Women from Mango Street

Student Name

Instructor

Course Name

Date

Women from Mango Street

Sandra Cisneros is a modern Mexican American novelist and poet. She was born in Chicago in 1954. Cisneros' family, which included six brothers, often moved between Chicago and Mexico, and this had a strong influence on the formation of her personality and future literary work. She was a shy and introvert girl and could not make friends. Her favorite activity was observing other people that later became prototypes of her works. Sandra Cisneros attended a small Catholic all-girls school, where she made first literature steps. She wrote poetry and was the literary magazine editor. Later she was awarded the Master of Fine Arts and the Bachelor in English degrees. After studying, Sandra has been writing and teaching. She received many awards for her literature, in spite of numerous criticisms. In 1984, she published a book The House on Mango Street, which is central to her oeuvre.

English: The Metro Center retail/office complex in...

Front cover

English: Mango megastore on the Prikopy street, Pr...

The House on Mango Street is a novel which consists of interconnected vignettes. It is a coming-of-age story of Esperanza Cordero, who moved to Mango Street with her big Mexican family. On the first pages of the novel, she looks like a spoiled girl, not appreciating what she has - a beautiful Spanish name, the first parents' house and even own family. Her only dream is a posh house, which she can be proud. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that she is more profound person than it seems from the first sight. As the author of the novel, its main character loves to observe people. Esperanza tells short stories about her friends, relatives and neighbors. Most of them are females (from little girls to old women). Almost all of them are also immigrants.