writing The House on Mango Street?
I wrote it so that it would be approachable for all people, whether they were educated or not, and whether they were children or adults. My idea was to write it in a way that it would not make anyone feel intimidated, but welcome.
What age is The House on Mango Street for?
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cinceros, is a book for the crowd of ages 14+. I personally think it's a good book, the overall message to it can definitely be relatable to many readers. The novel covers the life of Esperanza, a chicana who is 12.
Is House on Mango Street a true story?
The House on Mango Street is a novel, not a work of nonfiction, but Sandra Cisneros drew heavily on her early childhood experiences as inspiration for the book. The experiences of Esperanza growing up are inspired by experiences of the author.
Why does Esperanza's father cry?
Esperanza's father tells her that her grandfather, or abuelito, has died. He cries, which is astounding for Esperanza to see. He will have to go to Mexico for the funeral, and Esperanza will have to explain to her younger siblings that they will not be able to play or go out today.
How is Esperanza a dynamic character?
Esperanza is a Round and Dynamic character. Esperanza changes a lot through out the course of the book. She changes by moving to California, away from her old home. She changes also by maturity.
What do the four trees teach Esperanza?
3. What does Esperanza learn from the trees? The trees teach Esperanza to keep reaching for what she wants, and they show her it is possible to grow.
Is The House on Mango Street a true story?
The House on Mango Street is a novel, not a work of nonfiction, but Sandra Cisneros drew heavily on her early childhood experiences as inspiration for the book. The experiences of Esperanza growing up are inspired by experiences of the author.
What type of novel is The House on Mango Street Brainpop?
1:336:06BrainPOP - The House on Mango Street - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIn the book houses are an important symbol when something represents a bigger idea more than a roofMoreIn the book houses are an important symbol when something represents a bigger idea more than a roof and four walls houses stand for your identity. And your place in the world.
What does The House on Mango Street represent to Esperanza?
Esperanza didn't always live on Mango Street, but that is where her story takes place. And the house on Mango Street is the first house her family has owned. "House is a symbolic image in the book that represents ideas like independence, pride, a stable life and dreams of a family.
How do you cite The House on Mango Street?
How to cite “The house on mango street” by Sandra CisnerosAPA. Cisneros, S. (2004). The house on mango street. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.Chicago. Cisneros, Sandra. 2004. The House on Mango Street. ... MLA. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2004.
Who wrote the house on mango street?
Quilligan. The House on Mango Street is a 1984 novel by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. Structured as a series of vignettes, it tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. Based in part on Cisneros's own experience, the novel follows Esperanza over the span ...
How many copies of The House on Mango Street have been sold?
The House on Mango Street has sold well over 6 million copies and has been translated into over 20 languages. For its 25th anniversary in 2008, Mango Street was reissued in a special Anniversary edition.
What is Esperanza Cordero's house on Mango Street about?
Esperanza Cordero - The House on Mango Street is written through the eyes of Esperanza Cordero, who is an adolescent girl living in a working-class Latino neighbourhood in Chicago. Esperanza is intrigued by the idea of being a Mexican American woman in Chicago, which reflects the author herself just 15 years prior to publishing this book. We follow this young woman coming into her sexual maturity and observe her undying struggle to make new possibilities for herself. The reader also encounters Esperanza living between two cultures, the Mexican one which she encounters through her parents and the American culture in which she finds herself living. Throughout the book, we see Esperanza reject her Chicana community as a means to forge and establish her own identity.
Why does Esperanza dislike her new house?
While the house on Mango Street was a significant improvement from her family's previous dwellings, Esperanza expresses disdain towards her new home because it is not a "real" house, like the ones she has seen on TV. Esperanza constantly daydreams of a white, wooden house, with a big yard and many trees.
What happens when the parents finally arrive at the house on Mango Street?
The parents overcome their dejection by saying that this is not the end of their moving, that it is only a temporary stop before going on to the promised house.
Where does Esperanza live?
Esperanza uses her house in Chicago, to question her society and the cultural customs that weigh on her due to her identity as a young Chicana woman.
Who is the character that is waiting for a car to stop?
