Fill This Form To Receive Instant Help
Homework answers / question archive / The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros Chapter One: “The House on Mango Street” We didn’t always live on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros Chapter One: “The House on Mango Street” We didn’t always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I can’t remember. But what I remember most is moving a lot. Each time it seemed there’d be one more of us. By the time we got to Mango Street we were six—Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me. The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom. But even so, it’s not the house we’d thought we’d get. We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick. The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them because the house was too old. We had to leave fast. We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk gallons. That’s why Mama and Papa looked for a house, and that’s why we moved into the house on Mango Street, far away, on the other side of town. They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn’t have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the houses on T.V. And we’d have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we took a bath we wouldn’t have to tell everybody. Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed. But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all. It’s small and red with tight steps in front and window so small you’d think they were holding their breath. Bricks are crumbling in places, and the front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in. There is no front yard, only four little elms the city planted by the curb. Out back is a small garage for the car we don’t own yet and a small yard that looks smaller between the two buildings on either side. There are stairs in our house, but they’re ordinary hallway stairs, and the house has only one washroom. Everybody has to share a bedroom—Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny. Once when we where living on Loomis, a nun from my school passed by and saw me playing out front. The laundromat downstairs had been boarded up because it had been robbed two days before and the owner had painted on the wood YES WE”RE OPEN so as not to lose business. Where do you live? She asked. There, I said pointing up to the third floor. You live there? There. I had to look to where she pointed—the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded. I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn’t it. The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how those things go.
THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET
“The House on Mango Street” shares an accurate description of the vast difference between fantasy and reality. Ideally, Esperanza shares her experience moving from one house to another until they got to Mango Street. In the story, Loomis was the first place they lived, which is described to have broken water pipes, an unresponsive landlord, and also the flat on Loomis is said to be too old for repair. Moreover, they used next-door washrooms and would carry water in empty milk gallons. This is a proper description of the hash lifestyle the character and her family were going through growing up. Their living standards in the given house were a symbol of failure; while living in this house, they had to share most things with strangers, and they also lived in the old house due to lack of sufficient funds. Also, living in the given house served as a challenge to Esperanza's parents; they wanted to provide the best home for the family and always dreamed of a better place for them to live. On the other hand, the Mango Street house is an upgrade. According to the author, the house had more privacy since it had one washroom and a small garage. But this was nothing compared to Papa and Mama's dream since its bricks were crumbling in place; also, the front door was swollen, making it hard to get in. This house meant that the family had improved their living standards even though they had not met their expectations.
In terms of symbolism, the first house in Loomis symbolizes failure, where the family lives in an old flat. Also, the neighborhood was not safe since a Laundromat downstairs had been robbed. In addition to this, the family had to use next door washroom and had no tap water in the house. This is a true definition of failure. However, the second house on Mango Street symbolizes success. Despite the family not meeting their dream house, the house in Mango Street offers them their washroom; they have a car garage and a small yard. This is a slight upgrade. However, Esperanza is not satisfied with the house since it has no front yard, only one washroom, and also the family has to share one bedroom.