Yearly Archives: 2022

In a post of about 150 words, please tell which of the semester’s readings had the most meaning for you and why.   Firstly, I would like to point out that all reading materials in this class were very interesting, informative and deep. Each and every reading would make me see things differently. After reading the weekly materials, my point of view would get broader and broader. Personally, my favourite article is the one I chose for the research paper “Araby” by James Joice. “Araby” is my favourite reading due to various reasons. The most interesting part of the story is how the meaning of it is really deep and hidden behind the words. “Araby” is one of the articles you cannot analyze after reading it once, but you have to at least go through it twice to understand the main idea. I love how the author uses the ligh and darkness to show us the difference between real world and the fantasy. I love how the author describes each moment in details and puts the meaning behind every sentence. I would highly recommend this article to any of my friends!

The reading from this semester that I found the most meaning in would have to be “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates.   I relate with this story because I’m still a young girl, myself. I see a lot of the tendencies I used to have in the main character, Connie.  Personally, I have met people similar to all of these different characters in this short story and it was easy for me to visualize them. This story acts as a blatant and terrifying warning to identify strangers, no matter what.  It’s hard to remind yourself of your naivety without it smacking you in the face. I think it’s important to listen to your gut, as people say.   Not only did it impact me, it provided an extremely valuable message which, in most cases, I believe is one of the most important take-aways from a short story.

During this semester the reading that had the most meaning to me is “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. This reading had the most meaning to me because Young Langston was forced to lie and sit at the alter with the other children. When I was young, I remember going through something like this. My mom loved going to church and would drag me along. She would get really upset and hated that I refused to participate. A few times my mother called me into her room, just so I can listen to her read the Bible; I always fell asleep, and she hated it. One day I told her I’d take the Bible and will read it, from that day on she calmed down a little. She wanted me to believe in God and Jesus just to make her happy, but it made me miserable; that’s when I came up with a way to make her happy without making myself sad or mad. This goes to say that “Salvation” by Langston Hughes is an example that sometimes adults will force kids to be religious when a child can care less.

The vignette that resonated me the most in the weeks reading of “The House On Mango Street” was titled “Minerva Writes Poems”. This vignette detailed a generational curse of being a single mother. It also details how much some women will put up with so they won’t be alone. Growing up in a family of majority women and having a lot of female friends, I’ve witnessed what Minerva is going through on many occasions. The domestic violence, the humility, the abandonment issues, and the toxicity around children were some of the things discussed with women and men as I became a listening ear too many. In the vignette where it states “one days is through and lets him know enough is enough” is something that I feel we all can relate to. At some point in an unhappy relationship, we say these words. We act on it and then we realize it kind of gets lonely. In Minerva case she was extremely forgiven and she lets her man back in. There is no change, but the same toxic behavior appears as soon as he is forgiven. Physically she doesn’t have an out, but I think that writing poems is therapeutic for her.

One of the vignette that stood out to me was 79-80, Rafaela who drinks coconut and papaya juice of Tuesdays” it gives of the the fairy tale Rapunzel, because she was so pretty and being locked up because her husband was afraid that she was going to leave tells us how insecure he were. Women don’t have any say in their decisions but men does , what they do and that they must be controlled and “locked away”. Being controlled just give me anxiety, i love that we live in this day and age where men cannot speak for us, we have the right to have our own opinion and stand up for our rights as women, like Maya Angelou said “We promise to accept nothing less than justice for every woman”. Esperanza must avoid being controlled and “locked away” so to speak and drifting into the wrong crowd. My pitfalls I must avoid are different because I have to avoid are slacking off on my schoolwork, but we both have to worry about falling into the wrong crowd.

A vignette that made a strong impact on me was “Bums in the Attic” on pages 94-95. On Page 94, it states, “We go on Sundays, Papa’s day off. I used to go. I don’t anymore. You don’t like to go out with us, Papa says. Getting too old? Getting too stuck-up, says Nenny. I don’t tell them I am ashamed-all of us staring out the window like the hungry. I am tired of looking at what we can’t have. When we win the lottery… Mama begins, and then I stop listening.” For me, growing up in New York City, everyone is working towards a better life. The affordable living conditions most people have to opt for aren’t the best living standards. Lower-class citizens are usually working towards things most people have. It is a wake-up call seeing someone with 3 stories in their house, a washer, and dryer, or other things that are overlooked in most homes. It can feel very shameful not to be in the same position as your peers. This vignette reminded me of my grandpa. As a landlord, he was always willing to work with people from the community in need of a place to live comfortably to get adjusted. They went on to get their own places, better jobs, and support their families. I know in the future I want to be a homeowner but I will always know what it’s like to not have certain things necessary for survival.

One of the vignettes from pages 56-109 of The House on Mango Street that made an impression on me was “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark. This story made an impression on me because it shows a daughter seeing her father vulnerable for the first time. The theme behind this story is a daughter having a connection with her father and understanding the lost that they both shared, that being her grandfather. With her being the oldest, she had to take the role in telling others about the lost. “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the dark resonated with me because seeing a parent or someone you see as someone that take on the world with no worries become vulnerable and weak, makes you want to take the role to help them through it. When I lost my great grandmother, it broke my family. One day she’s doing okay and will be home and then turn around the next day and pass way was a shock. Seeing my mother and grandmother look lost, I had to take on the role in making sure everyone is okay.

I chose the vignette on page 91, it’s called “A Smart Cookie.” This vignette paints a picture of parents transferring their life lessons to their children.  I connect with this because I have it happens to me very often. It actually happened earlier when I was doing some online shopping while watching tv in my living room my dad saw me and started to tell me why I should save up my money. I not going to lie he gave me the whole ten reasons and the look at my cousin’s talk. I know he is right, but I still find it respective. I find that the narrator of this vignette is very good at accepting these lessons of life. I like this vignette because I feel that the same thing can happen to me very often, but I probably wouldn’t see what my parents say the same way that the narrator does.

In The House on Mango Street, the vignette that connected most with me and the other readings we have read this semester is “Alicia Who Sees Mice”. It discovers the theme of lack of equality in gender relations. We learn that Alicia’s mother died recently and left her feeling the responsibilities of the house since that was the order that was expected. Her father, in a very old fashioned way, warns her of the mice around her (I imagine they symbolize success). But, Alicia takes “Two trains and a bus, because she doesn’t want to spend her whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin”.

For this week’s discussion board “The House on Mango Street”, I found that the vignette “Papa who wakes up in the dark.” resonated with me the most. My mother passed away in 2010, this was the worst experience of my life. Between getting the call that she had to go to the hospital to when she did pass was a terrible feeling. It broke my heart when she passed, and I got that call that morning. Being a teenager and losing your parent or just being any age and losing your parent will have you feeling lost and alone in the world. My family still expected me to continue with my life as if nothing happened and it was very difficult. But till this day I try to make her proud. And the phrase I feel like Esperanza used to indicate she feels more American than Mexican is “They will have a back-and-white photo taken in front of the tomb with flowers shaped like spears in a white vase because that is how they send the dead away in that country”.

The vignette from this weeks assigned reading The House on Mango Street that I chose was 62 Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water. I liked this reading because I actually really enjoy astrology, tarot and little rituals in my life. Elenita is called a “witch woman” in the vignette and it seems like she does brujeria rituals and is a psychic. Esperanza is disappointed in her message from Elenita.” Ah, yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart. Is that it? That’s what I see, she says,” Esperanza wants a home but Elenita only see’s a home in heart not an actual material home. Esperanza is rightfully feeling disappointed and skeptical. The part that made me laugh was “Then she takes my hand and looks into my palm. Closes it. Closes her eyes too. Do you feel it, feel the cold? Yes, ) lie, hut only a little”. It reminded me of when we read Salvation by Langston Hughes and he lies and says he sees the holy spirit.

