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"Someday I will have a best friend all of my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my having to explain them. Until then, I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor" (9). Boys and Girls

The significance to the theme is that Esperanza yearns for a close friend, one that she feels she can get along with and actually likes her for her. Throughout the novel readers can note that Esperanza longs to feel like she belongs, and have a friend that is not her sister. The last sentence, where she compares herself being tied down to an anchor, is an accurate description of the emotions she is feeling with Nenny. Nenny is her only real "friend", but she doesn't count because it's her sister.

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"If you give me five dollars I will be your friend forever...Five dollars is cheap since I don't have any friends except Cathy who is only my friend till Tuesday...but I like them. Their clothes are crooked and old. They are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks. It makes their bald ankles all red, but I like them" (14-15). Our Good Day

In this quote, we see that Esperanza is contributing money to buy a bike, but also is making new friends. Since Cathy will only be friends with her until she moves away, she sees that there are other girls like her and Nenny that will be their friends if they pitch in to buy a bike that they can all share. This goes along with the theme as we see Esperanza found a group that she can be apart of and feel like she belongs.

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"Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without having to explain them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor"(9).

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"Look at that house, I said, it looks like Mexico. Rachel and Lucy look at me like I'm crazy, but before long they can let out a laugh, Nenny says: Yes, that's Mexico all right. That's what I was thinking exactly" (18). Laughter

In vignettes previous to this, such as Boys and Girls, we see that Esperanza wants a friend other than her sister. Now, she has other friends - Rachel and Lucy. In this chapter Esperanza makes an out-of-the-blue remark, and Rachel and Lucy don't get it, but Nenny does. Readers can note here that Nenny seems to be the loyal sister, that is there to support Esperanza in her different remarks and make her feel that she is not stupid in saying these things.

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"Look at that house, I said, it looks like Mexico. Rachel and Lucy look at me like I'm crazy, but before they can let out a laugh, Nenny says: Yes, that's Mexico all right. That's what I was thinking exactly"(18).

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"That one? she said, pointing to a row of ugly three-flats, the ones even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes I nodded even though I knew that wasn't my house and started to cry"(45).

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"The boys and girls live in seperate worlds. The boys in their own universe and we in ours."

This metaphor is comparing the feelings that Esperanza feels toward her male siblings, and other male figures. She reflects that disconnect by saying they "live on seperate worlds", even though that is virtually impossible (in the present).

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A deliberate repetition of a word or phrase

"Cathy who is queen of cats and cats and cats. Baby cats, big cats, skinny cats, sick cats. Cats asleep like little donuts. Cats on top of the refrigerator. Cats taking a walk on the dinner table. Her house is like cat heaven"(13).

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A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim that is not meant to be taken literally.

"I have science on my side. The bones just one day open. Just like that" (50).

This is an example of a hyperbole because it's obviously an exaggeration. You bones don't just "open" when you are going through puberty, although they appear to do that. The bones gradually grows larger, but by the description that Esperanza is using she is exaggerating how one day they just bloom. Even with similar things when you age, you don't just change overnight, you gradually change, but she is exaggerating that change.

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DIction refers to the type of words and phrasing an author uses.

"No speak English, she says to the child who is singing in the language that sounds like tin. No speak English, no speak English, and bubbles into tears. No, no, no, as if she can't believe her ears" (78). No Speak English

This is an example of diction as it shows Mamacita's accent, and clues the readers to where she is from. Because the author incorporated Mamacita's way of speaking into this vignette, it adds to the theme of her only knowing a few English words and not wanting to speak another language.

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A simile is a comparison using "like" or "as".

"...and wishes there were sweeter drinks, not like an empty room, but sweet sweet like the island, like the dance hall down the street where women much older than her throw green eyes easily like dice and open homes with keys" (80).  Rafaela Who Drinks Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

These similes are comparing the sweetness of the drinks Rafaela is drinking, to the sweetness of things in life, like dancing and islands. This is showing readers that what Rafaela wants is a life where she can experience more sweetness that what she gets out of her coconut and papaya juice.

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The theme of friendship and belonging is an important theme in the novel The House on Mango Street. For someone like Esperanza, who feels very isolated and lonely, making new friends becomes an urgent and persistent goal for her. For example, in the vignette "Our Good Day," Esperanza sacrifices her friendship with Cathy by pitching in for a bike that she will share with her new friends, Lucy and Rachel. Cathy does not want Esperanza to be friends with Lucy and Rachel, but Esperanza knows that  Cathy is not really a real friend and Lucy and Rachel are.

