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Which one of the vignettes from pages 33 – 71 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.
Please be sure to include your section number at the end of your response and address comments to others by name. Thank you!
53 thoughts on “Week 14 Discussion”
In this week’s reading, the vignette that struck me the most was “Born Bad.” The central ideas in this vignette are sickness and freedom, and the cosmic injustice of terminal illness. There are several quotes in this vignette that struck me especially, such as Esperanza’s internal deliberation over why her aunt’s illness came to be. When contemplating why her aunt got sick, she states that, “Maybe the sky didn’t look the day she fell down. Maybe God was busy.” As someone who has dealt with a major illness in my immediate family, I can understand this kind of contemplation as to why some people fall ill for seemingly no reason at all. Esperanza also decides that “…diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone.” The author portrays such a universal and human narrative condensed into this vignette, one that concisely and accurately depicts a young person’s reaction to serious and prolonged illness.
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Justine, thank you for this beautifully expressed post.I think people who experience what you have are likely to have a deep connection and understanding of this story—though not a deep understanding about why some people are afflicted with illness and others are spared.
Justine I agree with what you said about this vignette it was one of the ones that resonated with me but I also have to say that this vignette show that you have to explain diseases in a way that people can understand to so they can know that a person who has a diseases is strong extremely strong and every new day for them is great and that sometimes people who do look healthy can have a disease and just don’t seem like it because they are doing everything they can to stay as healthy as they can.
In this week reading the house of mango street has many great vignette that i like but the one that had the strongest impression was “The First Job” on page (61). The central idea was Esperanza portrays as this Innocence and Naivete young woman that got tricked into a kiss by a old man as a “birthday kiss” in her job in her mouth that lead an old man upon her that force him to grab her face with both hands and kisses her hard on the mouth and doesn’t let her go, which put her into an uncomfortable situation how it showing not to get your hopes about people not everybody seem how you think and to be careful into who you put your trust to. “The first Job” shows rather then jumping into trusting people quickly to stand into your ground and have people to open up to you before you come as this “vulnerable person.” also a quote that stood to me the most was “It wasn’t as if i didn’t want to work. I did i have even gone to the social security office the month before to get my social security. I needed money.” how this young woman just wanted to get a job in order for her to go to high school and get her education and how she just doing what she gotta do to get her money and how in life we will come across people where we go but we must not relay the trust on everyone and to be careful the people that we are trusting. The reason why i can resonated to this this vignette because in personal experience i had put my trust into relationship’s and into friendships and looking back to it as my personal trainer i had, that if i am not comfortable into something to leave.” i can only trust into myself and at the end of the day “trust.”, is something that’s being earn and how not everyone will have your back but yourself and you must save yourself and protect yourself from the “trust” that you give people. be careful the people that you consider your “friends.” the people you come across upon in life.
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Hello Stephanie,
This vignette you have chosen explains that some people are not trustworthy and take advantage of innocent people. It describes how Esperanza was portrayed as innocent and the old man took advantage of that at the first job. She needed money and decided to work but this unfortunate tragedy happened to her which proves that you should be careful who to trust and be cautious at all times.
Gagandeep, cam you expand on this a bit? You are basically just agreeing with Stephanie here. Can you add something that move the conversation into some new area of thought?
Stephanie, I really felt for Esperanza in the vignette. It seems such a rude entry into the adult world. She tries so hard to help her family, dress in a way to look older, and assimilate with the other workers—and then she has to deal with this. I think of young boys starting a job and feeling equally awkward and nervous; the difference is that they are unlikely to be acccosted by a woman at the end of the day. Please be sure to use quotation marks and capitalization for story titles.
The vignette that stuck out to me this week was “Darius and the clouds”. The central idea of this vignette is the idea of freedom as it is represented by the sky. With what they are limited to in a city Darius makes best out of what they have by staring into the sky and clouds. A cloud is described as ‘God’ by Darius and the sky is considered an area to feel safe when you are sad. This relates to freedom because to take away one’s self from an unlikely setting and can still find aspects of beauty and freedom within it. It is a calming and inspiring way to look at the sky as it’s being used to clear the mind and feel free. The quote ” You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad” helped me come to this idea as the author gives the sky meaning and importance to Darius. The imagery and words used to describe the sky reveal its importance as a symbol of beauty and freedom.