The vignette I related the most to form this week’s reading is “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes”. In the beginning Esperanza talks about how she likes to tell stories, she says: “I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes”. (109) That reminded me that as kids we create these phantasy worlds which are fun and entertaining and we would spend hours creating a perfect, little universe in our head. When she talks about her feelings about the house: “The house I belong but do not belong to” I understand because I had a similar feeling growing up at some point. My family had to move across the country and the house we ended up living at raised very similar feelings for me. It felt at times too cramped and it was on the busiest street and noisy. Now looking back I have fond memories of us living there regardless of it being far from perfect. And the last two closing sentences: “They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.” (110) I think show that Esperanza does feel that she belongs to Mango Street after all.

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me is “Minerva Writes Poems”. I chose this one specifically because I can closely relate to it. Growing up without a father figure puts a lot of stress on the mother. My mom when I was growing up gave me the best life she could have under the given circumstances. Reading this vignette I can sympathize with Minerva because she is trying her best. As much as she wants to resent her husband she still has to take care of the kids that she had brought into the world. “But when the kids are asleep after she’s fed them their pancake dinner, she writes poems on the little pieces of paper that she folds over and over” This quote specifically drew me into the story because although she does not have much she still hopes that her children do good and prays for hers and their success.

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me was “A Smart Cookie” on Page 90. This vignette shows Esperanza’s mother thinking back to her past and how she could have been something more compared to her present self. She tells her daughter Esperanza to stay in school and study since she doesn’t want her daughter to end up like her who is disgusted with the reason she didn’t stay in school. This made the strongest impression on me because while I don’t have as much experience compared to Esperanza’s mother I sometimes also think back and think that I could have done better in certain things. I also hope that I do not end up like the mother in the future who regrets not taking action in the past due to feeling shame or that I am not good enough to do something for whatever reason I made up back then.

Which one of the vignettes from pages 56 – 109 of The House on Mango Street made the strongest impression on you? In a post of at least 150 words, identify the vignette and discuss its theme or central idea, explaining why it resonated for you. As with last week, please do not discuss the same vignette someone else has discussed, if possible. For this one, I picked “Linoleum Roses”. The name first caught my eye since roses are my favorite flowers. Reading the vignette I realized how similar it is to stories we had before ( think “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates) where both girls try to escape their lives but end up in a worst/ similar situation as before. Sally married really young to escape her life, ” She said she is in love but she did it to escape.” Similar to modern times especially in NYC, a lot of people stay with their partners simply because they cannot afford rent on their own. Sally sits at home and is not allowed to talk to her friends and is afraid to go out without her husband’s permission, she traded her prison for an entirely new prison and realized that her life has not changed for the best but for the worst. Her husband shows abusive and controlling tendencies and the fact that her husband has already broken a door because he got angry is a red flag and a sign of more abusive behavior that might spiral.

The chapter “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” describes a young neighbor whose husband locks her in their apartment when he goes out to play dominoes on Tuesday nights. Rafaela wishes she could dance in the bar where she hears the music wafting up to her window. She asks the children to buy her sweet drinks at the store as a treat, so she drops down a dollar, and they send up a bottle of juice on a paper bag pulley. Then “Sally” is about a neighbor girl who also feels trapped inside her house by her father who worries because she is too beautiful. People spread rumors about her, which are untrue, so she stands alone by the fence pretending she was invisible, dreaming about a life where she felt loved.   “Minerva Writes Poems” is about another neighbor who has two children, and her husband keeps leaving and coming back. Minerva struggles to feed her children and writes poems in her free time. It’s hard to say if it’s worse when her husband is there and beats her or worse when he’s away. In “Bums in the Attic” Esperanza wishes she could live in a house on a hill, so she could be closer to the stars. She would let homeless men sleep in her attic, and she would be happy. Even though Esperanza knows she is the ugly daughter, in “Beautiful & Cruel” she thinks about how she will someday escape her parents’ house. She knows she can’t use her sexuality to attract a man, so instead she tries to act like a man.

In my continued reading of “The House on Mango Street”, I found that the vignette “What Sally Said” resonated with me the most. The theme of this chapter is child abuse, and the subject of this abuse is Esperanza’s friend, Sally. In the Vignette “Sally” we are introduced to the title character.  Sally is described as a raven-haired girl whom all the boys think is beautiful and is Esperanza’s only friend. We also learn that Sally comes from a very religious home. Esperanza informs the reader that Sally displays two different personalities. When Sally is at school, she is outgoing, she paints her eyelids in the style of Cleopatra. But, after school, she removes the blue eyeliner she wears, pulls her skirt down, and no longer laughs; Like Connie in ‘Where are you going, where have you been” by Carol Oates. In “What Sally said” We learn that she is physically abused at home by her father. We also learn that her mother does not stop the abuse. Sally bares bruises caused by the beatings and covers for her father stating they are due to falls and other mishaps. The reason this chapter resonated with me is that when I was in junior high school, I had a friend named Jamal. Jamal transferred into the school in the middle of seventh grade. One day he came to school with a black eye. Jamal told everyone he got the injury from running into a door. Another time, he said the burn on his hand was because he touched the radiator when it was on. Then one day, Jamal didn’t come back to school. Sometime later we had an assembly where the staff played videos that spoke about abuse, explaining what it is and the different kinds from verbal to physical and […]

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me is “A House of My Own”. The central idea of this vignette is essentially about owning a house living by yourself without having to worry about cleaning up after someone else living there and being in a quiet peaceful clean space with no interruptions. The theme of this vignette is coming of age as for why it resonates with me it’s because one day I want to be able experience the same thing

“Papa who wakes up in the dark” Honestly hit me hardest. I’ve experienced that kind grief when my mom passed away.  It was surreal. One of my mom’s friends witnessed her suddenly fall to the ground and went to tell my dad. She had fell due to an epileptic episode. Everything that happened between my dad trying to wake her up while waiting for the ambulance to being in the hospital feeling everything from uncertainty, despair to confusion and just numbness. It was surreal and it was weird. I recall going to the bathroom and began to break down in tears while entering a fury just punching the bathroom stalls. What added to this pain was seeing my father cry. Never in my life I’ve seen him breakdown. He was always calm and stoic and to see him in that state brought immense sadness and fear. I felt guilty even though its nobody’s fault but I just didn’t  know how to cope with it. It felt like we were all on a bus ride together and suddenly the bus stops and the driver tells me and my dad to get off and the driver leaves us stranded.

The vignette I chose for this discussion is “Beautiful & Cruel”, as the courses of time the definition and gender roles of women have become less strict and less attainable to the male gaze and desire. Some women still carry the traditional habits and thinking of what a women, wife and mother should be and try to project that onto their children or other women. Just like Esperanza’s mother who says “her dusty hair will settle and her blouse will learn to stay clean” but Esperanza is coming into her womanhood and denying that stereotype of being like the “others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain.” By “threshold” and “ball and chain” I think Esperanza was stating that most women wait for new stages in their life to begin which mostly means the awaiting of men and marriage. She states she will act like a man and not conform to traditional women ways and doing things her and on her own time, which men have the freedom to experience without judgement.

