Bibliographic Information: Cisneros, S. (1984). The House on Mango Street. Vintage Contemporaries, New York, N.Y. ISBN: 0679734775
Plot Summary: This story is written as a series of vignettes (short literary descriptions). The House on Mango Street is set in a low income Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza is the main character and she and her family move from an apartment to the house on Mango Street. Esperanza's development and maturation are explored, along with the harsh realities of growing up poor. Esperanza aspires to have her own home someday and leave her run-down neighborhood.
Critical Evaluation: The House on Mango Street has been described as a coming-of-age classic and is read and taught in many schools. It is very thoughtfully written and gives the reader much insight into the immigrant experience. It is interesting how Sandra Cisneros breaks traditional literary novel rules, such as having a plot. She is experimental and I kept trying to figure out if The House on Mango Street would be categorized as poetry or fiction. It is a mixture of both.
About the Author: Sandra Cisneros is an American writer. In her writings she draws on her childhood as an only girl with six brothers. Her family went back and forth between Mexico and the United States. She has worked as a teacher to high school dropouts, a counselor, an arts administrator, writer and poet.
Sandra Cisneros has also written Caramelo, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, My Wicked Wicked Ways, Loose Woman, and a children's book Hairs/Pelitos. She has received numerous awards for her works. In 1998 Cisneros established the Macondo Foundation which provides socially conscious workshops for writers.
Plot Summary: This story is written as a series of vignettes (short literary descriptions). The House on Mango Street is set in a low income Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza is the main character and she and her family move from an apartment to the house on Mango Street. Esperanza's development and maturation are explored, along with the harsh realities of growing up poor. Esperanza aspires to have her own home someday and leave her run-down neighborhood.
Critical Evaluation: The House on Mango Street has been described as a coming-of-age classic and is read and taught in many schools. It is very thoughtfully written and gives the reader much insight into the immigrant experience. It is interesting how Sandra Cisneros breaks traditional literary novel rules, such as having a plot. She is experimental and I kept trying to figure out if The House on Mango Street would be categorized as poetry or fiction. It is a mixture of both.
About the Author: Sandra Cisneros is an American writer. In her writings she draws on her childhood as an only girl with six brothers. Her family went back and forth between Mexico and the United States. She has worked as a teacher to high school dropouts, a counselor, an arts administrator, writer and poet.
Sandra Cisneros has also written Caramelo, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, My Wicked Wicked Ways, Loose Woman, and a children's book Hairs/Pelitos. She has received numerous awards for her works. In 1998 Cisneros established the Macondo Foundation which provides socially conscious workshops for writers.
Retrieved February 6, 2010 at: http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/chh/bio/cisneros_s/htm
Genre: Multicultural fiction, coming-of-age
Curriculum Ties: Immigrant experience, coming-of-age.
Book Talking Ideas: What is it like growing up in a poor Latino community? How does Esperanza rise above her circumstances?
Reading Level & Interest: 12 and older
Challenge Issues: I would not consider this book controversial and it is taught in many schools.
Reason for Inclusion: Understanding the immigrant experience from a young girl's viewpoint. Interesting writing style blending poetry with fiction.
Genre: Multicultural fiction, coming-of-age
Curriculum Ties: Immigrant experience, coming-of-age.
Book Talking Ideas: What is it like growing up in a poor Latino community? How does Esperanza rise above her circumstances?
Reading Level & Interest: 12 and older
Challenge Issues: I would not consider this book controversial and it is taught in many schools.
Reason for Inclusion: Understanding the immigrant experience from a young girl's viewpoint. Interesting writing style blending poetry with fiction.
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