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Brandon, thanks for the good comments. I also love how it’s Darius—the guys who chases girls with a stick he claims has touched a rat—can say something so profound at the end of the vignette.
Hi Brandon,
I liked this vignette too, and I agree with your interpretation of it, that it pertains to the idea of freedom and making the best out of circumstances which are less than ideal. I also like what Professor Conway said about it being Darius specifically who makes this comment. In this way, the vignette may also be a commentary on the ability of unlikely people to reveal important truths. These two threads tie together quite nicely, the theme of beauty in unlikely places relating to the ability of unlikely people to say unexpectedly beautiful things.
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Section 0503: Hi Brandon, I think it is interesting that you believe that the central idea of this vignette is freedom and I couldn’t agree more. I agree with the fact of you stating how they use the sky as sort of an escape from reality. The sky and the clouds are seen as otherworldly and it helps the people cope with whatever they are dealing with by staring at it in all of its beauty.
There were many vignettes in “The House on Mango Street” on pages 33-71 of the story. However, one vignette that caught my attention and had the strongest impression on me is on page 33 “Darius & the clouds” in which it states “You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.” Esperanza was describing how she loves the bright sky and in her current neighborhood there was not enough sky to her liking and other beautiful things such as flowers and butterflies. These things helped take her away from Mango Street but without these things in the neighborhood, she feels empty and isolated.
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Gagandeep while I agree with what you said about “Darius & the clouds” I also had a different perspective on the vignette it also represents making the best of what you have by not focusing about the things you don’t have but on what you do have and how you can always better your situation by not focusing on the bad or wrong but looking toward the future and having faith all the while because sometimes faith is the only thing that can keep you moving forward
Gagandeep, how does Darius play into “Darius and the Clouds?” What is his role in the vignette>
Hello Gagandeep, i agree that the clouds and all the nice things may take Esperanza away from the Gloominess of Mango Street. On the other hand i believe that “Darius & the Clouds” was more about Darius in the way that it seems like even people that seem to be all fun and games have other things going on in their mind. The way Darius usually acts says that he is just a hooligan who likes to mess around with others but it seems he has God and religion on his mind amidst all his thoughts. The vignette might be about being away from emptiness and isolation but I think its for everyone on Mango Street, not just Esperanza.
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The vignette that stood out to me this week was ” The Family of Little Feet” because of the message that it has of girls and their bodies. In the vignette, we see Esperanza, Lucy, and Rachel trying on shoes, they notice that the shoes make their’s legs look womanly and grown-up. So they decided to wear those shoes around the neighborhood, and Mr.Benny realized and warned them that wearing shoes like those could cause danger to them. The danger he was talking about was that men will view young girls and women as sexual objects depending on what they’re wearing. Esperanza starts to realize this when Rachel is talking to the homeless man and he compliments Rachel and asked for a kiss in return she gets a dollar. In this vignette, Esperanza and the girls experience the world of a dangerous man and how their sexuality is treated by men and society. Unfortunately, Esperanza has to learn how to deal with these situations and how to feel safe and protect while she’s growing into a young woman.
Hi, Lizanjela
The idea that a homeless man would offer a dollar for this;
That was something that shocked me when I read this vignette. I see that it also left a deep impression on you too
Thankfully, I had never been subject to this; my father would tell me that I’m a very tomboyish person.
I hope no one would experience this, and yet I know also it is impossible.
So, I hope no one I know or love experiences this, a smaller hope that I wish is doable
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Lizanjela, thanks for the thoughtful comments. I love this vignette too. I can remember the lure of beautiful high heels shoes when I was young, like Esperanza and her friends. They seemed so full of things to come. The ending shows so wonderfully the bad that comes with the excitement of burgeoning sexuality. I also like how the neighborhood elders are watching and warning the girls, even (ha!) threatening to call the cops!
