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Throughout the novel Esperanza changes gradually becoming more  independent from her parents. Esperanza can be seen becoming more mature when she goes and gets a job to pay for her education in "The First Job". You can also see her mature more in "The Family of Little Feet" where she knows it's crazy to go talk to a drunk person asking if you look good in a shoe. Overall Esperanza has gone from a little girl into an independent woman in "The House On Mango Street".

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The girls were given pretty shoes that they got to run around in all day. They would get complimented by boys and girls would get jealous. A drunk even offered a dollar for a kiss. Esperanza says "Now you know to talk to drunks is crazy and to tell them your name is worse, but who can blame her"(Cisneros 41). We see her mature by saying this.

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"Embracing otherness, embracing myself", Ted Talk by Thandie Newton

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"Embracing otherness, embracing myself", Ted Talk by Thandie Newton

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Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself

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Actor Thandie Newton tells the story of finding her "otherness" -- first, as a child growing up in two distinct cultures, and then as an actor playing with many different selves. A warm, wise talk, fresh from stage at TEDGlobal 2011.

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This TED talk featuring Thandie Newton discusses the topic of otherness and recognizing that people's differences are not a bad thing. She says it's ok to be confused about who you are while growing up. Newton describes that as a newborn you start off with a clean slate and then you build your identity as you grow up. This is similar to Esperanza's situation because she is unsure of who she is and then we see her grown into her own person throughout the novel with many of the same struggles Newton faced while growing up.

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Esperanza getting her first job shows that she is growing up even more. She needs the money to pay for a Catholic high school because her dad says "nobody went to a public school unless you wanted to turn out bad"(Cisneros 53). Not only does she get her first job but everyone she is working with is older than her. She had to lie about her age to even get it. At the end of the vignette an older man comes in and asks for a birthday kiss. He grabs her face and kisses her. We see Esperanza grow up a lot throughout this vignette. She gets her own job to start to pay for her own things and has her first kiss as well.

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"Sandra Cisneros looks back as a writer in search of home", PBS interview with Cisneros

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"Sandra Cisneros looks back as a writer in search of home", PBS interview with Cisneros

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Well, you know what? People know me from my first book, but I don't mind that. That's my child. That's my first-born child.

And I have written many other books since then, and people love my first-born child, but it's been around on the planet longer than others, so people have had more time to work with that one. And I don't feel restricted or constricted with that book.

I feel as if it's my eldest child and he went to work and is earning money for his mom, and that's perfectly fine, so I can take care of the other kids.

(LAUGHTER)

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Sandra Cisneros looks back as a writer in search of home

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Writer Sandra Cisneros has spent her entire life searching for a sense of belonging, a search chronicled in a new essay collection, "A House of My Own: Stories From My Life." She sits down with Jeffrey Brown at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington to discuss her book, her life as a writer and her journey to find home.

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In this interview, Sandra Cisneros shares how she has felt out of place her whole life because she was an immigrant. She discusses how the United States has never felt like home and how she has changed so much since being there, especially when she was younger. In her book, "The House on Mango Street", the main character represents this feeling of being alone and not fitting in. Esperanza thinks that she does not belong on Mango Street and struggles with her identity while growing up. Esperanza, like Cisneros, was originally very innocent when she first moved. Automatically, both women felt like they did not belong where they were living. We can clearly see Cisneros' true feelings shine through her characters as they grow up, essentially without a home.

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"Who was it that said I was getting too old to play the games? Who was it that I didn't listen too?"(Cisneros 96)

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"Who was it that said I was getting too old to play the games? Who was it that I didn't listen too?"(Cisneros 96)

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This quote from "The Monkey Garden" shows Esperanza finally growing out of her younger years and becoming more of a teenager. She still wanted to go run and play with the little kids at the start but, all of her friends wanted to just stand and talk. When she came back she was horrified that Tito and his friends were forcing Sally to kiss them. No one else seemed to care. In the end, Esperanza went and cried in the garden that she said no longer felt like hers. She had no more desire to play and was finally growing into her teenage years.

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Growing up, I was forced to move around a lot due to my parents messy divorce. I ended up switching schools three times and moved into four different houses in the span of 5 years. This was very hard on me when I was younger because I was shy and struggled to make friends and feel comfortable at all of these different places. Similar to Esperanza, I found it difficult to make friends and really grow into the person that I am today. I know that everyone's stories of growing up are always going to be different, but this theme is especially universal because it is something literally everyone has to go through. Growing up can be really hard, but once you find yourself and where you belong, you'll know it's right.

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Growing up for me was not like it was for Esperanza. I have lived in the same house since I was two so I don't remember the house before that one much. Although I didn't move from house to house I moved from private to a public school. Doing this was hard for me. I had so many friends at my old school that I had to leave. I went to the new school not knowing anyone. It took me awhile to make some good friends but looking back on it now I'm glad I did it. I think doing this helped me grow into the person that I am today.

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Growing up for me was different I moved to America when I was 5 and didn't know how to speak or even understand English I had to learn quickly to learn and make friends. But then I started moving around like Esperanza did. I don't remember the first house I moved to here or where it was but I know that when I was in elementary I moved homes but lucky went to the same school I did move around like her so I understand if she felt like her life was unstable and she couldn't make any friends.

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Esperanza has gradually changed throughout the novel at first she was shy, dependent and cared what others thought of her but at the end of the novel she becomes more independent and confident in herself. The first example of her growing up and becoming more mature is when she gets a job to help out her family pay for school. Another example of her growing up and becoming more mature is when she knows not to talk to strangers when the bum in the ally asked her for a kiss for a dollar. Overall I believe Esperanza has changed drastically by becoming more confident in her abilities rather then in the beginning when she was shy, dependent and wasn't confident in her name and who she was.

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A metaphor is when one thing is compared to something else without using 'like' or 'as'. It basically says something is something else. In the vignette, "Darius and the Clouds", Darius tells Esperanza to look at the clouds. He says, "That one there. See that. That's God, Darius says" (pg 34). Darius is claiming that one of the clouds, an inanimate object, is God. This comparison shows how Esperanza's perspective is about to grow to look outside of herself and her street into something bigger.

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What are some of the challenges that you have faced growing up?

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Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase in sentences. In the vignette, "Four Skinny Trees", Esperanza states, "“Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.  Four who do not belong here but are here.  Four raggedy excuses planted by the city”. This repetition of the word 'four' was used as a way to connect the trees, Esperanza, and the city. This chapter shows us how Esperanza felt about herself and her street at this point in the novel. She was still struggling with her identity, sense of belonging, and physical appearance.

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A simile is when you make a comparison of something using the words "like" or "as." In the vignette "House of my Own", we see Esperanza use a simile. When talking about the house that she will have she says "Only a house quiet as snow...clean as paper before the poem"(Cisneros 108). By making this comparison, I think that she is saying she is ready for a house with just her living in it. She doesn't want to hear the noise of her siblings and parents. She doesn't have to share a room with her sister. She can finally do what she wants with the house.

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What are some events in your life that you feel really helped you to grow up and mature?

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Personification is giving an inanimate object human like features or characteristics. Cisneros used this a lot in her novel and it can especially be seen in "Four Skinny Trees". Esperanza describes the trees as so: ""Their strength is secret.  They send ferocious roots beneath the ground.  They grow up and they grown down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger.  This is how they keep" (pg.74). She says that the trees have human like body parts and complete human like actions. This shows the trees growth and how they managed on Mango Street which Esperanza then compares to herself and her situation which is very similar--trying to grow up on Mango Street.

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"One day you wake up and there they are. Ready and waiting like a new Buick with keys in the ignition"(Cisneros 49) 

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"One day you wake up and there they are. Ready and waiting like a new Buick with keys in the ignition"(Cisneros 49) 

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In the vignette "hips" we see Esperanza start to grow up physically. Her, her friends, and Nenny are all talking about what to do with hips. Esperanza started to develop hers one morning. This was a sign of her growing up. We also see her protect Nenny. Nenny said something dumb and Esperanza quickly jumped in and said something else before the other girls could make fun of her. Protecting her shows that she is maturing as well.

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appealing specifically to the five senses to create a picture or mood.

“It’s small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small…” (page 4)

“Can’t you see they smell like a broom.” (page 14).

“Because Lucy has Long legs she pedals.” (page 15).

“....Rachel and Lucy who have the same fat popsicle lips like everybody else in their family.” (page 17).

“...Great Big Cadillac with whitewalls and a yellow scarf tied around the mirror.” (page 24).

all of these quotes create an image in the readers head about what is being said.

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A hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to make a point about something. Due to Esperanza's childlike nature in the beginning of the novel, we see her use several hyperboles when describing things. In the vignette, "Those Who Don't", she claims, "Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we're dangerous.  They think we will attack them with shiny knives.  They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake" (pg 28). Esperanza is trying to describe the difference she feels between the poor people on Mango Street and the wealthy ones with nice homes and cars. She exaggerates that everybody who drives past Mango Street thinks this way about its residents which is simply not true.

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Alliteration is the repetition of a phrase or words that sound the same in the beginning of the word. Cisneros used alliteration when Esperanza was describing her dream house at the end of the novel. In "A House of My Own", she explains, "With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias” (pg 108). Esperanza explains to the reader things she would like to have in her house. She realizes a piece of her will always live on Mango Street, however, she is more mature and motivated to set her goals and go after what she now wants.

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This vignette has Esperanza talking about leaving Mango street. She starts by talking about how she makes up a story for her life. She imagines herself walking up the steps to the house where she doesn't want to belong. But she then thinks about leaving. She thinks about going away to college with all her books and papers. She can't wait to grow up and get out of the house on Mango street.