Marin is another character who is thought to lack belonging. Marin "is waiting for a car to stop, a start to fall, someone to change her life" and although she is supposed to leave Mango Street, the possibility is unlikely as she lacks the money and independence to leave.
Who wrote the house on mango street?
4 out of 5 stars to The House on Mango Street, a short series of vignettes published in 1984 and written by Sandra Cisneros. Picture it: Long Island, August 1995. 18-year-old college student receives a letter in the mail, revealing two books he must read prior to attending the freshmen orientation seminar on his first day of college later that month. Young kid says "They're giving me work to do already? WT..." It went something like that. And it wasn't that I didn't want t
How many questions are there about The House on Mango Street?
See all 26 questions about The House on Mango Street…
What is the name of Esperanza's first house?
Mango Street is her family's first house and the neighborhood becomes a part of her existence. In two to three page vignettes, Cisneros poignantly describes Esperanza's adolescent angst. Navigating life as one of few Hispanics in her school, Esperanza faces pressure at school, at home, and with her friends.
What is the story of Esperanza's house on mango street about?
A short sequence of colorful vignettes, full of vivid dialogue and striking images, The House on Mango Street tells the coming-of-age tale of its protagonist Esperanza.
What is Goodreads for?
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
What is the context of the house on mango street?
Historical Context of The House on Mango Street. Cisneros’s work has become a landmark for American minority women writers, and she is one of the most famous Chicana and Latina writers. The House on Mango Street is set in a barrio (primarily Latino neighborhood) of Chicago, and portrays both the poverty and the male-dominated culture ...
Who created the LitCharts study guide for The House on Mango Street?
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Sandra Cisneros 's The House on Mango Street. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
What is the house on mango street about?
Parents need to know that Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel originally published in 1984 about a girl named Esperanza growing up in a lower income Latino neighborhood in Chicago. The book begins when she's 12 and ends when she turns 14. It features gritty material including child abuse, men who treat their wives like captives, and a scene where a group of boys sexually assault a girl. It's not graphically described, but it's implied that she was raped. Esperanza is a smart, gifted narrator who's determined to say goodbye to her neighborhood and forge a better life and a home of her own. This book is often used in the classroom setting, and parents and teachers can use it to open up a variety of discussions, including about the importance of consent. One mother smokes a cigarette, and there are references to drinking.
When was the House on Mango Street first published?
The House on Mango Street was first published in 1984. Why do you think it has had such a lasting appeal? Do you think it's still as relevant as it was when it was published?
What does Esperanza write about her house?
Esperanza writes about her house on Mango Street with "windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath;" her mother, who quit school and pushes her to continue her education; and her friend Sally, who gets married too young to escape her house, and ends up a virtual prisoner to her husband. Readers may not be able to relate exactly ...
What is the poetic coming of age story?
Poetic coming-of-age story deals with abuse, sexual assault.
What is Random House used for?
Random House provides a list of questions for parents or teachers who want to dive into specific vignettes.
Is the House on Mango Street written in vignettes?
Families can talk about the writing in The House on Mango Street. The book is written in vignettes. Is this an effective way to tell a story? How would the book have been different if it had been a more straightforward novel?
What is the second half of The House on Mango Street about?
This second half of The House on Mango Street presents a string of stories about older women in the neighborhood, all of whom are even more stuck in their situations and, quite literally, in their houses, than Esperanza is.
How old is Esperanza in The House on Mango Street?
On a series of vignettes, The House on Mango Street covers a year in the life of Esperanza, a Chicana (Mexican-American girl), who is about twelve years old when the novel begins. During the year, she moves with her family into a house on Mango Street.
What is Esperanza's desire to escape Mango Street?
Esperanza’s traumatic experiences as Sally’s friend, in conjunction with her detailed observations of the older women in her neighborhood, cement her desire to escape Mango Street and to have her own house.
Where is Esperanza's house?
The house is in the center of a crowded Latino neighborhood in Chicago, a city where many of the poor areas are racially segregated. Esperanza does not have any privacy, and she resolves that she will someday leave Mango Street and have a house all her own.