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The speaker talks about how belonging is the start of how to find your true happiness. You will go through life and there will be good and bad relationships but you ultimately get to decide the path that you choose. Just like Just like Esperanza trying to search for her true belonging while losing and gaining relations.

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Transcript of "There's more to life than being happy"

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TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but having meaning in life -- serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you -- gives you something to hold onto.

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The theme of "Friendship and Belonging" is a prominent one throughout this novel. As Esperanza grows throughout the novel, she creates new friends and leaves old ones behind. One of her first friends on Mango Street was Cathy, but this cat lover would only be her friend until Tuesday, when Cathy was going to move out (13). Esperanza later ditched Cathy for two new friends, Rachel and Lucy, who she felt she belonged more with and clicked with better. In the vignette Our Good Day, Esperanza notes that she liked their "crooked and old" clothes, and their ""shiny Sunday shoes without socks" (14-15). Esperanza is developing here as she realizes she can find people who she feels more comfortable with and knows won't judge her and her circumstances. As Esperanza grows with her two other friends and sister Nenny, she realizes that there is more to life than feeling like an outsider, and that she can find for herself what it is like to truly belong.

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Has there ever been a time in your life when you have felt like Esperanza? Where you wanted desperately to fit in, and cared too much about other people's opinion?

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The theme of Friendship and Belonging in this novel is another way of describing the different emotions that Esperanza is feeling as she is growing up on Mango Street, and creating new friends. As she finds these friends, young and old, she also finds out things about herself. While it is important to Esperanza and is crucial, I feel it is important to me as well. As she did, I went through a stage in my life where all I wanted was to belong, and to have people's approval. I remember in middle school, the toughest time for me in that topic, I wanted to be in a sport so I could be a "popular kid". What I realize now is that all of that doesn't matter — what matters the most is how you present yourself and how much you value your own self-worth. There is a lot of toxicity in this culture among the younger generations, where it seems you have to fit into some group to be able to "belong".

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The speaker talks about finding the right friends will help you in your future life. It will show you lessons that you wouldn't have learned if they didn't come in my mind. Just like how esperanza wouldn't have experienced what happened to her if it wasn't for sally. Even though that experience was awful it showed her what life was really like.

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Friends William Young and Christopher Sweeney explain how their friendship helped them both through difficult moments in their life. They explore why friendships need to be places we can open up to each to each other in order to build strong, honest bonds that can end up being a lifeline.

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The theme of friendship and belonging in the book, "The house on mango street" Shows the reader how much friendship and belonging evolved Esperanza into a mature adult. Having a friendship is important in learning new things and experiencing new life lessons. I personally have gone through so many friendships. Some of them good and some of them bad. But I don't regret not having those bad friendships. It has made me learn so much. Esperanza also tries to find where she belongs . I always have wondered where I belong or where I fit in and I still haven't found it yet but maybe just like Esperanza, once I grow up and fully mature I'll find who I am as a person.

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Have you ever had a bad friend experience but then in the end it ultimately taught you some important lessons that helped you in the future?

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This video explores the importance of friendship and how we friends to grow as people. We also learn important things from friends that we couldn't otherwise.

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This painting/art work shows two women sitting together, presumably discussing things on their mind. Part of the importance of friendship is being able to have someone to confide in. As Esperanza grows in life, she finds more friends that she can feel like she truly belongs with, and who she can confide in.

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Esperanza, Rachel, Nenny, and Lucy are running in their high heels that they borrow from their neighbor. These shoes and them running represent the friendship and connect that they gained from this moment. By laughing together and experiencing this thrill together they are able to connect more and be better friends.

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"Windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath."

This quote is an example of personification as Esperanza is giving the windows a human characteristic of being able to breathe. She is also comparing their smallness to someone that wants to suck in all their air to save room.

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Major situational irony in the novel is when Esperanza's family desperately wants to move into a better place, a home that they feel safe and secure in, but end up living on the house on Mango Street. They later realize that this house on Mango Street is not as safe and secure as they wanted.  In the vignette The House on Mango Street, readers can see that Esperanza describes what her parents promised their family, a house "running water and pipes that worked", but they ended up with the opposite of what they wanted.

