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.
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2 thoughts on “Ainoon Khan Discussion 16”
Hey Ainoon, I felt the same way about the part of never seeing dad cry. I only ever saw him cry over the same circumstance in the book. Mostly, he played sad spanish ballads and he’d drink. He used to say that men don’t cry so they let the music cry for them lol crazy, I know. But, like in the book, the passing of a parent showed me the side of my dad I never seen. His vulnerability. It’s not something I can forget and it came to mind immediately with this chapter. Thank you for sharing!
I thought the same thing about my father when I first saw him cry and it made me emotional at the same time. Growing up I always saw him as unbreakable, almost like a soldier. He was usually always strict with me but it was for the best. The day I saw him cry, I thought to myself that even the toughest can break. It changed my perspective on him because he’s usually serious and acts like he has no emotion but I know deep down there’s something there.