It was my eight grade year and I had just moved into a new town where everybody was wealthy. The new school I was going to was a private school and I already knew that I wouldn’t fit in there. On my first day there I realized just how big that difference would be. Everybody was wearing nice new clothes and they all had this stuck up attitude about themselves as if they were better than everyone. I stuck out like a sitting duck with my poor clothes. It was as if every day was a new day  for kids to show off how rich they were. To make things worse I had to ride the bus home from school every day which seemed to be the biggest indicator that my family had no money. Everybody in school new that my family was the poorest in the city. They all laughed at the raggedy apartment I lived in and bragged about how nice their houses and cars were. I felt so different that I just decided not to go to school anymore. I was sick and tired of being the poor one that everybody made fun of so I just stayed at home all day. All I wanted was to be like the other kids who had nice houses and normal lives, but this was just a dream, a dream that I could always hope for but never achieve. Although I new I would always be the poor one, I just decided to continue on with my life and push through it. After all, things could only get better from this point.

This is a photo of poverty stricken Columbia where the housing and living conditions are some of the worst in the world. My source was Wikipedia and the photo was taken from a man by the name of Luis Perez, a local citizen born and raised in the poverty of Columbia. He has seen first hand what it is like to be surrounded by such misery and despair and dreams of a better, prosperous life for himself and his family just as Esperanza does in “The House on Mango Street.” I chose this picture because it represents everything that Esperanza must be going through with her family while living in the poverty of Mango Street and allows me to visualize what it must be like to live in such a terrible atmosphere. The picture reminds me of what a great life I have living where I do and that most people aren’t that lucky. At least I have a roof over my head and a hot meal every day. Most people such as Esperanza and Luis don’t always get to enjoy these privileges and seeing pictures like these always remind me to never take anything for granted. I can only hope that one day everybody can enjoy the luxuries of a house with good food and clean water and that the world will be rid of poverty forever. These are the reasons why I selected such a picture to reflect the theme of poverty that is present in Sandra Cisneros novella.

In the novella “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros uses a five star quote about the beating of Sally in the entry “What Sally Said” on page ninety-two. During the first paragraph of this entry, Cisneros uses the quote “[Sally’s father] never hits [Sally] hard. She said her mama rubs lard on all the places where it hurts. Then at school she’d say she fell. That’s where all the blue places come from. That’s why her skin is always scarred.” She goes on to say that “A girl that big, a girl who comes in with her pretty face all beaten and black can’t be falling off the stairs.” This quote stands out to me because it expresses how cruel people can be. It is hard for me to understand how somebody who is family, somebody who is suppose to love you, can sit there and beat you like an animal. What amazes me the most is the fact that people know that this girl is getting beaten yet they sit there and do nothing to stop it. How can they sit back and watch an innocent young girl get abused? Most of all, how can the father justify what he’s doing? What kind of a person has the ability to beat somebody that they brought into the world, somebody that they are suppose to love and care for? These are the heart-breaking reasons that made this quote stand out so much to me and I hope that it stands out for others as well.

Dear Sally, it’s Esperanza again. I’m just writing you to see how you’re doing. I know it’s tough living with a family like yours with all the strict religious rules and everything Just stay strong, I know you can make it through it. I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if I had to live under the same circumstances, never being able to go out, to dance, to be a normal child like all the other children. Do you remember the other day when I asked you if you ever just wanted to run away? I think that you should really consider it. I saw you at school today all black and blue, most likely from your mean old father beating you helpless. A nice girl like yourself doesn’t deserve to endure the punishment you receive. It’s unfair that you have to stay with a family like that, like one who doesn’t love you. I wish you could stay with us for a while, have a sleep over or something like that. It would be good for you to finally get out of that miserable household and I’d love to have somebody to hang out with and do girl things. I guess that is just a dream for both of us, one that could never come true, not with a father like yours. Anyways, I hope you took everything I said to heart and make sure to never give up hope! One day you will be free from such abuse and finally be able to live the life you deserve! Love, your friend, Esperanza.

In “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, a theme of growth/maturity is explored through her profound use of symbolism throughout the entry “Hips.” Esperanza soon learns the importance of hips and begins to understand life a little better as she continues to mature. For example, Cisneros uses the quote “[Esperanza continued because it was obvious that she was the only one who could] speak with any authority” (Cisneros 50). This statement is symbolic of maturity as it expresses how Esperanza was beginning to grow up and act like an adult, approaching matters more seriously and with authority. Furthermore, it depicts Esperanza as becoming a young woman who is ready to take charge of life and learn all the truths that she could never understand before, no matter what they may be. Also, Cisneros explains that “you gotta be able to know what to do with hips when you get them… You gotta know how to walk with hips, practice you know” (50). This clearly expresses how hips are a symbol of maturity and that as you grow older, you must learn to use these hips to your advantage. Likewise, it indicates how Esperanza is becoming a women and developing these new hips even though she may not understand how to use them yet. Thus, Cisneros is able to achieve her theme of growth and maturity as well as express to the audience how Esperanza was beginning to become a part of that, learning what she can from these hips.

In “A House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, a theme of poverty is expressed in three sections through the living conditions and lifestyle of Esperanza and her family as well as others around them.

In the beginning of the book, Cisneros utilizes the family’s house to express to the reader how poor the family was. For example, she employs the quote “[The family was] using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk gallons (Cisneros 4).” Through this Cisneros indicates that the family was suffering through a terrible amount of poverty based on their current living conditions and expresses to the reader that the family couldn’t afford common necessities that are needed in everyday life. Also, she explores further into the family’s financial troubles when she states that “[They bought a used refrigerator from [the old man] once, and Carlos sold a box of magazines for a dollar (19).” This emphasizes how the family was struggling to get through day to day life and had to settle for the worst of things. From this it is clear to the reader that the family couldn’t afford anything but the cheapest and had to do everything in their power just to get and save a little bit of money.

By the middle of the book, Cisneros moves on to portray Esperanza’s lifestyle by exaggerating how little the family could afford. For example, she states that “[Esperanza got] to go to school with [her] mother’s letter and a rice sandwich because [they] don’t have lunch meat (44).” This expresses how the family couldn’t even buy lunch meat for their children and is important because it gets the point across that the family could afford nothing’ not even good food to eat. In addition, she utilizes the quote “The old saddle shoes [Esperanza wore] to school, brown and white, the kind [she got] every September because they [lasted] long and they [did] (47).” This emphasizes how poor the family was because they had to wear the same cheap shoes every year. This enhances the readers understanding of just how poor the family really was as they couldn’t even buy new clothes or shoes.

Towards the end of the book, Cisneros depicts Esperanza as being ashamed of who she was and what she came from. For example, she employs the quote “[Esperanza doesn’t tell her family she is] ashamed – all of [them] staring out the window like the hungry (86).” This shows how Esperanza was ashamed of her situation and made her feel like she was less than human. From this the reader can see that this much poverty is enough to make anybody ashamed of who they are. Furthermore, Cisneros goes on to explain that “Esperanza [quit school because she didn’t have nice clothes (91).” This emphasizes how Esperanza was sick of being poor and was ashamed to go to school because she couldn’t afford nice clothes. This is important because it expresses how Esperanza didn’t want to be different from the other kids because of her clothes and didn’t want poverty to control her life.

Overall, Cisneros has successfully achieved her theme of poverty through the harsh living conditions and poor lifestyle of Esperanza and her family.

