The Growing Up Of Esparanza's Personality

Growing up is something that everyone gets to grow through in their lifetime. During this time you make life changing decisions that have a big effect on your future. In the Story The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros the protagonist, Esperanza, grows up throughout the entire story making big and small decisions. She is a very hard worker who makes her choices to shape her future and dreams of having a house of her own that she can call home. The author wants us to recognize that the decisions you make growing up, good or bad, create and shape your identity.

Esperanza's family life helped grow up from a child into a young adult by helping her find her identity in herself. She comes from a Mexican American family who takes part in Latin American Traditions.She is the oldest child in her family with a father who works and provides for the family while her mother stays home and raises the kids. Her family and her have always moved and there current location is a tiny house on Mango Street. Esperanzas mom gives her a lot of criticism and a lot of positives too.Her mother helps shape her character throughout the story. For example her mother says to her, “I could have been somebody, you know?Esperanza, you go to school.Study hard.”(Pg90-A Smart Cookie)Her mother had a lot of talent growing up, but she didn't pursue her gifts and dreams.She wants Esperanza to grow and take all the opportunities she can get, because she wishes herself that she took new opportunities. Another big influence on Esperanza is her sister Denny. Esperanza says,” Denny is too young to be my friend. She’s Just my sister and that was not my fault.You don't pick sisters, you just get them and sometimes they come like Nenny.”(Pg8-Boys and Girls) Esperanza always wants new friends, but it's hard because she moves so much she can't keep any relationships with people in the towns she leaves. She would take anyone except her sister because she thinks that Denny is a pain. Esperanza needs to go out of her comfort zone and make new friends. Stepping out of her comfort zone shows maturity and shows that she isn't afraid of anything.

When Esperanza moved to the her new house, she met a lot of new people which she learned and grew from. She met new people her age and started hanging out with them. One day they got a brown paper bag with 2 pairs of high heels in it. They decided that they were never going back to the other shes when they found out about how beautiful and older they are. They walk around town showing them off to everyone, even a homeless man that is sitting in front of a tavern. He compliments the girls on their shoes and how beautiful they are then starts acting really creepy. He says, “If I give you a dollar will you kiss me?How about a dollar. I give you a dollar.”(Pg 41,42-The Family Of Little Feet)After hearing the bum, they ran away and took the shoes off immediately. They didn't want to grow up too fast. She took the power of the shoes, and played with it, but in the end, she realized that you are treated differently as you grow up whether it be your clothes or shoes, and she didn't want that right away, she wanted to choose her life and grow slowly. Another experience of Esperanza that helped her discover her identity, and hold onto herself was when she was with the three sisters. The three sisters are three elderly women who she meets at her friend Lucys baby sisters awakening. They are mysterious and remind her that home is on Mango Street and that she will come back. Esperanza thinks that's baloney, but keeps it in the back of her mind. The most important advice they give Esperanza is,” You can’t forget who you are.”(Pg 105- The Three Sisters)This sticks with esperanza and she grows from her experience with the sisters. In this part of the story, she has a big shift from being naive to more knolegeble of her actions, identity and her surroundings. This really improves the way she looks at the world. She grew a lot from a lot of experiences in the book, but this is the most sophisticated experience.

In this story the Theme is growing up which can be good or bad depending on the decisions you make they help define your identity. Esperanza just wants to not be misjudged and live in her own big house that she can call her own. She grows by having big life experiences in her family and where she lives. These help shape her ad a woman growing up in her town.