Characters
The narrator of the story
Esperanza
What Esperanza’s name means in English.
Hope
The city where the story takes place.
Chicago
A major theme represented by Esperanza's struggle with her name and culture
Identity
This neighbor from Puerto Rico wears short skirts and spends her time waiting for a star to fall or a man to change her life.
Marin
Esperanza's little sister
Nenny
These represent Esperanza's own struggle to grow and thrive in a harsh environment.
Four Skinny Trees
The reason Esperanza's family had to leave their previous home on Loomis Street.
Broken water pipes and bad landlord
This theme is explored through characters like Marin and Rafaela, who are trapped by societal expectations.
Gender roles
Locked in her apartment by her husband, she drinks coconut or papaya juice and dreams of being out in the world.
Rafaela
This neighbor character goes to university and is afraid of mice and "fathers."
Alicia
These objects represent a young girl maturing into a young women
High heels
The job Esperanza takes to help pay for her Catholic school tuition.
Developing photos
The idea that Esperanza's home is a central part of who she is, even if she wants to leave.
Home and Belonging
This woman moved from Mexico and refuses to learn English, constantly crying "No speak English" and "He not here."
Mamacita
The adult neighbor who still acts like a child and plays with Esperanza and her friends.
Ruthie
This symbol represents a woman's entrapment and isolation in the novel.
Windows
What the girls buy for five dollars to share between them.
A bicycle
The theme highlighted when Esperanza realizes she must return to Mango Street to help those she left behind.
Responsibility to community
These three characters predict Esperanza's future at a funeral.
The fates
This specific symbol in Mamacita's story represents the "Americanization" she fears for her son.
Pepsi commercial
The specific event where Meme Ortiz broke both his arms.
the first Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest
he literary term for the structure of short, poetic snapshots Cisneros uses for the book.
Vignette