The House on Mango Street

By -
I think that this novel works a young adult literature because the main focus of the novel is the physical and mental development of the main character that is similar to what many adolescents go through on a daily basis. I had a harder time connecting with this book than the others that we've previously read in class, but one aspect I heavily relate to with Esperanza is the desire to move out of your house and make it on your own. The novel is much more than the story of Esperanza wanting to be independent but it seems to be the force that drives her. Many young adults find the need to try and make it on there own for a multitude of reasons, many being the relationship with their parents or the desire to move to different area and see the world. I don't feel that Esperanza hates where she is but recognizes that she wants to leave, "Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we're dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives." (28). She also explains that she's not scared to be where she is because she knows everyone that lives around her. She's not afraid of the scary looking many with the crooked eye because she knows who he is. But, she still posses that desire to leave. In the later chapter "Beautiful and Cruel", Esperanza has decided that she wants to become a femme fatale, "I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am one who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate." (89) This is the point in the novel when Esperanza realizes that she wants to break out of living a life just like the other women in her family.

The other theme that stuck out to me in this novel is the growth that Esperanza goes through during the course of the novel. She is changing due to puberty and is having to deal with the physical changes that come with it. It is first mentioned in the section "Hips" as the girls jump rope and talk about the importance of having hips. This also leads into Esperanza's first job since her family wants her to stop playing in the streets all day during the summer. This is a simple idea since everyone has to get their first job eventually but it leads into the confrontation with the "Oriental" man. "he said it was his birthday and would i please give him a birthday kiss. I thought I would because he was so old and just as I was about to put my lips on his cheek, he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard on the mouth and doesn't let go." (55) It's moments like this in the novel that show that not only is Esperanza having to grow up, but it shows that she's being forced into maturity at a arguably young age since she also lied about how old she was in order to get the job. This is also reinforced by the deaths in the novel and the abusive relationship that Esperanza witnesses and is asked to give advice on. In the section "Red Clowns", Esperanza narrates what she is think after she has been sexually assaulted and calls for Sally. This section, along with the section regarding Sally being beaten by her father show the struggle and how they are being forced to mature before they're really ready.

I think this is an important book to teach teenagers, especially teenage girls, because of the tough subject matters and the societal norms that every teenager has to struggle to adapt to. I think this novel will resonate with many students due to the physical and emotional development that the character undergoes throughout the novel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Speak and the Symbolism of Nature

By Anonymous -
   Laurie Halse Anderson's,  Speak , dives into the murky, muddy waters of adolescent rape culture. When the book was published in 1999, rape was not a comfortable topic to discuss with adults, let alone teenagers. Anderson writes about Melinda Sordino and her freshman high school experience which is turning out to be rather negative. Soriano stands as a thriving young role model for struggling teenage girls all over the world. Although she isn't an outstanding student or have plenty of friends to juggle, through Melinda, other young women can see that it's completely normal and okay to struggle in high school not only academically, but socially and emotionally. One of my favorite parts of the novel isn't a super obvious quality. Throughout the novel, Melinda's attitude changes and grows with the coming of spring and through nature and art, she learns to move past her troubling end of summer experience and once again find the importance of her voice.    Melinda st
Read more