No speak English on page 76 resonated the most with me because my grandparents came to America not really knowing English and my grandpa still to this day has broken English and is still judged for it because many people have the ignorant belief of that if you’re in America you have to speak English, which is just not true as this country was built by immigrants and should be more welcoming to immigrants not to mention that my grandparents created many jobs as my grandpa owned a store in Brooklyn where he sold a lot of items and was very well loved throughout his community. He was so well loved that he would even have protection from the locals if anyone tried to mess with him or tried to rob the store it just goes to show that even if you may not know the language everyone deserves to be respected and cared about because they’re people at the end of the day that can bring something to the table no matter what.

The vignette from The House on Mango Street that made the strongest impression on me is Sire. I think this vignette is about self-confidence, jealousy, and passion. I loved this vignette because I can relate to young Esperanza whos growing and starting to have love feelings, which is beautiful. The description reminds me of when I was younger. It started with her seeing Sire looking at her and the confidence that she had to look back! I wish I had this confidence as a young girl. Then we can see how jealous she is of his girlfriend, Lois, even though she didn’t say it explicitly. We can understand it by the way she’s scanning her, watching Sire and Lois together, and trying to compare them both (Esperanza and Lois) saying how Lois cannot tie her own shoes while she can. She fantasizes about a boy, not a specific one but she just feels as if she’s ready for something like this, to be an adult and not a child who “every evening talking to the trees”.

There is a story in The House on Mango Street “Elenita, palms, water” by Sandra Cisnerosn that made a big impression on me. At times we want to see what the future holds for us or at times we try to find our own identity. Sometimes people will pay these called future tellers or witches so they can be able to see their future or what holds for them. We at times want to see an easier solution for everything. I believe that we need to just have faith and hope for the future, and make the right choices. I can also see the frustration that Esperanza has that she wants to see if she is going to have her dream house she always dreamed of but how Elenita tells Esperanza that she will definitely find a home at her heart. She might not find her dream house, but would have a house that she will find comfort in.

The vignette that stood out and left the biggest impression is ” Rafaela who drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays.” Although the book so far is relatable in a lot of ways, this part of the story triggers memories of my own childhood and my own inner-city “Rapunzel’s.” The description resonates with my own childhood. The visual of Rafaela hanging by the window day dreaming about the life she wishes she could have. Those kids downstairs waiting for her to appear at her window, can feel like a fun routine to look forward to every Tuesday. But for Rafaela its her little moment of psuedo freedom. As I got older, I realized my mom was one them. It almost feels like I was reading a memory of mine. Rafaela was a beautiful woman and desired the life she knew beautiful young women could have.  Instead she ended up with an insecure man who kept her locked away.  It feels like a small part of the story but it had a big impact on me because it helps pull together all the relatable moments the explained the experience of growing up on mango street, almost like growing up in my own neighborhood.

The vignette that stuck out the most to me was Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water in House on Mango Street. It stood out to me because of what we learned about Esperanza. While this chapter mainly introduces and sets up the new character of Elenita, I think that we gain a lot of insight into Esperanza’s character, her motivations, and what pushes her. She lives with her large family, as she has to because she is a young girl at this point. And while her family is something that is obviously very important to her, we also see her wanting distance. And we see Elenita trying to provide an immediate and less expensive solution for Esperanza, in finding her own home within herself. I think that this chapter is a good look into the formative years of Esperanza’s life. In the previous chapter, when her grandfather died, Esperanza was forced to mature fast and take over her father’s part in the leadership role. While she is mature enough for that Esperanza is having a harder time being able to understand her emotions enough to create a space within her own heart, like Elenita is trying to advise her to, where she can go to just be her..

On page 108, “A House of My Own” is the story I can relate to the most because Esperanza envisions a home not owned by anyone else but her and she can do whatever she wants to it. Esperanza focuses more on the contents of inside the house that make it her own and not the size or area. When I used to visit my grandparents out in Utah, I always tell them this is my dream home and somewhere where I feel at peace. The inside of the home is very simple and organized, just as Esperanza describes “clean as paper before the poem”. I remember reading out in the backyard once and it was completely silent which made me wonder if I was dreaming because of how much I’m used to noise living in the Bronx. My grandparents’ home is a representation of who I am and how I want to live. In this vignette, a home is a symbolic image representing independence, pride, and a stable life to Esperanza, the same feelings I want to have when I own a house. 

The vignette on page 56 of “The House on Mango Street” made the strongest impression on me. I really enjoy that whenever I read this book, I can always make a connection to my own life. This helps me to better understand the character’s thoughts and actions in the story. When I was around the ages of five-seven, my family and I flew to Bangladesh because of my grandmother’s, my father’s mother’s, death. I remember being in Bangladesh and my dad sitting in the middle of the couch crying so much. All my other family members surrounded him and were crying as well. We flew to Bangladesh from America. I was so little but seeing him cry made such a great impact on me and made me realize what death is. I was standing across the room from him because I did not know what to do or what to say. “I have never seen my Papa cry and I don’t know what to do. I know he will have to go away, that he will take a plane to Mexico, all the uncles and aunts will be there…” (Page 56). I felt the same feeling as the character because I have personally gone through this situation myself. I was able to picture and remember everything again.

Hello everyone, In this week reading, “The house on mango street”, pg 56 and to the end. The vignette that most impressed me was, In Page 90-91, “A smart cookie”. This impressed me because in this vignette it talks about how her mother tells Esperanza, our narrator, her life, in like fairy tale way. Explaining why she, wasn’t able to keep on studying for a better life, education. Also the narrator tells us how her mother is a very talented woman. The narrator mother states, “Shame is a bad thing you know, it keeps you down”. and than her mother tells her if she wants to know why she keep school? and than states, “Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains. Yup she says, disgusted. I was a smart cookie then”. So this is the reason I was impressed and the theme of this vignette is to show how sometimes our parents or other people, Did not have the chance or wasn’t able to do what they wanted for the reason of not having things like others do. Also this Is something important because it’s true and sometimes there people out there in this real world where they are talented people but cannot achieve what they want to be, because of the conditions they live in or not being able to study.

The vignette from page 15 of The House on Mango Street that made the strongest impression on me was “Alicia Who Sees Mice”. In this vignette, Alicia is a young girl who lives in the same neighborhood as Esperanza, the protagonist of the novel. Alicia is scared of the mice that live in her house, but she is also brave enough to confront them. This vignette resonated with me because it reminded me of my own childhood and the times when I was scared of things, but still brave enough to face them. It also reminded me of the importance of having courage and being able to confront our fears     The vignette from pages 32-33 of The House on Mango Street that made the strongest impression on me was “Alicia Who Sees Mice”. This vignette resonated with me because it showed how Alicia, despite her fear of mice, was still able to take care of them and make them feel safe. This vignette showed me that even when we are scared of something, we can still find ways to take care of it and make it feel safe. It also showed me that even when we are scared, we can still be brave and do what needs to be done. This vignette made me think about how I can be brave and take care of things that I am scared of.

