"The House on Mango Street" Review

A beautiful reflection on childhood and family dynamics told in vignettes

SPOILER FREE

Sandra Cisneros’ semi-autobiographical book of vignettes paints an intricate picture of her life in a Hispanic community in Chicago. At the novel’s start, the main character Esperanza and her family move to a house on Mango Street, and at its end, she has officially lost her innocence. In between, she reflects on her childhood and neighborhood, both the good and the bad.

The book begins by recounting all of Esperanza’s family’s places of residence and their dream of owning an idyllic house reminiscent of the American Dream. The house on Mango Street is very clearly not this house.

“The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how those things go.”

This beginning sets the stage for one of the novel’s central themes. The idea of the American Dream is very present in Esperanza’s mind and those around her. Mango Street is not anyone’s choice destination, and everyone has another dream of what their lives could look like. That hope fuels them when Mango Street disappoints.

Yet, the vignettes also serve as a stark reminder of the unattainability of these dreams. Even as a child, Esperanza is acutely aware that her family’s vision of a grand white house is a distant, unachievable dream.

Esperanza’s story points out flaws in the American Dream through the lens of a little girl losing her innocence. As she grows up and observes the lives of people around her, she fully grasps her family’s situation. She sees people come and go but never escape their fate.

Cisneros flawlessly creates this transition in Esperanza’s life. Since the story is told in vignettes, each has a clear purpose. She never has to tell us their purpose; the writing conveys Esperanza’s implicit relationships with each character.

Here are a couple of my favorite passages:

“Their clothes are crooked and old. They are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks. It makes their bald ankles all red, but I like them. Especially the big one who laughs with all her teeth. I like her even though she lets the little one do all the talking.”

“Nenny and I don’t look like sisters… not right away. Not the way you can tell with Rachel and Lucy who have the same fat popsicle lips like everybody else in their family. But me and Nenny, we are more alike than you would know.”

“Marin, 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.”

“She takes her dog Bobo for a walk and laughs all by herself, that Ruthie. She doesn’t need anybody to laugh with, she just laughs.”

Esperanza is clearly drawn to all of these people in some way. She depicts them as she sees them. There are flaws, but Esperanza treats them with love.

Cisneros captures how we truly see the people who mean something to us. That raw, honest writing is what makes this book so phenomenal. Esperanza loves Mango Street the way she loves her friends and family. She grows to see its flaws but also knows it is a part of her forever.

The combination of brutal reality and genuine affection makes this book so engaging. It causes us to reflect on serious issues with the love we extend to those close to us.

“The House on Mango Street” cut me shockingly deep for a book recommended by my mom — who found it on The Today Show… I recommend it to anyone who loves reflection, values imagery before plot, and cares about the serious issues impacting minority communities.