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The biggest symbol in the novel is the house itself, as it represents freedom and confinement, and fantasy versus reality. Firstly it represents freedom and confinement as Esperanza desperately wants to be free of this world on Mango Street, and live her own fantastic life with "running water and working pipes". This ties into confinement as she feels she is trapped her on this street, but knows eventually she will make it out, unlike many of her neighbors. The house also represents fantasy vs. reality as again, Esperanza wants a fantasy house that her parents promised her while she is denied that and has to face reality and her current situation.

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An example of dramatic irony is when Esperanza's mother said:

"I could have been somebody but I dropped out of high school because of my clothes...I was a smart cookie then."

This is an example of dramatic irony as the speaker is meaning the opposite of what she is saying. She may be saying that she is actually not a smart cookie, and that she is dumb for dropping out of school for something as small as clothing.

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Aunt Lupe tells Esperanza to keep writing, as words will keep her "free". Esperanza didn't know what this meant, but readers do. This is an example of dramatic irony for that exact reason, that the narrator doesn't know something when the readers do. This is a sign that Esperanza is too young to understand more difficult concepts.

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From the vignette The Monkey Garden, Esperanza describes the people who lived in the monkey garden previously as having "yakkety-yak" voices. This is an examples of onomatopoeia as it looks exactly as it sounds. The people she is describing are from Kentucky, so she is probably sounding out their accents.

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This is a link to a website that shows an what it feels like to belong and what it feels like to not belong. There is a group activity to show you that difference.

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Students will identify a range of responses individuals have at their disposal when reacting to exclusion, discrimination, and injustice. Students will be able to define the words bystander, perpetrator, victim, and upstander.

Students will understand the terms belonging and conformity.

This lesson is part of the unit Identity & Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies.

In Lesson 8, students explored issues of membership and belonging through a fictional and historical example. "The 'In' Group," a short reading included in this lesson, brings ideas about inclusion and exclusion to a more familiar context-a middle school playground. The narrator of the story, Eve Shalen, recounts her experience as an outcast among her peers. She highlights a moment in eighth grade when she was invited to join the "in" group. At times a victim of ostracism, Eve is confronted with a difficult choice about how to behave. Should she join the "in" group in taunting another classmate? Should she stand by as they read a classmate's diary? Should she try to stop them from violating her classmate's privacy? As students predict what they think Eve will do, they can identify the different roles people play in a community. Words such as victim, perpetrator, bystander, and upstander help students describe the behavior of individuals and groups they will study in world history. This vocabulary also helps students think about their roles and relationships within their own communities.

Eve's story also highlights the universal desire to belong to a community-a desire that can be seen in the behavior of ancient Egyptians as well as Mayans. In those societies, like many others, ostracism and exile were considered to be the harshest penalties. To achieve a sense of belonging, individuals often choose to conform to the norms and behaviors of the group. Indeed, Eve Shalen joins the "in" group in mocking a fellow student even though she knows that this behavior is wrong and hurtful. Throughout their study of world history, students will recognize examples of conformity to established customs, religious beliefs, and patterns of behavior. At times, conformity may serve a civilization well by maintaining stability and a sense of cohesion, whereas at other times conformity may lead to a society's decline, especially in times of environmental, economic, or political change.
Warm-up
Before students read Eve Shalen's story, have them spend a few minutes writing about times when they have felt included and excluded. To guide students' reflections, a set of warm-up questions have been included in this lesson plan.
Main activity
Divide the reading The "In" Group into two parts. Part 1 should contain the first three paragraphs of Shalen's story, and Part 2 should contain the the final paragraph (beginning with, "I sat down...). This way, students can predict what Eve Shalen will do and discuss what they think she should do before they actually read about her decision. Begin the activity by distributing a copy of Part 1 so students can read along while you or a student volunteer reads aloud. This story can also be read as a round robin read aloud. This strategy keeps students accountable for following along with the text because all students participate in reading. Typically, one student volunteers to read the first sentence, then his or her neighbor reads the next sentence, and so on.