When I was seven, my parents and I took a trip to Colorado for the summer. We went for about two weeks and the primary objective was to go fishing. After everything was packed up and ready to go, we set off. Traveling for countless hours, we finally made it to an isolated river deep in the Rocky Mountains. There we set up camp and prepared for the long day of fishing ahead. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing around me, the scene was too much to take in. The river itself seemed to wind like a snake for countless miles. Birds were chirping in the distance, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and there was a cool breeze flowing through the camp. The whisper from the wind was a singing choir. Our day had only just begun. After setting up camp and rigging the gear, my dad and I set off for the river. “Are we going to catch anything?” I questioned as we neared the sound of the water. At the time, I was still young and inexperienced in terms of fishing so catching something wasn’t concrete. It wasn’t long before we reached the river and were soon casting our lines into the watery abyss. “Why haven’t we caught anything yet?” I asked. “You just have to be patient.” My dad replied. The hours seemed liked years as we continued to catch nothing. Our luck was running dry and our patience thin. After about six hours of this routine, we decided to call it quits and head back to camp. Besides, we still had another day of fishing before moving on to our next location. I was confident that our luck would change after such an unsuccessful day. We would have to get up early the next day in order to make the most out of our time so I made sure to get a good night sleep that night and feel well rested in the morning. By the time morning came I was ready and full of energy for our last chance to catch a big one. It was a beautiful day outside and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was already starting to feel like luck was on our side. As my father and I approached the river we heard a huge splashing sound. We dashed to the bank and saw a giant fish leaping out of the water. My dad being the better fisherman took the first cast at it. He practically landed right on top of it and hooked the fish immediately. “Real him in, real him in!” I screamed as he struggled to get the fish in. It took us about twenty minutes in total to real the fish in and secure it in the net. We then proceeded to get the hook out of its mouth and marvel at its glory. It was nearly twenty-two inches in length and about two pounds. At the time I thought it was the biggest fish I had ever seen. I remember shouting with joy when he finally landed it but I knew we had to let it go after a while. My dad let me release it and I watched in amazement as it peacefully made its way back to the murky depths. I knew from that point on that I would always remember the adventure as the fish of a lifetime.

When I first moved to Texas after my parents got divorced, I had trouble making friends in White Oak. People would call me a fag because I was from California and the first year of school was miserable. It was around my second year at White Oak that I began hanging out with Walker. The reason I became friends with him is because we had so many things in common. For starters, we looked very similar. People would confuse me for him and vice verso. Another quality I found interesting was the fact that we thought alike. It was as if our brains were linked somehow. We would say things at the same time or understand what we were thinking just by looking at each other. By the time we had gotten into high school we were best friends. We spent most of our days hanging out playing baseball or some other sport. I had a lot of friends at this point in my life but I knew I could always count on Walker to be loyal and never betray me. I think what really strengthened our relationship is our years together in band. We were both two of the best percussionist in the band. We went through a lot on our band trips or our trips to San Antonio for State. It is all of these reasons that Walker and I have became such good friends and I am confident that we will share this friendship for years to come.

It was Friday night and my parents had decided to go out of town for the weekend, leaving me in charge of the house. Me being the crazy party animal that I am, saw this as a golden opportunity to throw a party on Saturday. After my parents left, I began making phone calls and posting on social media sites to let people know of my lucky situation. Soon word was out to the entire school about what was happening. After I felt that I had gotten the word out well enough, I settled down and went to bed for the night, excited for the day that was to follow. I slept well that night and by the time I woke up I was full of energy. I set up the house, ordered pizzas, and waited for the people to arrive. It was around seven p.m. when everybody started showing up and everything seemed to be going as planned. At about ten o’clock I began to notice the issue. More and more people kept showing up. I wanted a big party but I had never anticipated that many people. It had gotten to the point where I could no longer control what was happening so I just decided to let things happen. As you would’ve guessed, this was a bad idea. The party didn’t start dying down until about four a.m. I had around six hours before my parents would be home from their trip so I cleaned up as fast as I could. By the time my parents had gotten home, I managed to clean the whole place up. They never new what happened and I got away with the whole thing. From then on, I knew that would always be a night to remember.