In this weeks reading of “The house on mango street” by Sandra Cisneros there were many vignettes that resonated with me but the one that stood out among them is the vignette “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” the reason it made a strong impression on me is because of the line ” and then as if he just heard the news himself, crumples like a coat and cries, my brave Papa cries. I have never seen my Papa cry and don’t know what to do.” for a child a parent is a hero they are brave and they are strong and can protect you from anything their invincible but as they get older they realize that parent aren’t invincible they feel just as much as you do but will always try to shield their child from sad truths. This is the moment that Esperanza sees who her father behind his superhero mask he is human
just like her and then her thoughts start to shift from those of a child to those of someone who is more mature it shows she’s growing up she starts to think about telling her sibling so that her parents can grieve and that one less thing to worry about also so her sibling can know they can know that they have to behave as their grandfather had just passed away so she takes that responsibility on for her parents ” now it is my turn to tell the others. I will have to explain why we can’t play. I will have to tell them to be quiet today.” she also start to thing about her own father and what would happen if he passed and how she would feel that scares her no child want to think of that but its happening because someone that was once immortal in the eyes of a child becomes mortal to a matured mindset in the most unexpected way “And I think if my own Papa died what would I do. I hold my Papa in my arms. I hold and hold and hold him.” and that is scary for a person especially one who is still maturing. 0503
Hi, Ariadna.
I think that most people have a father that works hard for their family, but are left unappreciated. I think we all should treat our parents better to thank them for their efforts, and the short vignette reminded me of the fact.
I’ve been better to the people around me, and growing up reflects on me the many similarities that Esperanza has with people like me, you, and everyone else.
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Ariadna, yes, this is a very affecting vignette. You’ve expressed the varied emotions of Esperanza so well and how the experience widens to the first comprehension of immortality, not only of the grandparent but of her own father, as well.
The story that resonated with me the most is, “The Rice Sandwich.”
In life, there is a saying: The grass is always greener on the other side.
We’ve all experienced moments of jealously, and certainly have been compared to other children when we were younger by our parents, for good or bad. That’s why this story resonated with me. I believe that what we want may not be necessarily good for us, and what we have isn’t necessarily bad. Some suffering builds character, and Esperanza certainly has character. I understood why she wanted the canteen seat so badly; I wanted to see what was so special about a place once, and yet I regret now the complications and difficulties experienced to be there. For, I would have been spared them if I had just waited.
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Kexin, yes, “Rice Sandwich” is so engaging because we have all experienced that “grass is greener” feeling, especially before experience has taught us that the grass may only seem greener. I remember always wanted to eat a popsicle on the bus from school because the older kids did it, and it seemed like fun. Then on my first time of doing it, the bus was crowded and I got red popsicle all over the white shirt of an older boy, who started yelling me and making me feel the opposite of big. (He was a mean bully. When I see bullies now, I still always think of him).
The vignette that made the strongest impression on me is “The Family of Little Feet”. I think this vignette is about gender roles and the exploitation of the female role. The young girls come across some “lady” shoes and are excited because they can also become the ladies that they are exposed to in the neighborhood. They believe the attention from men should be desired and seem to be flattering at first. The girls quickly realize the attention they receive is not so desirable. I’m sure most of us have witnessed or have been a victim of cat calling. This is harassment and degrading to women. The girls’ experience reaches the peak when they encounter the drunk who wishes to kiss Rachel. They quickly realize that being ladies and garnering this type of attention is not desirable at all and they are quite content when the shoes are thrown away. The girls are still young in this vignette and as we see them grow up on the later vignettes, they experience more sexualizing of gender roles.
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Kenny, yes, I like this vignette for the same reasons you do. There is so disillusionment that comes with girls’ first awareness of their sexuality. First, they feel excited and even powerful. But the men—both those who disapprove and those who like the sight of little girls in ladies’ shoes—end up being a bit horrifying.
Hi Kenny,
I love how you brought this one up. At first, the vignette seemed to be about the family with little feet since the author did linger around that idea for the first few paragraphs, but then it turned out to be the humiliation and degradation that girls and women experience atleast once in their lives like you said. They are treated like an object, if not a property; a beautiful woman must be won over, someone would always think that. It goes from back then, when the strongest warriors get to marry the princess or the daughter of the chief and whatnot. Girls are taught to please others at a very young age. Usually, whenever we have a new dress or shoes or anything of the sort, we would wear them and our parents usually tell us to go show it off. I believe it starts with little things like that. We were expected to dress up and act sweet and “ladylike” because that is what’s expected of us: we are here to please. But women see this flaw and act on it. They work just as hard as their male counterpart, and they know they can do more than just sit there and look pretty.
