Esperanza's Culture example essay topic

In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes a male dominant culture that offers women little opportunity for growth, freedom and independence. This culture defines a woman through her roles of wife and mother, She is meant to take care of the home, to nurture and not to seek to better herself or to exist as an individual. Through a collection of vignettes, Cisneros suggests that gender roles are determined by the culture in which a woman lives and that she must find the inner strength to break stereotypical cultural bonds to find independence. Esperanza, the narrator, explores the world in which she, her mother, her sister and the other women on Mango Street are rooted and confined. From the limited options available to women and through the expectations her culture impose upon her, Esperanza finds it within herself to emerge as a strong, independent woman with her own sense of depth, feeling, history and future. To Esperanza, it seems that there are few options for an adult woman in her Latino culture.

Women are confined, never able to cross the threshold to freedom of thought or opportunity. They are doomed to be mothers, wives, servers and please rs. The fourth vignette, My Name, introduces recurring metaphors that define women's roles as "second class". Her description. ".. the way so many women sit in their sadness on an elbow" (11), tells how Esperanza's great-grandmother's entire physical and spiritual being was defeated by an unwanted marriage. She was a horsewoman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse - which is supposed to be bad luck if you " re born female - but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong.

I would " ve liked to have known her, a wild horse woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier... And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on elbow... Esperanza.

I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window. (10-11) This passage gives the reader a good idea of the strong male stereotypes that dominate Esperanza's childhood. The negative tone emphasizes Esperanza's rejection of sexist folklore, such as the year of the horse being unlucky for females. Indeed, the irony with which Esperanza scoffs at the Mexican ideal of the docile woman reveals that she, while understanding her own culture, personally rejects a second class status. The strength of Esperanza's tone as she states both that the Chinese lie and that Mexicans don't like their women strong, reveals her confidence in her own convictions, as well as her admiration of her "horse woman" ancestor's free spirit, much like her own. The metaphor of the horse-woman represents how such independent female spirits were traditionally meant to be curbed by men.

Like the horse, the first Esperanza is locked in a cage of domesticity when she is carried off by her husband. The legitimacy of male domination is evident as Esperanza writes: "Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier" (11). This statement reveals Esperanza's comprehension of the cultural degradation of women to the status of objects, their worth determined only by their pleasing appearance and function. Esperanza acknowledges that she is given her great- grandmother's name, but she states that she will not inherit her great-grandmother's place at the window. With the understanding of how her culture views women, Esperanza has the potential to change her personal place within it. Even the meaning of Esperanza's name, "hope", suggests a positive future for this young woman.

In the vignette Hairs, Esperanza describes the hair texture of each member of her family. Each family member is different, symbolizing the diversity within her culture. However, Esperanza focuses her attention most upon her mother's hair. Esperanza's mother symbolizes the way a woman should be, according to her Latino society and the memories she has of her mother become the first example of womanliness that Esperanza's culture tells her she must fulfill... My mother's hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty... sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe, is the warm smell of bread before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on the side of the bed still warm with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside falling and Papa snoring. The snoring, the rain, and Mama's hair that smells like bread.

(6-7) By reading the description of "little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty", (6), the reader conjures an image of Esperanza's mother's appearance and personality. The repetition of the adjective "little" alludes to her dainty physique, as well as Esperanza's fascination with the exquisiteness of such hair, so different from her own unruly tendrils. So too, the shapes -- flowers and sweets - that Esperanza sees in her mother's curls help the reader understand Esperanza's regard for her mother's beauty and goodness; indeed, her hair fulfills both the feminine ideal and the idea found in the childhood nursery rhyme which states that little girls are made of sugar and spice. Esperanza then moves beyond the physical beauty of her mother's hair, delving into her mother's character by exploring her smell.

Esperanza's mother is not only an ideal woman, but also an ideal mother. The image of seeking comfort by burying oneself in a woman's hair is common and reveals the refuge Esperanza finds in physical contact with her mother. Esperanza then slips into a stream of consciousness reflection on the smell of her mother's hair, leading to a realization of the comfort enjoyed in the physical and spiritual closeness to both the structure and the members of her home. The images of her mother's hair smelling like "the warm smell of bread before you bake it" and "the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin" express, at her young age, what Esperanza feels women, especially her mother are supposed to be like.

The scent of Esperanza's mother symbolizes the warmth, nourishment, craving and natural solace provided by the body. Cisneros makes it abundantly clear that the Mexican culture has certain expectations of women and the roles they fulfill. Boys & Girls introduces the gender separation dominating Esperanza's social and cultural experience. The reader learns that outside of the home, Esperanza's brothers Carlos and Kiki are each other's best friends, while Esperanza and Nenny are "just sisters". Esperanza expressed dissatisfaction with being paired with her sister who is "too young to be my friend".

It is Esperanza's responsibility as a young woman not only to play with her sister, but also to watch over her. The boys and the girls live in separate worlds... My brothers for example. They " ve got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house.

But outside they can't be seen talking to girls. Carlos and Kiki are each other's best friend... not ours. Nenny is too young to be my friend... You don't pick your sisters...

And since she comes right after me, she is my responsibility. Someday I will have a best friend all my own... Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor. (8-9) The "separate worlds" inhabited by boys and girls is a metaphor for the sexism and stereotypes that Esperanza confronts and longs to escape.