The vignette the most impressed me was, in page 1o through 11, titled “My Name”, this impressed me because in this chapter she talks about her name specifically and she tells us that she does not like her name and wants to be name different. The reason she talks about is because she compares it to how Her name means Hope in English, but in Spanish it can mean many different things, to more of sadness meaning in Spanish. For example she says, It means sadness, it means waiting, It is the Mexcan record my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, Songs like sobbing. Also in the last lines of the paragraph she states, “I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees.” So this shows how she feels towards her own name, she is ashamed of her own name and does not like her name at all. We can also say that she relates her name as , So his shows us that she is ashamed of her Mexican heritage. Since she inherited her great grandmother name.Also because it’s like we can say that, in Mexico culture since you inherited someone of your family, you may be like them when you grow up, and she explain what happened with her great grandmother and explains she was sad since her great grandfather left her, for not marrying him, and how she never forgave him, and she looked out the window her whole life, “The way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow:. The narrator also says, “Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window”.  So this Is what the narrator main theme of this vignette, […]

The Vignette that resonated with me so deeply is “Chanclas” because as a ballet dancer I always had bruised and blistered feet, and when I wore sandals or any open toe shoe it made me so self conscious and introverted just how Esperanza was. In contrast between the two vignettes “The Family Of Little Feet” where the shoes almost get Esperanza and her friends in trouble. Esperanza, Lucy and Rachel basked in the silly attention they were getting from men, thinking that what they wear get them the most attention and compliments. In “Chanclas” Esperanza was so defeated and shy about her big brown shoes she got every year or so, she refused to get up and dance with her cousin by first communion and also declined dancing with her uncle, until he kept tugging at her and gave her a compliment of “you are the prettiest girl here.” Although, Esperanza knew that was a lie she felt obligated to get up and dance the music away with her uncle and everyone applauded her. She felt so much pride and joy she finally knew what it meant to get good attention, “He watched me dance” right then she understood it wasn’t what she has on materialistically, it’s her true self that shines through and gets recognition.

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me was Marin. Marin is a figure that is like an older sister or could possibly actually be an older sister. She is someone that a young girl might look up to and admire. This reminded me of my cousin that I looked up to growing up because I didn’t have a sister. This is different from a parental figure because she would probably tell you things and teach you stuff that a parent would never say to their child. I feel like someone like Marin would prepare you for the real world instead of sheltering you and they just seem so much more older and mature. My cousin was someone that I really looked up to and I wanted to be just like her. She taught me many things and Marin really reminded me of her when Esperanza said, “She is older and knows lots of things.” It reminded me of all the close moments I shared with my cousin when I was younger even though we have drifted apart.

One of the vignettes from pages 3-53 of The House on Mango Street that made a strong impression on me was “Hairs”. It made a strong impression on me because it describes my family members and me and how different we are. The vignette I think fix best in this short story is imagery. My reasoning’s of choosing imagery is because it describes the difference in the hair and the way they are, but they are family. The theme is the relationship between hair and person. For example, when she said “And kiki, who is the youngest, has hair like fur”. The central idea is the difference in hair. This resonated with me because in my family we all have different hair. My hair is like a weeping willow tree, if not tamed. My brother hair is like cotton, and my mom has soft spiral hairs that’s like a slinky, when you pull on it, it bounces back. We all are family but have different hair textures.

The vignette that stood out most to me in “The House on Mango Street” is on page 36, “Those Who Don’t”. The message of “Those Who Don’t” is that from an outsider’s point of view, the neighborhood they live in seems dangerous and unwelcoming but to them, there is a strong sense of community. The people others seem weary of are people Esperanza sees daily and knows personally. This also highlights racial bias. Her neighborhood is mostly people of color, “all brown around” find comfort in this. This reminded me of The Bronx. Growing up there my entire life, I can see the beauty in my borough that others might not. Places like The Bronx have a strong community that goes on for generations. Outsiders may think the neighborhoods are scary but you grow to know the people around you personally. Going to another place like a residential area of Manhattan is a culture shock and less inviting because of the foreignness and racial disparity. When I started going to school in Manhattan when I was younger it was new and scary to not be around as much of my community as I was used to.

In “The House on Mango Street” written by Sandra Cisneros, the vignette that connected most with me and the other readings we have read this semester is “Alicia Who Sees Mice”. It discovers the theme of: lack of equality in gender relations. We learn that Alicia’s mother died recently and left her feeling the responsibilities of the house since that was the order that was expected. Her father, in a very old fashioned way, warns her of the mice around her (I imagine they symbolize success). But, Alicia takes “Two trains and a bus, because she doesn’t want to spend her whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin”. She is afraid of that life. I found the wording of “four legged fur” interesting, it made me think of cleaning on your hands and knees, 4 limbs towards the floor. I don’t know if that was intentional but I found it interesting.  As a woman, I can relate to this vignette easily. The limitations based on gender identity are still common in the present day. 

The vignette that I looked at was on page 28 the title is named ” Those Who Don’t”. I think that this vignette talks about the type of neighborhood that Esperanza lives in and also gives the readers the idea that she knows what other people think of her neighborhood. This shows that she understands the world around her. From this vignette, I can think of a lesson that is a stereotype that a lot of people of the world have on race and color. This made the strongest impression on me because it’s something that happens every day around the world. I think this is a very passive stereotype. I make these stereotypes all the time when I meet someone new. one stereotype that I saw all the time growing up was that because I am Asian that is why I am so good at math. SO like ok so I am good at math is not because I put more work in? but because of my race?

The vignette that stood out the most to me was Hairs by Sandra Cisneros. At first look, it seems like a very simple and straightforward in its meaning. I think that at first glance it is just a brief description of the different hairstyles of the people in her family. However, I believe that Sandra Cisneros uses hairstyles to show how they are all different and connected simultaneously. She describes the feel and looks of everyone’s hair. To me, this is representing their individuality within the family. These vignettes focus on this family as a unit. Everyone together. but she describes how their roles within the family make them different and stand out from the others. And Hairs is the most recent example of how they stand out. In this vignette, the most important person is the mother. Her hair is given emphasis in the story. I think that to Sandra Cisneros and to the rest of the family, the mother’s hair is representing the safety that they feel with her. It smells comforting and reminds them of home.

The vignette “My Name” made the strongest impression on me from this week’s reading “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros. The vignette centers around the story of the author’s name and how she was named after her grandmother who Esperanza thinks didn’t have a very happy life and she hopes she doesn’t inherit her sad destiny with the name. I found it interesting that her name means hope in English and sadness in Mexican, which are polar opposites. This vignette resonated because I think growing up kids like playing with idea of trying on different names and wishing their name was something else or at least I know I did. And another reason I related to Esperanza is because my last name always stood out as being the only asian in my class and was a reason of jokes growing up because it sounded unusual to most people so I can understand who that Esperanza wanted to “baptize herself” under a new name.

The vignette that made the strongest impression to me was “Cathy Queen of Cats” on Page 12. This vignette shows Cathy talking to Esperanza about her impressions on a bunch of people. Cathy talks about how that person is bad or that one is fine or how someone she used to know named Alicia was her friend but stopped liking her after going to college. The reason this made a strong impression on me is because the title and the content of the vignette were so different. I was expecting a story about a cat lover and how Esperanza would meet her. The vignette instead is about someone and her impression of people she probably never even met and the cat part of the title is just in the vignette when Esperanza talks about how many cats Cathy has. It also showed how impressionable kids can be as Cathy considers herself to be someone important most likely because someone told her she was and she also thinks badly of people most likely because she was told about them and never actually met them.

I was very excited to see that this weeks assigned reading was The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I have fond memories of reading this in middle school and making a beautiful diorama project for it. It was interesting to reread again as an adult as I see these story with a different level of maturity now. The vignette that made the strongest impression on me was The Family of Little Feet. I really like all the similies Cisneros uses when describing all the different feet of her family members. My favorite being  when she describes her grandfathers, “his feet were fat and doughy like thick tamales, and these he powdered and stuffed into white socks and brown leather shoes”. I can just picture those chubby feet and it made me laugh when she compared them to tamales. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and I used to say my grandpa would snore like a bear.