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The vignette that caught my attention the most was “o Speak English”, the reason that this particular one was the one that interests me the most was the fact that it tells a story about how an immigrant family makes it to the United States were at first the languages and new surroundings can be intimidating and scary for a family that’s only known their culture and country; speaking for a personal experience I identify with this story since my family and I moved to a new country 4 years ago. The story of how families make sacrifices in order to have a better future “he ate Hammandegs every day”, is truly inspiring and humbling, this story reminds me where I come from and the struggles my parents have suffered for me and my sisters.
Reading stories such as this, not only from Latino families, but in general from immigrants and foreigners inspire me to do better, and live better.
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Hey Juliana,
This vignette also kinda touched home with me because both of my parents are immigrants and their first language is Spanish and they struggled to adapt to America and its’ culture. The vignette shows Mamacita struggling or avoiding to assimilate to American culture and people, moving from your native country to come to a new country will definitely make you question if you’re even worth to be here. I believe Mamacita won’t give America a change because subconsciously she believe if she does, she will forget where she came from.
Section 0503: In the section “ Edna’s Ruthie” we see a grown woman who seems to be underdeveloped. After reading the section it is not made clear what the real issue or problem is with Ruthie which can only lead us to wonder. Throughout the section we see how Ruthie likes to spend her time with children because she doesn’t comprehend the adult world enough to really be a part of it. Ruthie has trouble communicating with others socially and could be referred to as someone who is socially awkward or socially incompetant. This is very prevalent when our main character reads Ruthie a poem and though she enjoys it she compliments Esperanza’s teeth instead. If I had to guess what the matter is with Ruthie I would say her being forced to grow up so fast and marry at a young age could have taken a toll on her mentally along with other things that caused her to become confused and stunted her development at a young age.
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This week reading “The House of Mango Street”, there were many vignettes. The vignette that most caught my attention and had the strongest impression on me is on page 35 “And Some More”.This vignette makes me flashback my childish childhood. On page 37, it states that “who you calling ugly, ugly?… Not you. Your mama, that’s who. My mama? You better not be saying that…You better not be talking like that…I’m saying your mama’s ugly like …ummm…Oh, we’re only playing”. After reading this section, it is made me remember the person who says negative things about someone that I love which is my parents and friends. When Esperanza was talking to her friends, Lucy says Esperanza’s mom is ugly that makes Esperanza angry. It is so rude to say negative things about someone’s family member in front of that person. And it should not make any joke about someone’s parents or friends because parents and friends are important people in someone’s life and that jokes will hurt someone feeling.
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This week, the vignette that resonated with me was “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” on page 56. This vignette resonated with me because I think the theme is strength. The father is usually strong for the family but when he starts crying over his own father’s death, Esperanza is surprised and doesn’t know what to do. The father was never seen crying, always worked hard as is apparent in the second to last paragraph of the vignette. In every family there is someone strong that you can depend on and when that strength is gone how does the family continue to be strong. I also think that as the oldest, Esperanza will also have to learn from her father, to be strong. This strength will hopefully be passed to her so that she will know what to do when things get rough. Esperanza says “I think if my own papa were to die what would I do” and this sentence speaks to part of her development towards her strength.
Hi Justin,
I can understand and agree with your points where you state “The father is usually strong for the family… In every family, there is someone strong that you can depend on…” When I was reading this vignette, I feel this vignette is showing father is strong for the family. Until now, I never saw my father crying. I think every father is strong for their family and they might have lots of pressure to protect their family. It is important to have a strong person that family members that can depend on. Every child is learning how to be strong from their parents the time that when they were growing up.