After the class finishes reading Part 1, ask students to consider the question, "What are Eve's options?" As students list various choices Eve could make in this situation, record their responses on the board. Students may mention that she could participate in reading the diary, she could walk away, she could ask the "in" group for the diary so she can give it back to its owner, or she could tell the teacher. When you have a range of responses listed on the board, students can answer the following questions:

What do you think Eve will do?

What do you think Eve should do?

What do you think you would have done in this situation?

Next, have students share their answers to the first two questions. One way to structure this sharing is by using the barometer strategy. This teaching method asks students to respond to a question by standing on a specific point along a continuum. For this lesson, create an imaginary line in your classroom. The line should be long enough to allow all students in the class to stand on it. Tell the students that one end of the line represents, "Eve takes a stand against the 'in' group" and the other end represents, "Eve makes fun of the girl whose diary was taken." You can post signs in the room labeling the two ends of the continuum. Then ask students to stand at the point on the line that best represents what they think Eve will do. If students think that Eve will join the "in" group but not make fun of the girl, they can stand near the middle.

Facilitate a discussion in which students at various points along the line explain what they think Eve will do and what leads them to this conclusion. As they listen to their peers' comments, students can change their position on the line. If you have time, repeat this activity, but change the prompt so that students stand on the point along the continuum that represents what they think Eve should do. Again, ask students to explain their position on the line. After the barometer activity, students can return to their seats and read Part 2 of "The 'In' Group." Then have them respond to the following questions in writing and in a class discussion:

What did Eve do?

Why do you think Eve made this decision?

What does Eve mean when she writes, "Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself"?

Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Why or why not?

Follow-through
"The 'In' Group" provides an opportunity to discuss themes such as conformity, peer pressure, and belonging-themes that resonate with students' own experiences and that have shaped the behavior of individuals throughout history.

The following activity helps students develop a vocabulary they can use to analyze their own actions, the behavior of those around them, and the actions of individuals and groups in the past. Often when students think about acts of injustice, they divide those involved into two groups: the victims and the perpetrators. Yet others contribute to the prevention or the perpetuation of injustice. For example, a bystander is someone who witnesses or knows about an act of injustice but chooses not to do anything about it. On the other hand, when confronted with information about an unjust act, an upstander takes steps to prevent or stop this act from continuing. Introducing students to the terms bystander and upstander can help them recognize the consequences of their own actions (and inaction) and the choices of individuals and groups throughout history.

As a final activity, review the terms victim, perpetrator, bystander, and upstander with students, and ask them to apply these terms to "The 'In' Group." Following are some prompts to help guide this discussion:

In this story, who was the victim?

Who are the perpetrators?

Who are the bystanders?

Who are the upstanders?

In this story, Eve Shalen might represent a bystander. She did not steal the diary herself or do anything excessive to torment its owner. Yet, although she knew that reading the diary was wrong, she watched while the "in" group read it without doing anything to stop them. An interesting question to ask students is, "What would an upstander have done in this situation?"

To end this lesson, have students discuss the question, "Why do you think people do nothing even when they know something happening around them is wrong?" This is an ideal time to introduce students to the terms belonging and conformity. Often, because people want to belong to a community, they will adopt the values and behavior they think are most likely to be accepted by this group. Indeed, Eve Shalen wanted to belong to the "in" group so badly that she participated in reading the diary even though she knew it was wrong.
Curriculum connections: You can use the terms introduced here (victim, perpetrators, bystanders, and upstanders) to help students understand and interpret events in world history such as the trial of Socrates or the Spanish invasion of the Mayan Empire. Homework
Several important issues and new terms are introduced in this lesson. Allow students to choose from one of the following questions to respond to in their journals:

1. Pick a moment of injustice from your own life, from history, or from current events. Briefly describe this event. Then identify the victim, the perpetrators, the bystanders, and the upstanders. Finally, answer the question, "Why do you think people do nothing even when they know something happening around them is wrong?"

2. Identify a moment when you did something to fit in with a group. What did you do? Would you do the same thing again? Why or why not? When can it be useful to conform in order to belong to a group? When can conformity be harmful?

3. Write a short story in which the main character(s) deal with issues of conformity and belonging.

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Students will identify a range of responses individuals have at their disposal when reacting to exclusion, discrimination, and injustice. Students will be able to define the words bystander, perpetrator, victim, and upstander. Students will understand the terms belonging and conformity. This lesson is part of the unit Identity & Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies.