In the House On Mango Street, Esperanza Cordero is such an inspiring character seeing as she shows the ways in which change can alter your life. Because the story is told by her, the most developed character, the reader experiences her growth along with her, which is why there is such a contrast between who she was and who she is becoming. Throughout the course of the novel, Esperanza begins to develop from the shy, naive child she was into a mature, decisive, well-rounded young lady.Impressions can be made about Esperanza’s character by the first chapter because her actions so obviously show that she is an immature young girl, with a low self-esteem, searching to find herself. Show Esperanza’s ideas were often innocent and childish as she believed that “Earl is married and has a wife somewhere… mama says she is a skinny thing, blonde and pale… I saw her once and she is not that way at all. And the boys across the street says she is a tall red-headed lady… we never agree on what she looks like…” Esperanza still has the mind of a child and does not realize that they are talking about several different women.The thought of an old man with many girlfriends never occurred to her because she was raised to believe that when you grow old you get married. By this she proves how unaware of the real world she is and she shows the reader her closed minded side. A side that thinks in black and white only, where your either rich or poor, smart or stupid, pretty or ugly. Interestingly, while Esperanza believes in the good in everyone else, like Earl, she does not believe in herself. Esperanza constantly puts herself down, like when she states, “I am an ugly daughter. I am the one nobody comes for. She feels different from everybody else; she thinks her hair is weird, her name is difficult, she is not pretty. She lets the feelings she has for the street she hates intertwine with her feelings she has about herself and because she is ashamed of who she is and where she comes from she blames her situation on Mango Street. In this way Esperanza is unlike the other girls on Mango Street, who merely accept their childhood and do not battle it. Moreover, Esperanza had her own ideas on who she should be and thought, “I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. She does not want what her neighbors have, especially if it means it will prevent her from leaving Mango Street. She seeks to find her own identity, one that is independent, one that is successful, one that is fun, one that enables her to escape. By the end of the novel, Esperanza begins her growth, physically and mentally, into a mature, confident and optimistic teenage girl. Esperanza begins to learn right from wrong, she learns what she should do and what she should not, and she shows how grown up she is when See Entire Document Join FreeBookSummary to continue reading See Entire Document Join FreeBookSummary to continue reading Page: 1 of 2 she realizes making fun of her sick aunt was a mistake; she said, “We didn’t know.She had been dying such a long time, we forgot… [And] most likely I will go to hell and most likely I deserve to be there. ” Esperanza is turning into someone who is aware of good and bad, who can make responsible decisions, who’s conscience troubles her. And she comes to realize that although she cannot change the past, she can prevent mistakes from happening in the future. She starts to reflect on some of her most shameful actions and finds room for improvement, which is a trait rarely found in a teenager.Metaphorically, she has shed her ignorant “skin” and begun to grow a more aware, self-improving one. As well as correcting past mistakes, Esperanza also takes interest in the future by setting goals and believing in herself. In the beginning of the novel, Esperanza is depicted as a despairing girl with low self-esteem, but in the end, when she states “One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away,” she proves how positive and sure of herself she has become.Instead of dreaming of the possibilities, Esperanza began to search for her way out and found both herself and the opportunity to escape, in her writing; consequently, In her demand to leave, she discovered what made her unique, what would set her free, what would make her successful in the life she dreamed of. However, along with her grown up goals came a grown up body. Like any normal teenager, Esperanza’s body began to change, as well as her emotions and feelings, and the reader sees her dealing with this when she describes her hips: “One day you wake up and they are there.Ready and waiting like a new Buick with the keys in the ignition. ” ”They boom like roses, I continue because its obvious I’m the only one who can speak with any authority; I have science on my side. ” She is beginning to transform from a girl to a woman and it is shown not only through her physical appearance but also through her sexuality. For example, she began to have feelings for a boy named Sire, her first crush. Before then she believed that boys and girls were supposed to live in separate worlds.With her hormones in full swing, Esperanza is obviously not a little girl anymore. Through the 44 vignettes that make up the novel, Esperanza begins to metamorphose from girl to woman. With a new body and mind, Esperanza starts to dispose of her childish ways to make room for the successful, independent women she is determined to be. Because of this, her character changes and continues to change drastically from the timid, innocent child she was; to the responsible, strong-minded woman she is and will become. What is Chapter 4 about in house on Mango Street?Esperanza describes what she knows of her great-grandmother – she was a “wild horse of a woman” who did not want to get married, but was eventually forced into it. She never forgave her husband and spent her whole life looking out the window.
Who Assaulted Esperanza?Summary: “What Sally Said”
She tells Esperanza that one time her father beat her with his hands instead of with a belt.
Who kisses Esperanza house on Mango Street?The older man tells Esperanza it's his birthday, and asks her for a birthday kiss. As she leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek, he grabs her face with both hands and kisses her hard on the mouth.
Does Esperanza love Sally?Esperanza romanticizes Sally, and it is clear that she is beginning to choose Sally's path, at least temporarily. Rachel and Lucy will rarely appear in the story anymore, as Esperanza tries to become Sally's best friend.
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Chapter 4 House on Mango Street
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