The vignette that had the strongest impression on me out of the many in “The House on Mango Street” was “Those who don’t”.  I chose this one because I can somewhat relate to it. When I was reading it the one thing that stood out to me most was the feeling of safety when you are in your own neighborhood with people that you can trust. As an Asian American living through COVID and seeing what it has done to my community, I feel the safest around my own people. As I see more and more Asian hate crimes happen on the news I feel wearier and wearier as the days go by. The quote that got me thinking about this most is “All brown all around, we are safe But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake” This specifically made me think of the fear that people may face when they are in a environment that seems hostile or in an environment that has caused others harm before.

Perhaps the book’s most important theme is Esperanza’ s progress from childhood to adulthood. It is no accident that the book takes place in approximately her twelfth year when she is too old for children’s games but not old enough to be a confident adult.  She thinks about what kind of power womanhood will bring but does not understand the responsibilities that accompany that power. She searches for role models in her mother and her older friends but finds none. Her mother and aunts are too domestic, with ambitions for their children and husbands and none of their own. Older girls like Sally and Marin seem more in control, but Esperanza quickly realizes that their power comes from their sensuality, and is fleeting and too dependent on men. From the start of the book, Esperanza realizes that men and women live in “separate worlds,” and that women are nearly powerless in her society. There is a constant conflict between being a sexual being and keeping one’s freedom, as most of the book’s female characters are trapped both by abusive husbands and needy children. Esperanza comes to recognize this dichotomy as she is caught between her own budding sexuality and her desire for freedom.

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me is the Boys & Girls vignette (page 8). The central idea of this vignette is essentially about how boys and girls live in separate worlds the boys in their universe and the girls in their own universe. It’s also about wanting a friend who can truly understand you to the point where you wouldn’t have to explain your jokes and you can tell all your secrets to. The theme of this vignette is Family, Friendship, identity, as for why it resonates with me it’s because she mentions in the story you can’t pick your siblings you just get them and their just your responsibility and as someone with siblings I agree with that wholeheartedly you don’t choose your siblings you just get them and you have to accept them for who they are no matter what because at the end of the day they’re your family

Which one of the vignettes from pages 3 – 53 of The House on Mango Street made the strongest impression on you? In a post of at least 150 words, identify the vignette and discuss its theme or central idea, explaining why it resonated for you. Please do not discuss the same vignette someone else has discussed, if possible. The vignette Hairs made the strongest impression on me. It tells us how even though they are a family and are blood-related everyone still has different hair. As an east Asian no one actually knows that we also have different textured hair. Everyone just assumes we all have straight black hair which is not actually true. The stereotypes people have for different races are not okay and very prejudical. For example I have wavy hair so having a vignette that explains everyone in the family has different hair even if they are closely related speaks to me. It also shows how much the mother loves them and the family and does alot and how the mother’s hair reminds them of baked bread a homely smell and feeling. The calm sound of rain and snoring creates this blissful setting for the entire vignette and you can just picture the setting.

Upon reading many of the vignettes in “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros. I feel that the one that resonated most with me is “My Name”.  In this chapter, we learn that the main character’s name is Esperanza. The name belonged to her great-grandmother. Esperanza says that the name means “sadness” in Spanish and reflects on how that meaning rang true for her Great-grandmother. Esperanza describes her great-grandmother as a wild woman who would not be tamed until she was forced into marriage by Esperanza’s great-grandfather. This union filled her great-grandmother with sadness because it stripped this once-strong “horsewoman” from the potential lives she could have led. Embodying the sadness that her name represents. While applauding her great-grandmother’s wild spirit, Esperanza does not want to end up living in sadness as her grandmother did, the meaning her namesake holds. She instead wants to carve her own path with a name that befits her true self. My first name (Joseph) is also the name of my grandfather, Joseph Wiggins. During my teens, I sought to distance myself from that name. My reasoning was that I saw it as plain and boring so, I went by a slew of nicknames; “J”, “JA”(A combination of my first and middle initial), Daze, Turtle (a name bestowed upon a friend who no longer dwells on this planet, R.I.P. “Black”). During my 20’s in my professional career, my co-workers knew me as and addressed me by Andre, my middle name. In my 30’s, I still go by Andre. The idea of my name being “plain” no longer bothers me. I do it for other reasons. Joseph Wiggins was driven, fashionably savvy (despite being color blind), and a successful entrepreneur and businessman. During the 1950s, my grandfather and his brothers began buying property. They brought […]

“The House On Mango Street“ is a collection of short stories or vignettes that are quite relatable for many people. The vignette that I relate to the most is page 6 “Hairs” I relate to it because my family and I have completely different kinds of hair as I’m half Cuban and half Puerto Rican, my father and his sister have straight hair while my brother has thick curly hair and I also have curly hair but it’s not as thick. I think this story sort of highlights that even though you can all be from the same family everyone can have completely different traits whether it be hair eye color or whatever, I also relate to it because besides hair I’m one of the only ones in my immediate family that has hazel eyes as the rest of my immediate family has brown eyes, I get this from my grandmother who’s on the Cuban side of the family. This story related to me a lot also because I’ve always felt like an outsider in my family somewhat because I have different hair and eye color but this story helps to highlight that it’s not a bad thing and that it’s quite beautiful to see the diversity in just one family.

The vignette that made the strongest impression on me from “The House on Mango Street” is “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do”. This vignette is about Rosa Vargas, a woman who lives in the neighborhood and has too many, and too wild children. She is a single mom since the father of her kids left her alone. This vignette specifically caught my attention because I thought it would be a funny story (from the title and the first 2 lines of it) until I realized it’s not funny at all. Rosa is struggling to take care of her own children, who cause a lot of trouble, all by herself. It seems like her neighbors tried to help her but gave up because the kids are very naughty, and at the end of the day, they’re not their responsibility. I can tell that this vignette, along with the others, is written from a young and naive point of view. The way she writes about some unfortunate experiences in a nonchalant way, and not giving them much of the attention they should have gotten.

“Those Who Don’t” is the vignette that made the strongest impression on me in “The House on Mango Street”. Growing up in Harlem when it was predominantly black kept people that wasn’t of color out of the neighborhood. Not that non-minorities weren’t welcome; they just didn’t care to come to that side of town. The few that did come around, you can sense and feel their discomfort. Now due to gentrification, there are different races in Harlem, however non-minorities still tend to be afraid in certain circumstances. The crackhead that they may run from entertains us because he or she just like to dance. The look of intimidation on a big black guy may scare a person, but we know him as a gentle giant. Most of all people of color welcomes every race into our community. Whereas other communities are not too fond of welcoming us. The stereotypes of people of color are all some people know but experiencing the love and comfort that we actually give can put a non-minority mind at ease. I was able to relate to this vignette, it described my experiences growing up in a black neighborhood.

On Page 53, “The First Job” is what I related to the most because just like Esperanza planning to get a job to pay her tuition, I did the same. I also went to a Catholic high school and know that it wasn’t always easy for my mother so I decided to get a job early on to help pay for college. Esperanza lying about her age is the same thing I did, being 18 and working with older men doing a job that requires heavy lifting and lots of hours means I usually have to do all the work. I prepared myself before I got the job to grow facial hair and work out as much as possible to make myself look older and it worked for a while. Only my boss knew I was 18 but he was never around so the other employees didn’t know I lied about my age. Until one day he comes around and see’s the oldest guy moving bricks and says out loud, “Why don’t you let Christian do it, he’s the youngest here so he has more energy”. At that moment I became very nervous because now all my employees know how old I really am and they just laughed asking me why I had lied so I told them the truth. Afterward, I did end up having to the most of the work.