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The vignette that struck me the most is “Those Who Don’t” simply because I identify with it. It played around with themes of race, associating colors with stereotypes. Stereotypes are never really true, but I guess it helps people associate races with things; although, they’re not accurate rather really harmful in more ways than one. You see I used to live in Indiana; I was born in the Philippines and moved to Indiana 4-5 years ago, and everything was so different it took me a while to get used to especially since it was a predominantly white population that lived there. They’re not really the kind that easily accepted things, so whenever they see a person of another color, they’d usually stare for a while. They mistook me for a Hispanic person, they told me I look like one. I’m brown, I guess that’s the reason why they were so quick to judge. It really bothered me whenever my family and I would go grocery shopping and we’d usually converse in our own language, and whenever we do we get even more stares than we usually get for just standing there and being brown. We get stereotyped because of our color, I had to learn that the hard way. Brown meant something negative, anything that is associated with being poor and a criminal and uneducated, atleast that’s what it seemed like. I was never a bad kid really; I never skipped class, aced my classes, and I worked hard at my job, and I was nice to others. My dad knows this, yet he keeps reminding me and my sister to be extra careful with others and not associate ourselves with them as much because if something happens, no matter who did it we would always be at a disadvantage and likely take the blame for it. You see color is such a sad trivial thing, but everybody always associates bad things depending on someone’s complexion.
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Hi Gwyneth,
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with us. This vignette seems to imply that there is a shared feeling of solidarity among the people of similar appearance in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the feeling of being afraid of the unknown because someone looks different still exists and thrives today. The misconception that you are of Latin decent while you are Asian shows the level of ignorance that exists. I hope your experience in NYC has been better since there is more cultural diversity but I do recognize the many pockets that consist of a majority singular ethnicity and these areas remind me of this vignette.
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In the all the vignette I look through the one that had the strongest impression on me was “papa who wakes up tired in the dark”. The main idea of this vignette in my opinion is there is always a vulnerability to the strengths of family. As she sees her father cry, she wonders that soon in the future she would be the one mourning for her father also as the eldest she held the responsibility to explain what is happening. This had a strong impression on me because I had been in the exact situation, it was around the afternoon; normal day and my father gets call from back home. We don’t really get calls from there so getting one was a pleasure, but this call had no happiness in it. My dad had just received the new that his father had died and to see the tears come down his face had me frozen in place. Throughout that day I wonder that could be me in however many years and frankly I don’t think anyone is ready for that to come (ENG 201 0505) [11615]
Hello Mosheur, I can totally understand your viewpoint. I have a golden retriever that is 12 years old living in Los Angeles now, I am always thinking about her and the good times we have together. I have not experienced death in my life yet but I am prepping myself that she will leave at any second.
I think we all held a vulnerability to express our thoughts and feelings to our loved ones. In this vignette, it was Esperanza who has to watch her father cry but does not have the courage to comfort him. We all try to learn to provide encouragement and hope to our family when they needed us the most, it is also important to us to learn how to cope with stress and other life crises that would make us stronger. I think it would be a good lesson for Esperanza.
The vignette that resonated within me was “Sire,” it gave off the essence of a very naive girl who longs for the attention of. boy. Esperanza’s stuck thinking about a boy named Sire who has a girlfriend as perfect as can be. She first talks of wanting to prove herself better and demure, perhaps mysterious by never looking at him but showing her interest. When she meets his girlfriend she compares her to soft, lovely things. She even says his girlfriend, Lois, smells like a baby. In the end, Esperanza confides in her mother who tells her that girls like Lois do not last in relationships, all the while Esperanza yearns for a relationship like Sire and Lois have. She too, wants to feel loved. This made me kind of sad, I know the feeling and so many others too know the feeling of unrequited love. It is naive to believe that someone else’s love will make you feel “new and shiny” like Esperanza wants, however it is something most people come across. Her interest in Sire is one sided, and although she cannot have him as he is happy in his relationship, she is curious of how they really feel. This vignette brought memories of my first love. I too wanted to be in a relationship like the rest of my friends, I wanted to be loved and to love, and to spend time with someone who thought of me as the greatest person they can look up to. Of course, that didn’t work out. I was a kid, naive and all, but it was something I really wanted to do. I believe this is why “Sire” resonated within me.
