The vignette that had the biggest impact on me from The House on Mango Street is Minerva Writes Poems. In this story, Minerva, who Esperanza shares poems with, and is only just a few years older than Esperanza, is doomed to a life as a single mother, while trapped in a cycle of abuse. This story lacks a strong theme, and it is more about the feeling of being a bystander of abuse, wanting to help but having no idea how, especially as a child. The last few sentences of this story: “Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go. There is nothing I can do.” (Cisneros 84) Reading this story, I feel trapped and helpless. It brought me back to a time where I was also a bystander to abuse as a child. Wondering how someone so similar to myself, someone I looked up to and admired, could get themselves wrapped into a situation so despairing.
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One thought on “Patricia Jackson Week 15 Discussion”
Hello Patricia, I’m sorry to hear that you were also a bystander to abuse as a child. I cannot imagine how it might have affected your metal and physiological state. In my opinion, Minerva’s story of getting her self into an abusive relationship with her husband is very similar to of Sally’s abusive father and later her husband. The parallel of these two vignette of getting themselves trapped in a loop of abuse makes me furious as well as sad.