The House On Mango Street And The Things They Carried

What’s the difference between a young Hispanic girl and a soldier in the Vietnam War? It sounds like a bad joke with an even worse punchline, but though there may be many true answers to this question, there are more similarities than one might imagine. These similarities can be observed in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and their main characters, Esperanza and O’Brien, respectively. Both novels divided into non-chronological stories, both involve characters who feel stuck in their situations, and both realize the importance of returning for the people they left behind. At their most basic levels, The House on Mango Street and The Things They Carried are both broken down into stories, which, although some reference events and characters in other stories, do not follow a definite chronological order. The title story in The Things They Carried, for instance, places its characters in the Vietnam war , but in no specific year of the war, or place in Vietnam. The next story, â€Å"Love,† begins with the words â€Å"Many years after the war† (O’Brien 26), placing it definitely outside of Vietnam—in O’Brien’s home in Massachusetts, in fact. The next story, â€Å"Spin,† however, goes back to the men of Alpha Company together in Vietnam. O’Brien even makes it easy to guess that the focus is back on Vietnam, as the first sentence of this story is â€Å"The war wasn’t all terror and violence† (O’Brien 30). The stories in The House on MangoShow MoreRelatedSince Its Publication In 1984, The House On Mango Street1551 Words   |  7 PagesSince its publication in 1984, The House on Mango Street grows in popularity within inner-city grade schools to universities across the country -- it is a coming of age tale for a Mexican-American girl named Esperanza Cordero living in a fictional poor neighborhood in Chicago c alled Mango Street. Though it is called a novel, Cisneros creates The House on Mango Street with forty-four vignettes that thoughtfully depicts Chicano culture and what are the roles of women in this society; as EsperanzaRead MoreAnalysis Of The House On Mango Street1068 Words   |  5 Pagesbehind. For the ones who cannot out.†(110). The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, is a novella which explains the situation of women’s independence in the earlier days through the life of Esperanza, the protagonist of the story. This book is in the form of a bildungsroman, which is explained in vignettes, so the story becomes more interesting as each vignette changes to a different part of Esperanza’s life. Esperanza lives on Mango Street with her family and cousins. She and her familyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Red Balloon 1296 Words   |  6 PagesEsperanza matures significantly after she moves with her family to Mango Street, which is an improvement from t he previous houses she has lived in. However, it is not the home, she dreamed of. When Esperanza first moves to Mango Street she has child like thoughts. She is insecure and ignorant to the life and people around her. In the beginning she makes the comparison of a â€Å"red balloon tied to an anchor.† Due to her not having friends with whom she can share her secrets with and understand her jokesRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1087 Words   |  5 PagesRiaz Salehi The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, portrays the life of a teenage girl named Esperanza living on Mango Street. Though Esperanza lives in a diverse city, pre-existing stereotypes are affecting how others(women?) are perceived and treated. Esperanza starts to see how to change her community and the negative view of herself by taking the wrong actions of other women and connecting them to her own life experiences. To begin with, Esperanza always saw this great distinctionRead MoreThe House on Mango Street Reflection Paper1408 Words   |  6 Pagesand even though the house on Mango Street was not the house of their dreams, it was a great achievement to own it. Although Esperanza knew they were not moving anytime soon, she recognized one advantage; her family was free of landlord management. In my community home ownership is a constant battle and for many simply a dream. I learn the value of home ownership in a similar sequence as Esperanza. My little sister and I were moved to and from apartment to family member’s houses until our first smallRead MoreSeparate Worlds Essay1117 Words   |  5 PagesBoys and girls live in separate worlds is a statement made by Esperanza, a girl in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, who is learning that women and men have different expectations placed on them by society (Cisneros 8). Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody and The House on Ma ngo Street are both novels that relate to Anne and Esperanza, two young women realizing the gender prescriptions that society has established for them and the struggle against those roles. Both EsperanzaRead MoreThe House On Mango Street1201 Words   |  5 Pagesthe baby is a girl or boy depends on their chromosomes. The difference is that girls chromosomes are 46XX and boys are 46XY. This does not give boys any more authority in society than women, yet many women still feel inferior to men. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros when writing, creates a separation between men and women in society. She focuses on how the men feel as though they have more authority over women. Cisneros takes each woman and makes each one of them them weak. By doing this, CisnerosRead MoreCeecee Case Study Analysis9518 Words   |  39 Pagesquality Technological Environment * Taking advantage of online shopping * Keeping up to date with technological trends * Threats which technology could pose (security) Natural / Physical Environment * resources to setup their shops in high street areas as new shopping centres are being built * level of infrastructure in the country of operation Demographic Environment * Older people are living longer and CeeCee isn’t considering targeting these groups * Religious issue as people inRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Summer Break Essay2289 Words   |  10 Pagesback in time recollecting the street names and the maturing faces of his classmates. He surveyed the houses along the streets washed-out over the years. Its galvanized roofing, lashed by successive typhoons, rusted and bent. None of these houses underwent any facelift. Upon arriving, he stepped out from the calesa and navigated the potholes. His family had moved to a house bigger than the one they used to live across the street. The shimmering leaves of the mango tree foreshadowed a hot, humidRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Summer Break Essay2281 Words   |  10 PagesWhile he recollected the street names and faces of his classmates, images of speeding cars in Manila juxtaposed before the trotting enervated horse. He surveyed the houses along the streets washed-out over the years. Galvanized roofing, lashed by successive typhoons, rusted and bent. None of these houses underwent any facelift. Upon arriving, he stepped out of the calesa and navigated the potholes. His family had moved to a bigger house than the one across the street. The mango tree he used to climb