“The house on Mango Street” is a novel created by Sandra Cisneros. This novel contains vignettes which are narrated by the character named Esperanza. Esperanza talked about relocating with her family to Mango street because their pipes broke in their previous apartment and their landlord refused to fix the problem. Esperanza also compares the house they are currently living in with the other houses that she has seen on TV. She also mentions she has to share a bedroom with her siblings, and she has hope of living in a better house. She got to visualize and dream about having her own house and one day she wouldn’t have to move each year. Her parents told her to dream big and gave her that aspect to have her own house. That passage gave me a strong impression because I can also relate to it because I remember me and my family had to relocate a few years ago due to the same situation Esperanza had when she had to relocate. The landlord would not fix anything in our apartment and we got the message that he wanted us out so we moved out to the Bronx. After relocating my mom told me that one day I would get my own place where you would have your own backyard, and be your own landlord. She told me to dream big and never give up on my hopes and dreams.

Page 46 Titled “Chanclas” really resonated with me because when I was a kid my mom always had problems finding the size for my feet. “They’re too big” she would say. So for a time I never wore sandals because I was worried about people seeing my feet and making fun of it. I know it wasn’t her fault or intention but I did felt bad and I never told her. Then I was a teenager she’d sometimes take me shoes shopping so I can try the shoes before buying, and it was always stressful. Sandals were out of question. No sandals. No open toes. Only closed shoes. I remember my asking me how come I don’t like wearing sandals and then I open to her about how I felt embarrassed because my feet being big. However, I saw she was very sad that I felt that way and reassured me that they were fine the way they are and that “never let anyone make you feel ashamed for the way you were born.” 

Some Observations, in Bettleheim’s oriented reading of there that I have learn and that are relevant to the reading, are, the way how fairy tales are important and should be more taken seriously or read seriously, because they have important readings or messages. For example in the story, where are you going, where have you been,” the messages that it wants to tell us, or talk about is sometimes people are more worry about the importance of how other view them or judge and how these act or way of been brings negative results. Also in the Snow White fairy tale, the message that the author wants us to observe is the good vs evil, or the bad and danger of one self vanity. These are examples of how some of these fairy tales are actually important, or bring important messages for us to see and learn. Even though parents feel, that these are awkward, or bad readings for the kids or a bad influence for everyone it is really not.

“Our good day” stood out to me because friendship is not always based on how much money somebody has, but how people treat you based on your situation in life. Having a bike as well as good friends, which she did it on her own was part of Esperanza’s desire and not having to share with Nenny why it was a “Good day”. Esperanza like the fact that she has a lot in common as sisters with Rachel and Lucy. Although Cathy said “they smell like brooms” but they were similar to Esperanza than cathy, Esperanza was embarrassed to tell her new friends her name and the fact that they didn’t laugh or make fun of it made a big difference to Esperanza. She rode around the block with her new friends playing and sharing and riding the bike and giving them a geography lesson about the neighborhood. I think that Esperanza was longing for her life and home.  Making friends is hard because you sometimes try to avoid the judgement that comes with it.

The vignette on page three, from “The House on Mango Street”, made the strongest impression on me. After I was done reading that page, I automatically wondered if that is how I sound to others when I tell them where I moved from. I always tell them “I was born in Hyattsville, Maryland, and then I loved to Alexandria, Virginia at four years old, and then I moved to Brooklyn, New York at six years old. When I first moved to Brooklyn, New York, we had the second floor, and then our landlord told us to move to the fourth floor, after a couple of years, our landlord told us to move to the third floor, and here we are now.” I find it interesting when people move from place to place, it was really hectic for my family and me but enjoy having our own space, and a different environment. My family and I also used to live with my cousins for a couple of years, our house was jam-packed!

Based on Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading, the child’s presence is what causes parental problems and in Snow White’s story, her stepmother hates her out of jealousy. Bettleheim further explores this idea by mentioning how Snow White being a little girl would only think about her father’s love without a thought to how that might affect her stepmom. I think this relates to Connie from, “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates because in the first paragraph, in Connie’s eyes, her mother is always complaining about her caring so much about her beauty because her looks have faded, and she comes after Connie because of jealousy. Bettleheim also talks about how the hunter/father figure in the story tries to placate both sides and in doing so he fails to take care of both of them. This compares to Connie’s father who is never around resulting in Connie and her mother’s disagreements.

“When the tender, loving care of the parent of the same sex is not strong enough to build up ever more important positive ties in the naturally jealous oedipal child, and with it set the process of identification working against this jealousy, then the latter dominates the child’s emotional life. Since a narcissistic (step)mother is an unsuitable figure to relate to or identify with, Snow White, if she were a real child, could not help being intensely jealous of her mother and all her advantages and powers. If a child cannot permit himself to feel his jealousy of a parent (this is very threatening to his security), he projects his feelings onto this parent. Then “I am jealous of all the advantages and prerogatives of Mother” turns into the wishful thought: “Mother is jealous of me.” The feeling of inferiority is defensively turned into a feeling of superiority.” (Bettleheim 204)   “In “Snow White,” as in “Little Red Riding Hood,” a male who can be viewed as an unconscious representation of the father appears—the hunter who is ordered to kill Snow White, but instead saves her life. Who else but a father substitute would seem to acquiesce to the stepmother’s dominance and nevertheless, for the child’s sake, dare to go against the queen’s will? ” (Bettleheim 204-205)   I found it interesting how Bettleheim highlights the psychological aspect of how inferiority and superiority affect a child and parent relationship and the outcomes from it. In a child-and-parent relationship, a child looks up to their parent for guidance. Parents are there to help raise their children and teach them lessons that will help them grow into well-rounded individuals. Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is an example of a superiority complex between a mother and daughter […]

In Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story many parts come out to me as interesting. For example, in his analysis of the story he didn’t just view it from the children’s point of view but also different parents point of view.  only from a single parent’s prospective but from many prospective. Bettleheim take from parents think negative of the story “Some parents fear that their children may get carried away by their fantasies” then reply to that view with carful research and he not only gave this one fear but many more like “parents fear that a child’s mind may become so overfed by fairy-tale fantasies as to neglect learning to cope with reality.” is another example that he gave these ideas gave very good contredition to the idea that he was getting at that the fairytale is not all bad for children. I personally agree with him because aren’don’t a lot of religious story take part away from fairtale as well?

Some observations I made Between both stories is that they both show the innocence of childhood and having to follow this traditional way of being ladylike, it also goes on to show how much materialism is expected in Snow White specifically it shows thy at material things (the Apple in this case) leads her to wickedness similar to the story of Adam and eve. Both stories seem to have somewhat of a religious connotation to it as well which is shown specifically in Snow White with the Apple.

My observation in Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story that stroked me as insightful and relevant to “Little Snow White.” was realizing that there is  a pattern of people not being able to let things go. In “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton, and “Little Snow White,” even though they’re the same story one is a lot different for children. the step mother wouldn’t let Snow White live, the step mothers jealousy couldn’t let Snow White live. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the grandmother refused to shut her mouth and let the serial Killers do what they intended to do but instead she had to prolong it because she couldn’t fathom the fact that they would kill her. that goes to say people don’t know how to accept things for how they are. I would like to include my observation from Bettleheim psychologically oriented reading is “all children are jealous, if not of their parents, then of the privileges the parents enjoy as adults.” I do believe all children are jealous of their parents, I feel like it stems from the children not being able to do what they want to do when they want to do it but they watch their parents do any and everything they want and it can me a little upsetting until you get older and/or have kids of your own then those children start to understand life isn’t what is seems.

