FREE ESSAY ON THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

The House on Mango Street
We are all affected by cultural standards that our own society imposes to us as what is
perceive to be normal and acceptable. In United States, the American Dream- the dream of
success, wealth and power all rolled up into one influences many people especially in the
minds of the immigrants who perpetually believe that they can get a piece of the
so-called American dream. In the short story, the House on Mango Street by Sandra
Cisneros reveals the theme of illusion vs. reality conflicting with one another through
images and the setting of the story. 
We continuously wage war when it comes to dealing with the complexities of life. It is
easy to succumb to the illusion or to dream of becoming rich, having a beautiful home and
experiencing all of the good things in life. The author brings to light images in the
story that exemplifies the recurring need for the main character to escape the hardship
of her reality. The images of poverty could be seen as a part of the character's everyday
life. "The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn't fix them because the house was too
old...We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over in empty milk cartons
(Cisneros p. 122)." Within the confines of destitution, the character lives on the
illusion of someday she will have the beautiful home of her own. "They always told us
that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we
wouldn't have to move each year. And our house would have running water, and pipes that
worked. The character constantly reflects on the illusion, the image of that one lottery
ticket could be her chance that someday she will be rescued from the restrictions of
deprivation. "This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket. Our
house would be white with big trees around it. This was the house Mama dreamed up on the
stories she told us before going to bed." 
Regardless of how much we love to be suspended in a dreamlike state, reality always comes
crawling back. The author describes the setting in the story as small, crowded,
unappealing to the one's eyes. The character and her family moved out of Loomis street to
Mango Street, had to face harsh reality of her young impressionable life. " The house on
Mango Street is ours and we don't have to pay rent to anybody. But even so, it's not the
house we'd thought we'd get...The house on Mango street is not the way they told it at
all. It's small and red with tight little steps in front and the windows so small you'd
think they were holding their breath." The setting describing her new home in Mango
Street inflicts a feeling of being cramped and uncomfortable. The setting promotes the
reality of the character's real everyday life. The small windows, the tight steps express
the character's feeling of entrapment. The house personifies her prison-like setting of
being trapped in the realms of poverty. The setting of being cramped in a crowded prison
is the same as when she describes her family of six. "Each time it seemed there'd be one
more of us. Everybody had to share a bedroom-Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and
Nenny." The setting that depicts the lack of space is the invisible barrier- the same
obstacle that keeps the character's family trapped in the incarceration of a poor life. 
As we face the hardships of life, it is human nature to let our imagination to run its
course. Sometimes it is better let our dreams linger enough for us live our illusions
longer and longer. Although, the adversity that we face everyday keeps us grounded and
enable us to accept our current situations. Just like the character of Cisneros, there is
a relentless battle between the character's dream of one day owning her dream house with
enough washrooms, running water, real stairs, and a big yard with trees compared to the
bricks crumbling, swollen door, tiny window and one washroom of her current home. We
cannot blame her wishful thinking. Being trapped in the state of poverty is too hard even
for an innocent child to live in. I believe that it is not wrong to dream, it is not
wrong to hope and strive to achieve our desires. I think we should dream a little, it is
the only way we can keep our sanity when we see the realities of our brutal world. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. "The House on Mango Street." Literature Reading
And Writing. The Human Experience. 7th ed. Abcarian, Klotz, and 
Richardson. St. Martin Press: New York 1988. 122-123.