Who are Esperanza's neighbors?
After moving to the house, Esperanza quickly befriends Lucy and Rachel, two Chicana girls who live across the street. Lucy, Rachel, Esperanza, and Esperanza’s little ...
What is the house on mango street about?
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a charming novel about an adolescent Mexican girl named Esperanza. It explores different aspects of what it's like to be welcomed into the world of woman hood. Like sexuality, body changes, mental changes, the feelings of being judged and along all this being a feminist.
Does Esperanza want to own a house?
While her female companions want boys and to be a good little housewife, Esperanza doesn't. Esperanza wants to own a house with a garden on a hill, a house of her own and never forgetting who she is, letting bums live in her attic.
Language and Names
One of the most important themes of The House on Mango Street is the power of words. Esperanza first learns that the lack of language (especially English) means powerlessness, as with Mamacita, who is trapped in her apartment by her ignorance and fear of English.
Gender and Sexuality
From the start of the book Esperanza realizes that men and women live in “separate worlds,” and that women are nearly powerless in her society. There is a constant conflict between being a sexual being and keeping one’s freedom, as most of the book’s female characters are trapped both by abusive husbands and needy children.
Foreigness and Society
The House on Mango Street is set in a Latino community in Chicago, and on one level it is about building a cultural identity in a society where Latinos are seen as foreign.
Identity and Autonomy
Esperanza ’s essential goal is to be an autonomous individual who controls her own choices, a desire driven by her observations of the many trapped and powerless people of Mango Street.
Dreams and Beauty
Dreams and beauty are spread throughout The House on Mango Street, and most often come as a means of escaping the harsh realities of life.

Overview
Characters
Esperanza Cordero – The House on Mango Street is written through the eyes of Esperanza Cordero, who is an adolescent girl living in a working-class Latino neighbourhood in Chicago. Esperanza is intrigued by the idea of being a Mexican American woman in Chicago, which reflects the author herself just 15 years prior to publishing this book. We follow this young woman coming into her sexual maturity and observe her undying struggle to make new possibilities for herself. …
Background
Cisneros has discussed the relationship between her own personal experiences and Esperanza's life as depicted in The House on Mango Street. Like her protagonist, Esperanza, Cisneros is Mexican-American and was born and raised in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. Yet there are differences; for instance, where Esperanza has two brothers and a sister, Cisneros was "the only daughter in a family of seven children". Earlier, Cisneros suggested that as the only girl in a fami…
Synopsis
The House on Mango Street covers a year in the life of Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana girl living in an impoverished Chicago neighborhood with her parents and three siblings. The book opens with Esperanza, the narrator, explaining how her family first arrived on Mango Street. Before the family settled in their new home, a small and run-down building with crumbling red bricks, they moved frequently. The family has been wandering from place to place, always drea…
Structure
The novel is composed of forty-four interconnected vignettes, of varying lengths, ranging from one or two paragraphs to several pages. The protagonist, Esperanza, narrates these vignettes in first-person present tense.
In the afterword for the 25th-anniversary publication of The House on Mango Street, Cisneros commented on the style she developed for writing it: "She experiments, creating a text that is as …
Themes
Critics have noted that Esperanza's desire to break free from her neighborhood is not limited to a desire to escape poverty but also to escape strict gender roles she finds oppressive within her culture. Esperanza's discovery of her own feminist values, which contradict the domestic roles prescribed for Chicana women, are a crucial part of her character development throughout the novel. In keeping with this idea, Cisneros dedicates the novel "a las mujeres," or, "to the women."
Chicano literature and culture
The House on Mango Street is an example of Chicano literature and explores the complexities of its culture. Through Esperanza Cordero, the heroine of this novel, Sandra Cisneros demonstrates that the "patriarchal Chicana Chicago community that raised her will not permit her development as a female writer". Through this book, she addresses the oppression that many women feel when growing up in Chicano communities, such as Mango Street.
Adaptation
On January 22, 2020, Deadline Hollywood reported that The House on Mango Street would be adapted into a television series by Gaumont Film Company, who previously produced the largely Spanish language series Narcos.