Bi-lingual Literature

Recently in Spanish class we read the House on Mango Street in Spanish. I remember reading this story before and now that I read it again in Spanish, I figured I do a little write-up about it for a blog.

In House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros creates this character that is said to be ‘special’ by the three sisters in “The Three Sisters.” Her strength that is portrayed through out the book, is that she is a dreamer.Her name is Esperanza. It’s not a very good name, as she recalls it in the story “My Name.” In Spanish it means sadness, it means waiting; it means a muddy color, or the number nine. She wants to change her name into something that is more like her. She received the name from her great-grandmother, who was born in the Chinese year of the horse. She was a wild woman, more like Esperanza. Ended her life a sad one, looking out the window wishing she could be free.But she knows that she can to better. She doesn’t want to be ashamed like she is now of her house on Mango Street and have to tell people that she lives there. In “Mango Says Goodbye Sometime” she believes that she is there by mistake. Sometimes there are little stories Esperanza makes up in her head. One that she describes in the last story proceeds, “I am going to tell you a story about a girl who didn’t want to belong.” She later concludes that she is “to strong for her (Mango Street) to keep her there forever.” This statement seems to me that she thinks she is too good for Mango Street. That she is going to move on and take her books and paper, and write books. Her strength is sort of like her already knowing what she is going to do with her life, get out.The stories that are told about the people of Mango Street have helped Esperanza become what she is by the end of the book. Also to confirm her strength, that she most certainly does not want to stay on Mango Street, but to proceed with her dream. The last couple of sentences describe this: “They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.”

Word Count: 395