Esperanza speaks with great irony when describing her brothers' hypocritical treatment of her and Nenny. But, culture has already taught Carlos and Kiki to put on a macho air when they are outside of the house, so as not to seem friendly with females. To the men of this Latin society, women only need to be included when familial responsibility comes into play. This passage concludes with a vivid metaphor, Esperanza describes herself as "a red balloon tied to an anchor". This description reveals that Esperanza singles herself out for her differences, of which she seems keenly aware. The anchor, which is meant to keep something in place, to tie down, is a symbol of Esperanza's culture and family.

Esperanza is resentful of the ties which keep her in a place where she feels misunderstood. Her age, place in the family structure, and duties to others keep her from fulfilling her dream of metaphorical flight-escape. Esperanza also considers her distinctions as a source of isolation, as she is visible different, and raised high for all to see. She longs to escape the weight of the anchor. As Esperanza grows older, she begins waging her own fight against the sexist oppression she faces in her culture. In the vignette Cruel & Beautiful, she says that she will never succumb to her society's expectations for women.

My mother says that when I get older my dusty hair will settle and my blouse will learn to stay clean, but I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain. In the movies there is always the one with red red lips who is beautiful and cruel. She is the one that drives men crazy and laughs them all away. Her power is her own. She will not give it away. I have begun my own quite war...

I am the one who leaves [the table] like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate. (88-89) This vignette discusses two important themes that coincide with the larger theme of a woman's position in culture: forging and maintaining one's own power and challenging the cultural and social expectations. Esperanza's mission to create her own identity is manifests by her decision not to "lay her neck on the threshold... ". The terse language and violent images of self-bondage into slavery reveals the contempt with which Esperanza views many of her peers whose sole priority is becoming a wife. To learn how to guard her power from men, Esperanza looks to the example of the movie seductress.

She begins her protest of women's treatment in society by reversing her role. By not cleaning up she is forgoing the responsibilities of womanhood that her culture has set upon her. And in search of gender justification, Esperanza learns of her mother's lost opportunities in the vignette, A Smart Cookie. I could have been someone, 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. But she doesn't know which subway train to take to get downtown... 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.

Yup, she says disgusted... I was a smart cookie then. (90-91) Esperanza's mother admonishes her to stay in school so that she never has to depend on a man. Esperanza's mother also warns her against shame. It seems that Esperanza inherited this fault from her mother, for Esperanza is very ashamed of her home, and is always searching for something better. Esperanza's mother reveals that the only reason she quit school was because she cared too much about appearances and cultural expectations.

Esperanza's mother, although bound to her culture by her poor decision, has opened a new door for her daughter. By sharing her failures with Esperanza, she has pointed out with Esperanza must overcome to be an independent woman in a culture full of men. As the book progresses Esperanza begins to use her observations and expectations to shape her own life. She knows of the injustices that women face, but she is determined to overcome them. Esperanza begins to understand the importance of her family and the culture that they live in, even though she doesn't always agree with it.

In Four Skinny Trees, Esperanza relates her life and reason for living to that of the trees'. Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hair toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger. This is how they keep. Let one forget his reason for being, they'd all droop like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around the other...

They teach. When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping... I look at the trees... Four who grew despite concrete...

Four whose only reason is to be and be. (74-75) The trees resemble Esperanza in both their physical frailty and stubborn spirit. Whenever Esperanza feels like giving up, she looks to the trees, whose roots reach deep into the earth to sustain them. The earth in this case represents community and culture, and how deeply rooted both the trees and Esperanza are to the thing that sustains them.

The four trees stand on their own, just as Esperanza wishes to stand on her own, but if one of them falters or forgets his purpose, the group; the community is there with their arms around each other. The reader gets a sense that Esperanza is growing up by the metaphors for community that she is using. Esperanza knows that she can reach, and reach for whatever she wants and to live a free life. She also knows that if she was ever uprooted from her culture completely, that she would become unstable, similarly as the trees would die if they were uprooted from the earth. In A House of My Own, Esperanza focuses on themes of feminine independence and stability. Not a flat.

Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own... Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody's garbage to pick up after.

Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem. (108) Esperanza has always been ashamed of the houses she's lived in and in turn, always ashamed of herself. In previous homes, she's never had any space to herself, and was always being intruded upon. In her ideal home she wishes to have independence, to bask in the solitude and for once never have to worry about the womanly duties that she must perform on Mango Street, such as picking up after anyone.

Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes, the last vignette, suggests to the reader that Esperanza has grown up tremendously and will have no problem becoming an independent young woman. Through her actions and thoughts, Esperanza has shown that she understands the importance of being rooted in her culture, but she is wise to the fact that she can still be an independent woman as well. The painful emotions which Mango Street evokes in Esperanza are relieved when she finally expresses her love-hate relationship with the place. We didn't always live on Mango Street... but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.

I put it down on paper and then the ghost doesn't ache so much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free. One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. 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. Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to Esperanza? ...

They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out. (109-110) Esperanza finally realizes that even though she will grow up and leave Mango Street she can never get away from the memories that she's made there, and the culture in which she grew up. Esperanza knows that she doesn't belong to the house on Mango Street, but she also knows that she can never really leave Mango Street for good. The final lines of the vignette reveal Esperanza's true reason for wanting to move far away from Mango Street: so that one day she can come back for those, like so many of the women in her culture, who cannot make it out on their own.

In spite of the gender-related limitations placed upon her, Esperanza succeeds in escaping the bonds of her male dominant culture. Throughout the novel Esperanza's experiences allow her to understand the stability her culture provides, and to develop the strength necessary to break away from the culture structured to hold her back. This young woman of character fulfills the hopeful dream that her name suggests... becoming an independent woman, secure in her own world and appreciative of the one that shaper her.