Reading Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented story and also reading both of the stories “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, or the poem “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton have changed my perspective view of fairy tales. Fairy tales are for children, which are meant to bring joy and bring them fantasies with magical and imaginary characters and land. After reading Bettleheim’s stories and being an adult, now I see what message these fairy tales show. Bettleheim basically talks about how fairy-tales help to improve children’s cognitive development. For example Snow White shows how insecurities don’t justify your mean attitude. Also teaches about the dangers of greed and how a young woman goes throughout adulthood, and for the story Where Have You Been it message is for children not to talk to strangers. These are stories and topics I would like to discuss with children and show them how to understand life through fairy tales.

One thing that strikes me as relevant from Bettelheim’s Fear of Fantasy to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs By Anne Sexton’s poem is the nativity and broad imagination of young adults and children. Bettelheim’s in-depth analysis of child psychology goes into the openness of their imagination. How children will accept what you tell them as true and believe in it wholeheartedly. Whereas adults, as they get older, become more jaded and less inclined to believe things. This innocence of the child mind is shown in Snow White. As shown in the poem, when she manages to escape and live with the dwarfs, they tell her to not leave the house and only to trust them. However, when her step-mother tracks her down, she disguises herself on numerous occasions to try to kill Snow White and every time, Snow White falls for her tricks. Just like in Bettelheim’s analysis, Snow White has a very open mind and is accepting of new ideas,

In the poem “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton, each of the stanzas shows how important it is to be ladylike and follow the rules of chastity. This poem was more centered around being a pure woman and untouched. As well as, being a quiet girl and saying yes to everything. “The virgin is a lovely number” (Sexton). It is good to not have too many sexual partners, and everyone would be more attracted to you and like you more. Rumors won’t is spread around. When she encounters the seven dwarves Sexton specifically says “..walked three times around Snow White, the sleeping virgin” (Sexton). She says this to show how important it is as it was described to her when saying her name. There could have been other characteristics that she could have been addresses with, but she chose virgin, which stood out the most of Snow White.

Something that stood out to me in the analysis by Bruno Bettleheim, when he explained that fairy tales aren’t really about possibilities, they’re more about their desirability.  The connection between the 3 readings, “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol, or the poem ” Snow White and the Seven Dwarf’s” By Anne Sexton, is the desirability.  After reading the analysis, it became the easiest thing to spot because it was my own desires. One was to watch evil fail and good to prevail.  I found myself day dreaming about entering the story to protect snow white too. In the day dreams, I was in full knights uniform ( I like to fit the part) and stood hundreds of feet tall.  But in reality, would I have wanted to be there? absolutely not. Would I have been the knight who took down the witch? no, that’s terrifying.  However, I loved the idea of being in this world of a family of dwarfs who were wholesome and caring and brave enough to offer Snow White sanctuary from her evil step-mother.

It was intriguing to read Bruno Bettleheims comparison of Snow White to Oedipus, but it makes complete sense. It’s interesting how the events of both stories are set into motion by parents who are jealous of their children, one being biological (King Laius Oedipus father) the other being Snow Whites stepmother (The Queen). In the end this becomes the undoing of both. That same narcissism that brings forth the King and Queen of their respective stories’ demises; It also is the obstacle that kills Oedipus and almost kills Snow White as well…Twice! With Oedipus it comes from his disbelief in his fulfillment of the prophecy. Snow Whites narcissism is shown when she opens the door not once but twice after the first time, she is nearly killed by her stepmother and being explicitly forbade from letting anyone in by the Dwarves. It’s interesting that this same narcissism is the driving force in “Where are you going, where have you been?”  Connie (The protagonist) Is vain and narcissistic, we know this because she compares her sister to herself by calling her older sister “plain looking” in comparison, she only looks into the eyes of others to see her own reflection. This Ironically is her undoing as well. Connie is set upon by Arnold Friend because of how she looks. Noticeably she tries to make herself look more “mature” when she goes to the teen diner and is spotted by Arnold. When he appears at her house instead of instinctively going into her home and calling for help when Arnold appears at her home, she instead entertains his presence until it’s too late and the threat of danger becomes more eminent. Snow White does the same. Despite being poisoned the first time she fails to recognize the danger by falling into the […]

The story of Snow White is a story we all know very well. From a young age, we are exposed to this story of a beautiful young lady living out in a hut with dwarves. Following them as the story goes along the dwarves take her in as a part of their own. The story till I read Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story was the innocent and rather light-hearted story. One of the best examples that Bettleheim talks about in the beginning is “Here the problems the story sets out to solve are intimated: sexual innocence, whiteness, is contrasted with sexual desire, symbolized by the red blood. Fairy tales prepare the child to accept what is otherwise a most upsetting event: sexual bleeding, as in menstruation”. I had never thought about Snow White in such a way where sexual innuendos would come to mind. As a kid, I did not have that active of imagination but as people get older and learn of these things I can see how these stories become significantly less innocent.

Renown psychologist Bruno Bettelheim has implied that Disney’s work is nothing more than, “empty minded entertainment” , and fully expresses that “children now meet fairy tales only in prettified and simplified versions which subdue their meaning and rob them of deeper significance”. Bettelheim is very adamant that fairy tales are nothing short of quintessential for a child’s development. However, despite Disney’s vast array of fairy tale interpretations, Bettelheim argues that the only way for these stories to truly inspire a child’s imagination it must be told from the direct source: “The true meaning and impact of a fairy tale can be appreciated, its enchantment can be experienced, only from the story in its original form”.   In Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates both stories have the similarities which is quite noticeable. For example in both stories the authors empathize on parental complexes and how it affects the main characters. One of the most interesting thing I noticed between those stories is how the role of father is entirely cut from the story and they don’t hold any power.

The observation in Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading I find insightful and relevant to “Littie Snow White” was “before a child can come to grips with reality, he must have some frame of reference to evaluate it” this is relevant because Snow White didn’t have that frame of reference to evaluate before coming to grips with reality which made her have a lack of sense of danger. This led to snow white continously falling for her stepmother traps.

What specific observations in Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story strike you as insightful and relevant to “Little Snow White,” “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, or the poem “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton? In Bettleheim’s psychologically oriented reading of the story and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates both stories touch on parental complexes and how they affect the main protagonist in both stories. In Bettleheim’s psychological reading of Snow White, he touches on the Oedipus complex the stepmom imagines is going on between Snow White and her father which creates this jealousy and motive to get rid of Snow White. The father does nothing even though traditionally and culturally the father is supposed to be the head of the household and is supposed to protect their children, especially their little girls. Snow White’s father is nowhere to be found and very absent in all the cruel things that are happening to Snow White, just like with Connie in “Where are you going, where have you been?” where Connie’s father chooses to be absent and Connie’s mother is jealous of Connie’s looks perhaps also a nod to an Oedipus complex where Connie’s mother thinks if Connie is too attractive it might attract her husband as well.

The psychoanalytic view on this story plainly addresses the dangers of narcissism not only in children, but adults as well. This was one of the more prominent themes between both Snow White (Grimm’s Fairytale Version) and Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment. The paragraph that stood out to me as a theme between the two follows as: “The story of Snow White warns of the evil consequences of narcissism for both parent and child. Snow White’s narcissism nearly undoes her as she gives in twice to the disguised queen’s enticements to make her look more beautiful, while the queen is destroyed by her own narcissism” In this quote, Bettelheim connects the queen’s successful attempt to entice Snow White to the fact that Snow White fell for it because she was blinded by her own narcissism.

