Theme: House On Mango Street

The house on mango street was an autobiography in vignette form telling stories from Esperanza'a past. Her whole life she just wanted to leave Mango street and be free. She didn't like Mango street it was not what she wanted, she wanted a real house " it would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the the houses on T.V." (pg 4). I think that the theme of this book is adventure. Even though she doesn't climb through trees or hike a mountain, its a different type of adventure its an adventure through life. All the small random stories Esperanza tells us about are just part of her adventure and one day she will make it and leave Mango street." They will not know i have gone away to come back. For the ones i left behind. For the ones who cannot come out."(pg 110)

Direct Vs Indirect Characterization

Michelina’s Blog 9/10/09

Indirect Characterization

In "Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water" (pg. 62 63 64) Eseranza goes over to Elenita's home. "The top of the refrigerator busy with holy candles, some lit, some not, red and green and blue, a plaster saint and a dusty Palm Sunday cross, and a picture of the voodoo hand taped to the wall." After I read this section I was trying to figure out what she would be doing with all of these items. She could be religious, or have some other form of belief, and another thing that came to my head was why Esperanza was there. As I read on It explained that she was a card reader and was trying to help out Esperanza by trying to look into her future. All of those items on her fridge were symbols of what she was going to do.

Direct Characterization

In "A Smart Cookie" (pg. 90 92) Esperanza and her mother are talking. " I could've been somebody, you know? my mother says and sighs. She has lived in this city her whole life. She can speak two languages. She can sing an opera. She knows how to fix a T.V. But she doesn't know which subway train to take to get downtown. I hold her hand very tight while we wait for the right train to arrive." To me I thought that this particular vignette really let's us hear what the mother has to say. This is the first one that I have read that I can recall the mother really having a conversation. This vignette shows that the mother has lived her whole life in the same common area and wishes that she had done something more successful that maybe would have helped out her family. It was really well written and I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Track

Last year i joined the high tech high track team. My friends older sister was on it and ercouraged me to join. When i started off, i was doing way better than i expected, i could keep up at practice really easily and it was a really great feeling. That was the first time i started running besides in sports. Karina (my friends older sister) helped me out SO much she encouraged me and always told me how well i was doing she is a really big part of all my success on the team! My race that i ran was mainly the 16 hundred (1 mile) my fastest time was 6:18. i pushed my self the hardest i ever have and i am really proud of what i am now able to do. (Thats me in the front in the picture)