Reference no: EM133224642
At first, "And Some More" can be easily regarded as an insignificant chapter in The House on Mango Street.It can be seen simply as Esperanza and other children gazing at the clouds and making fun of each other. However, in this chapter, the reader is able to see Esperanza's knowledge for the first time. For example, Nenny looks to the clods and describes them by saying, "That there is Nancy, otherwise known as Pig-eye. And over there her cousin Mildred, and little Joey, Marco, Nereida and Sue" (36) while Esperanza uses proper scientific terminology by stating "That's cumulus too. They're all cumulus today. Cumulus, cumulus, cumulus" (36). The vignette was included to show how different Esperanza was than other children. Esperanza used scholarly names to describe the clouds while Nenny and the other children came up with more creative names. While easily regarded as an insignificant chapter, "And Some More" is extremely important as it shows how Esperanzais different than the other children.
He story of Elenita is included in the story to share how Esperanza is feeling uneasy about her future. Esperanza wishes to have more details of it and wonders if it will feel trapped like her childhood. When Esperanza gets her fortune told, Elenita sees "A home for the heart" (64). This is significant as it demonstrates that Esperanza will find a place in her future that truly feels like home. She will feel like she belongs.
In "Alicia Who Sees Mice", Alicia is a girl who lost her mother, and now does all the chores her mother used to do on top of attending university. When studying late at night, she sees mice. However, when she tells her father about this, he responds by saying, "Close your eyes and they'll go away...And anyway, a woman's place is sleeping so she can wake up early with the tortilla star..." (31). With this story, the reader can clearly see how Mango Street is dominated by men. It demonstrates that it will be difficult for Esperanza to live an independent life that is not dominated by a man
One of the major themes in The House on Mango Street is that words hold a great amount of power. One of the first places this is seen is in the chapter "My Name". Esperanza explains how her name means hope in English, but in Spanish it means sadness. Her name is symbolic of her life. Currently sad, however hopeful when looking towards the future. In "My Name", Esperanza truly learns the power of words, specifically in her name. This theme can also be found in "No Speak English". Mamacita knows no English and because of this, is afraid to leave the house. Finally, her grandson comes up to Mamacita and begins singing an English song he heard on TV. This forces Mamacita to break down crying as she feels as though her grandson lost his Mexican heritage. This also demonstrates the power that words have, as a simple Pepsi song sung by her grandson forces her to tears.
A second major theme in The House on Mango Streetis the gender difference. The theme is clearly explained in "Boys and Girls" when Cisneros writes "The boys and girls live in different worlds" (8). This shows that Esperanza already can see the gender differences and inequalities that exist in the society that she lives in. The theme is brought up again when in "The Family of Little Feet" when Mr. Benny criticizes the girl for their shoes while the Bum man thought they were beautiful and asked to kiss Rachel for a dollar. This is significant as it demonstrates the double-standard held for women at the time. They were expected to look beautiful, but not too beautiful as it was seen as disrespectful. Esperanza is realizing that she will have to live with this double-standard for the rest of her life.