Quotes
"Each time it seem there'd be one more of us. By the time we got to Mango Street we were six- Mama, Papa Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me." (Page 3)
What does this quote infer about what Cisneros is trying to say?
Esperanza has moved around a lot and her family keeps growing.
Does Esperanza want a closed or open space in her home?
She wants an open space.
Who is Esperanza's nosy neighbor in the beginning of the book?
Cathy
Who was Esperanza named after?
Great Grandma
Growing up/Coming of age
"...That one? she said, pointing to a row of ugly three-flats, the ones even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes, I nodded even though I knew that wasn't my house and started to cry. I always cry when nuns yell at me, even if they're not yelling." (Page 45)
How did the nuns make Esperanza feel?
She felt embarrassed.
True or False: Esperanza views The House on Mango Street as a "real" home.
False
Who owns the furniture store?
Gill
What does Esperanza mean in English?
Hope
What do windows represent?
Being confined
"... Two trains and a bus, because she doesn't want to spend her whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin. Is a good girl, my friend, studies all night and sees the mice, the ones her father says do not exist. Is afraid of nothing except four-legged fur. And fathers." (Page 32)
Why does Alicia see mice?
She sees mice because she is up all night always study and she is the "mom" of the house in the mornings.
What type of house does Esperanza's family live in at the beginning of the book?
A small, run-down house on Mango Street
How did the nuns make Esperanza feel?
Embarrassed
Who does Esperanza describe as an anchor?
Nenny
What are the themes of The House on Mango Street?
Coming of age, women being confined, and realizing who you are.
“When I got back Sally was pretending to be mad… something about the boys having stolen her keys. Please give them back to me, she said punching the nearest one with a soft fist. They were laughing. She was too. It was a joke I didn’t get.”(Page 96)
What does Esperanza misunderstand in this vignette?
They were flirting but Esperanza thought Sally was in danger.
What does Esperanza say about her relationship with the house on Mango Street at the end of the novel?
She will never forget the people on Mango Street, it will always be part of her.
What was the name of the kid who fell of the roof and exploded?
Angel Vargas
How is Esperanza's story telling dynamic?
She is constantly changing from kid to teen to adult.
In "Four Skinny Trees" what do the four trees represent?
Lucy, Nenny, Rachel, Esperanza or Esperanza and her siblings.
"Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody's garbage to pick up after. (Page 108)
What is Esperanza emphasizing as she repeats the words "my," "not," house," and "nobody,"?
She just wants a house the way she wants it. She doesn’t want anyone to control what she does or what she does with it.
In the excerpt "A House of My Own", Sandra Cisneros says she was taught that a writer needs long stretches of _____ to think.
Solitude
Why does Esperanza's mom feel like Madam Butterfly?
Madam butterfly gave up her life and her mom did the same.
What was the name of the game Esperanza invented that "killed" Aunt Lupe?
Charades.
What theme does the vignette "No Speak English" represent?
Woman being confined.