Bettelheim states, “The answer to the puzzle may be found in the fact that psychoanalysis also revealed the child’s ambivalent feelings about his parents. It is perturbing to parents to realize that the child’s mind is filled not only with deep love but also with a strong hatred of his parents. Wishing to be loved by their child, parents shrink from exposing him to tales which might encourage him to think of parents as bad or rejecting.” I want to compare Bettelheim’s quote to Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the tension between Connie and her mother. Although Connie’s mother tried to look out for her, she also insulted Connie in ways that distanced each other instead of building a friendly relationship. Connie’s mother saying, “Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” is showing the mother’s jealousy towards her own child and Connie knows this so she tries to distance herself from her mother in order to be independent and do what she pleases. Connie completely ignores her mother’s criticism but importantly ignores her mother trying to protect her from getting into trouble with boys at such a young age. Connie doesn’t realize the reality and she lives in her own fantasy based on her attitude if she had just listened to her mother, her turnout wouldn’t have happened. 

I found the following observation by Bruno Bettelheim interesting and relatable for both “Snow White” and specifically “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates : “A weak father is as little use to Snow White as he was to Hansel and Gretel. The frequent appearance of such figures in fairy tales suggests that wife-dominated husbands are not exactly new to this world. More to the point, it is such fathers who either create unmanageable difficulties in the child or fail to help him solve them.This is another example of the important messages fairy tales contain for parents.” (207). I think it’s a very relatable issue for Connie’s upbringing and how she practically had no father figure growing up. It was made pretty clear that her father chose to stay out of her life for the most part and just ask mechanical questions. He neither was genuinely interested in his daughter’s life nor was he involved in educating her and sharing his wisdom as a parent. From the story we get a sense that he was just living under the same roof and being a breadwinner, leaving it up to his wife to be the educator. Unfortunately for Connie her mother’s character has a strong resemblance with the Quinn’s  narcissistic tendencies, where as a parent she showed a clear preference to Connie’s older sister who was less pretty. Which in itself is very odd as no parent should differentiate the amount of love they have for their children.

There were many observations that I found insightful to “Little Snow White” but the ones that I thought were very insightful were the use of the colors red and white and what the animals who visit snow white when she is in the coffin represent Although, I know that white is usually put hand in hand with innocence I didn’t know what red was supposed to symbolize. So when I saw that red represented Snow White and her sexual desire I didn’t believe it until I read more. The step mother showing how she eats specifically the white part of the apple had new meaning to me and it showed the step mother taking away Snow Whites innocence. This can be taken further with the animals who visit and the order they do so, The owl being wisdom then the raven being a consciousness that is mature and finally the dove being love. With Snow White eating the red part of the apple and awakening her sexual desire the animals showed how Snow White while in the coffin was maturing by becoming smarter, then having a more mature mindset, and finally she was ready for love which would not be possible in the romantic sense if innocence was still around.

In the analysis of “Snow White,” Bruno Bettleheim refers to the hunter as the father character in the story. He writes that “a male who can be viewed as an unconscious representation of the father appears—the hunter who is ordered to kill Snow White, but instead saves her life”. The hunter obeys the queen’s order and takes snow white to the woods to kill her. He decided not to do that and let her go but didn’t try to save her (he thought that if he’s not going to kill her, she would probably get eaten by a wild animal in the woods). According to Bettleheim’s interpretation, the hunter comes out as a weak character, or as he claims a weak father figure. He’s not trying to save the kid from death in the woods, and also bringing back a dead animal’s lungs and liver instead, so the queen would think he killed snow white. This observation reminds me of the story from last week’s reading “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. In both stories, the father captures as weak, and as he “fails to take a strong and definite stand” character, while the wife has the power and is more present in the story, and the child’s life. Also, both stories put a strong emphasis on beauty and it has a connection to the mother’s love. Bettleheim states that kids who don’t have strong, protective parents have to find a way to manage on their own in life, unfortunately, in the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie, the child couldn’t save herself.

The specific observation in Bettelheim psychologically oriented reading of the story that stroked me as insightful and relevant to “Little Snow White, by Brothers Grimm was, “The readiness with which Snow White repeatedly permits herself to be tempted by the stepmother, despite the warnings of the dwarfs, suggests how close the stepmother’s temptations are to Snow White’s inner desires” I also found this observation insightful to “Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates. Snow White desire for the material things set forth to her by the evil queen and wanting to be around people led her to her attempted murder three times. The shiny apple led her to be foolish, although being warned multiple times already that there was nothing good for her in the world. The look of how appetizing the apple looked and the evil stepmother who was disguised, words deceived her. Just like Connie. She loved attention, and unfortunately, she fell prey to evil because of the attention she was receiving from a guy, ignoring the previous warning signs.

Hello prof Conway, In my opinion of the, story, “where are you going, where have you been” I feel that it’s more of a story of how overtime the girls generations are changing, which is feminist allegory. I think this for the same reason how many many think the woman’s should be this and that and how they belive woman, had no rights. But as we see in the story Arnold I like a guy who Is feminist. We can see he is like the type of person who thinks he can be with this and that girl, with any girl and that are younger than him. He is a psycho. But also we can interpret that, the way connie is, is also how the girls generation is changing. I say this because the way she is, Many girls over the recent years act like connie, the way they think they have to be in the best look and well being for them to find the best man or boy for them, which is not true, because the one who loves you, will care and love you in any way.

Although Snow-white is a familiar fairy tale, there was some different parts in it. This read was interesting, Walt Disney’s version was very cute for children, but this version was more for adults. The evil stepmother tries to kill snow-white because she was jealous and vain, the evil stepmother went as far and told the hunter to bring snow-white into the woods and kill her and to return with her heart as proof. She wanted to eat her heart because she wanted the power of immortality. The queen was tricked with a wild animal’s heart instead. When the step mother found out that snow-white was indeed alive she disguised herself as an old woman, a peasant woman to trick and killed snow-white, the poisoned comb and the poisoned apple were what she used to kill her or so she taught, but snow-white had help by the seven dwarf who was her protector. I think snow- white was very kind and trusting why she believed  the evil step mother disguised as the old woman.

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a story composed of a few major problems; lack of love from Connie’s mother, superficial and vainness, and too much trust. Connie only cared about her looks and what was deemed perfect, as the story described that she would look at peoples faces to make sure she was perfect. Her focus on the superficial things in life put her life in danger. Connie trusted Arnold and it was hard not to trust him, he was sweet and swept her off her feet and that was the biggest manipulation tactic he used to trick her and make her vulnerable enough to attack her.

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates’s work makes me feel uneasy. I do agree with Korb as it’s an inverted fairytale. Connie hated her family and acted differently around them. Because she did this, she had 2 different personalities she took on in different situations. There was one she favored more which was when she was away from her family. She specifically hated her mother and wanted her so badly to be gone because she didn’t fit her idealized version of herself that her friends knew. Arnold Friend represents a skewed version of all her desires. Someone infatuated with her gives her an escape into becoming her idealized self completely. In return for this, she had to give up her family, especially her mother. I think she comes to for a second when Arnold Friend tells her that her mother was dead when all she wanted to do was call her mother for help to protect her. The uncertainty of the ending leads me to believe the story is about the grooming and objectification of young girls. She felt like she needed to have a more mature adult nightlife but later we see her breakdown like a child, being naive and not being able to tell if Arnold and Ellie were trustworthy or even around her age. It’s a distorted version of a fairytale that the reader knows in a real-world situation will have very scary dangerous consequences, implied by the ominous ending.