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The Vignette I chose this week was “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark”. The central idea of the story is culture. The vignette, at first sight, is just a story. The father tells his oldest that his mother died. He cries and she realizes that she would need to tell her other siblings. She will need to teach them to be quiet and that it is not playing time. On the other hand, when you examine it closely you know that she said something strange. Esperanza claimed “ they would have white a black and white photo taken in front of the tomb… because this is how they send away the dead in that country.” Emphasis on the word “that”. She uses that phrase to indicate she feels more American than Mexican. On the contrary, she doesn’t even realize she still is more Mexican than she thinks. Her father did not have to tell her she needs to do her Big sister duties of telling the others and keeping them quiet. She realized that’s what she had to do. For most American families when a family member Passes away an adult tells the siblings, not the oldest child. Obviously she may feel she’s more American than Mexican because she doesn’t being Mexican or she just connects to one more than the other. But at the end of the day can you really take a girl out of her culture?
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The vignette that made the strongest impression on me in “The House on Mango Street” from pages 33 – 71 was “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water”. The theme associated with this specific vignette was the hopeful attitude Esperanza carries with her when getting her fortune read by the psychic. I find it interesting that she as has such a stubborn way of thinking, feeling as if she needs to hear what she wants to hear, instead of what she was actually told by the psychic. She ends up being disappointed from the reading she gets, and very quickly takes for granted what the psychic was trying to tell her. It seems as if the information she got was more valuable than she realizes. This also might be an opportunity for Esperanza to learn to be more open minded when receiving information she doesn’t necessarily understand.
From this week’s reading, the vignette that stands out to me is “Chanclas.” In this vignette, Esperanza received new clothes and socks for the baptism party yet she is unsatisfied with her old shoe, “My feet scruffed and round, and the heels all crooked that look dumb with this dress, so I just sit”. The central idea that enlightened me from this vignette is that people don’t appreciate all the things we have in life, people are consistently complaining about the non-essential items until we get validation from others to satisfy our feeling. In the vignette, Esperanza validates her unmatured feeling from her uncle, “it doesn’t matter how new the dress Mama bought Is because my feet are ugly until my uncle who is a liar says, You are the prettiest girl here”.
This particular vignette struck me because of the current Covid-19 pandemic, people are complaining too much about self-quarantining, social distancing, and boredom while we should be grateful that we are healthy and alive. I think we can all related to this ongoing dissatisfaction people have in the first world country, such as the wifi is not fast enough, not having the newest iPhone, or completing about Instagram’s followers and likes, and many more non-essential wants.
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Ellen, I don’t usually post personal responses after Wednesday, but your post gives us all a lot to think about at this time. Thank you!
The vignette that made the strongest impression on me this week was the one titled “The First Job”. Up until this point in the story we don’t really know too much about Esperanza’s behavior in a social setting that doesn’t include her family or friends. However, earlier stories hint at the fact that Esperanza is a girl who is more timid and self-conscious. For example, in the vignette titled “Chanclas”, we see how self-conscious Esperanza is as she analyzes everyone enjoying themselves, while all she can do is judge herself and self-loathe. We also know what Esperanza’s views are on women in society and I believe this contributes even more to her reticence. She does not openly speak about her views but she definitely feels strongly about them. In “The First Job”, Esperanza’s introverted nature is fully revealed. She avoids meeting new people and socializing. She goes as far as eating her lunch in a bathroom stall so as to avoid her co-workers. The story gets ironic because the moment Esperanza opens herself up to a co-worker and is willing to socialize, she is taken advantage of. This probably makes Esperanza even more reticent. Additionally, this experience contributes to Esperanza’s negative views on men and their poor treatment of women. This is why I chose this vignette, because it is an experience that shows us why Esperanza is more of an introvert.
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Syed I appreciate your analysis of Esperanza as an introvert. I felt very sad for her reading that she went as far as to eat her lunch in the bathroom because she is so introverted. Then when she tries to open up to her peer, her introversion is validated because she is taken advantage of. I feel very sorry for people that have to go through such things. I wanted to cry for her.
Syed, I was similar to Esperanza on my first job! I think it is a common thing to be really nervous and not sure what to do in a situation similar to that… And I remember eating lunch in a bathroom stall… It frustrates me that the older man tricked her into a kiss and I do think it will be a defining moment in her opinion of men, and her strength as a woman, like you said.
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In this week’s reading, the vignette that made an impression on me was “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark”. While reading it I realized that it showed the importance of having the support of your family is. When Esperanza saw how heartbroken her father was and how much the passing of his father has affected him she realizes that one day she will have to deal with the same thing. This brought my attention because in some way I relate to this. I remember when my grandfather died I saw my mother cry for the first time. That’s when I realized how the support of family can be very helpful. I think that when Esperanza saw her father cry it surprised her because she would have never thought to see his vulnerable side. “And I think if my own Papa died what would I do. I hold my Papa in my arms. I hold and hold and hold him” (Cisneros 56). Once she realized that the same thing can happen to her father, it’s like she is beginning to appreciate all the time that she has with him. Even when she did not know what to do just being around her father could have helped him.
Shirly, I appreciate your comments on this vignette. I’m really in love with Esperanza for understanding the importance of her father and her family. A lot of people take their parents for granted until they are much older. It seems like Esperanza’s father has sacrificed a lot and his family means the world to him. I think her holding him does wonders to keep him going when life is tough.
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The vignette Four Skinny Trees made a strong impression on me. It’s about a self conscious skinny girl that relates to the skinny trees that she sees out her window. The trees are like her. They appear physically weak but there is much more to them than meets the eye, the same as her. Appearances are not everything though. She talks about how beneath their thin frames are powerful roots that go deep into the ground and grab onto the earth. A persons foundation is more important than they appear to the outside world because your roots are what make you who you are, the same as the roots of a tree. The trees, against all odds have persevered in a place with so much concrete. She looks at the skinny trees when she is feeling sad to get her confidence back because if the trees can survive in such an unnatural environment then the girl can overcome whatever obstacles may be keeping her down.
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I really like “Gerardo No Last Name.” In general, I’ve felt this week’s vignettes have given a hint towards her budding sexuality and coming of age, but Gerardo was the first boy she has openly expressed a potential interest. That isn’t why I’m necessarily fascinated by it though… It’s at the very end we learn that Gerardo is here, alone, renting a two room flat and sending money back to where I’m assuming he has a family. It breaks my heart to know his mother may be waiting for the next week’s money orders and from that point forward she’ll never see a single one. She’ll never know what happened to Gerardo, we learn that no one knows his last name. He disappears and his family is left never knowing. It also gives a bit of taste of the life she’s living in general. This is a world where you’re scared to go to public school, where you lie about your age for a job, where you’re embarrassed by the house you live in, and where someone could die and forgotten about.
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While reading “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros this week, the vignette that caught my attention the most this week was “Chanclas”. Many can relate to Ezperancas’ feeling as a child desiring for new shoes to go with her outfit and comprehend the effort her mother made to try to get her something new to wear to the gathering. I think the moral of this piece is not to live in fear of other’s judgment. My favorite part was when she wrote “until I forget that I am wearing only ordinary shoes”, giving the moment of enlightenment that the shoes were not the center of everyone’s attention. Many of us can relate to having experienced a moment of embarrassment thinking of what others may have in mind.
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In this weeks reading, I feel like the story that resonated with me the most was “My First Job” on page 53. This experience that she describes is a feeling that we all can relate to and the author’s use of descriptive language makes it so that we can almost picture what she is saying. He aunt gives her an outfit to work in after also telling her about a job opportunity that she has for her. While there, she is the youngest one and the people look at her in with such confusion because she fits in by the way she looks. They can tell that she is knew because she wasn’t really sure when to to take breaks or she was afraid of being alone. “But then break time came, and not knowing where else to go, I went into the coatroom because there was a bench in there”( Cisneros 54). Her oustanding use of imagery allows us to paint a mental image in our minds of where and when she was at almost every given moment. In the end of the short vignette, an old man who works at the job as well, requested that she kiss him for his birthday but morally he ended up kissing an under aged child. One could make the assumption that trying to fit in with society has it’s benefits because she is working and shes getting paid for her work, but the feeling of loneliness can arise in the process of this.