Literary Terms
The central or unifying idea of a story.
What is theme?
Esperanza's younger sister.
Who is Nenny?
The narrator is named after this person.
Who is her great-grandmother?
I am too _______ to be a mother yet.'
What is young?
The most beautiful girl at Esperanza's school.
Who is Sally?
When a person, place, object, color, or event represents something beyond its literal meaning.
What is symbolism?
These two girls live across the street from Esperanza and become her best friends.
Who are Rachel and Lucy?
Esperanza's first "friend" who moves away.
Who is Cathy?
". . . under the streetlight, dancing by herself, is singing the same song somewhere. I know. Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life.."
Who is Marin?
The boarded-up business
What is the laundromat?
The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments
What is juxtaposition?
Attends a local university and aspires to work hard to better themself
Who is Alicia?
The local fortune teller.
Who is Elenita?
"She looked out the window her whole life"
Who is Esperanza's grandmother?
A neighbor who has lots of cats and claims to be related to the queen of France.
Who is Cathy?
Acoming-of-age story that traces a character’s emotional, psychological, and moral growth from youth to maturity.
What is a bildungsroman?
Old, blind, and very sick person who listens to Esperanza's poetry and encourages Esperanza to keep writing.
Who is Aunt Lupe?
Eperanza steals this amount from her sister's piggy bank.
What is $2?
My whole life on that kitchen table: past, present, future.'
Who is Esperanza
Told Esperanza to go to school and study hard.
Who is her mother?
The act of expressing an opinion on the nature of society
What is social commentary?
Carlos and Kiki.
Who are Esperanza's brothers?
On Mango Street, the people are "all this all around," and are therefore safe.
What is brown?
You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad.
Who is Darius?
Sally gets married at this age.
What is 12?