Character & Identity
This vignette shows Esperanza’s early discomfort with her identity.
What is My Name?
These represent Esperanza’s resilience and determination.
What are the four skinny trees?
The tone of Hairs can best be described as this.
What is warm / loving / nostalgic?
One major theme in A Smart Cookie is this.
What is regret or missed opportunity?
This vignette introduces Esperanza’s dissatisfaction with her home.
What is The House on Mango Street?
In this vignette Esperanza decides she will not wait for a man and will create her own future.
What is Beautiful & Cruel?
The idea of a house throughout the novel symbolizes this.
What is independence / identity / escape?
The tone of Red Clowns is best described as this.
What is traumatic / confused / fearful?
This theme is strongly developed in Beautiful & Cruel.
What is independence / rejecting gender expectations?
In this vignette, Esperanza compares her name to muddy shoes.
What is My Name?
This character struggles with identity after moving to Mango Street and refuses to learn English.
Who is Mamacita?
High heels in The Family of Little Feet symbolize this.
What is growing up too fast / sexualization of the girls / social pressure?
This vignette shifts from playful to uncomfortable as the girls wear high heels.
What is The Family of Little Feet?
This theme is explored through Sally’s marriage in Linoleum Roses.
What is escape vs. confinement?
This vignette shows Esperanza’s dream of her future house.
What is A House of My Own?
In this vignette Esperanza experiences real self-consciousness for the first time because of a clothing item.
What is Chanclas?
The monkey garden symbolizes the loss of this.
What is childhood innocence?
The tone of Four Skinny Trees is best described as this.
What is determined / hopeful / reflective?
This theme develops across the novel as Esperanza observes her neighborhood.
What is social inequality / identity shaped by environment?
In this vignette Esperanza seeks advice about her future but leaves confused and disappointed with the answer.
What is Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water?
This vignette shows Esperanza recognizing that Mango Street will always be part of who she is.
What is Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Steps?
Esperanza’s writing symbolizes this by the end of the novel.
What is finding her voice / telling her story?
This vignette has a mystical tone because of symbolic advice given to Esperanza.
What is The Three Sisters?
By the end of the novel, Cisneros suggests this about leaving your community.
What is you can leave physically but must remember and help others?
In this vignette Esperanza realizes that the way for her to "go back" to Mango street is to become a storyteller.
What is Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes?