The House on Mango Street

Rating:
Summary: My thought on The House On Mango Street
Review: I find The House On Mango Street to be very different from most books. I think the book is very refreshing because of the way it is divided up into sepereate little stories. I like the way the author incorprated some Spanish words, to further make it more authentic. She makes one feel as though it really is a little girl writing the book. I found that I could relate to a lot of the topics the author wrote about. I am from a Hispanic neighborhood, and could relate to the fact that the non-Hispanics were moving out of the neighborhood becuase of the increase in minorities in the neighborhood. I felt the same as she did, sad and not understanding why. I think the author captured a lot the atmosphere that exisits in a minority neighborhood. I liked how one of the main themes in the story is growing up. Esperanza makes several statements showing she realizes she is no longer just an innocent child. She also makes many references of how men and boys are starting to look at her differently. I liked how the book shows that sometimes things are not aas simple as they may seem. Having the girls trying to act more grown up, escalates Esperanza and her friends encounter a bum that is willing to pay a dollar for a kiss. Here I question whether the girls were losing their innocence. In the book they mention how the girls wear high heels for a couple of days prior to the encounter with the bum. To me this symbolized how the girls were no longer the carefree little girls they once were. I liked how the book talks about how beauty has a price. Sally and Rachael encounter things that the other girls do not. I think that this is very true. Girls who are pretty do encounter more problems that average looking girls. The book does a good job of describing different situations that they encounter in real life. Another important issue that the book takes on is illegal immigration. It speaks of a man by the name of Geraldo who is critically injured in an accident, yet the doctors do very little to help him. The fact that he has no papers or insurance somehow makes him less important to save. I think that him having no identification papers on him, make him a nobody in the doctors eyes. They view him as a statistic, a wetback, instead of seeing him as a human being. It doesn't hit them that he is someone's son, brother, husband, and father. This part of the book made me very sad. I guess because I know that it is real life what they are talking about. There are many victims out there that suffer because they don't know the language of this country. I liked the book for the most part, but I would have liked it if it was a little bit more clear on what it was saying. I got confused sometimes when she skipped years ahead or went back in time. I had to read the book two times in order to understand what was going on. I think if the book had things in more of chronological order. I did enjoy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Growing Up
Review: The House on Mango Street was a novel that brought about a whole new meaning of writing. The author uses a unique style that many people can relate to. She wrote the novel as if she was speaking to someone off of the street rather then using proper English. There are not that many writers who would write in that manner. Other writers are always worried about what the critics would say about the novel. This writer took a chance by being different from all the rest. The House on Mango Street was not a good book but it was also not a bad book either. The book made me drift off because it was not that interesting. There were a couple of chapters that I was truly into. For example, the chapter in which she had her fortune read by the witch. Also, when she went through that dramatic experience with the red clown at the carnival. Those were the most dramatic chapters. The other chapters simply bored me to death. The most significant thing that happened to Esperanza was the major change she went through. Her growth from a child into a yougn women. Although, she wanted so badly to get away from Mango Street, she will never be able to leave the memories behind. Mango Street is her home because that is where her heart is. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, she knew that one day she will return so that she may set a prime examples to others who live on Mango Street.

Rating:
Summary: The Big Picture
Review: Sandra Cisneros has used a style that is easy to read and understand. She chose to use vignettes to tell the story. She caught my attantion in the first few pages. The book is filled with hints that lead to the big picture. The main character, Esperanza, deals with issues such as maturity, friendship and sexuality. She grows from a young immature girl to a mature young adult. She learns to understand her surroundings and how to adapt to them. Eventually, she also learns to utilize them. Each story is somehow connected to another, so the reader must stay focused and put the clues together.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!!!!!!!A great book to enjoy!
Review: This book was one of many interesting novels that I have read in my entire life. Let me tell you a little bit about it. It begins with the writer, Sandra Cisneros, sharing with the readers how she and her family moved around a lot before they finally decided to make a small house, in a latino section of Chicago on Mango street, a permanent place to dwell. All of their life they have been living in a place where there were more than one family. I remember reading about how living in a house was different for them because they were accustomed to doing a lot of sharing of things and doing things that you can normally do if it was just your family in one house. They showed that it was wasn't good to continue living in a apartment because they couldn't make noise when they wanted to, they had to share everything, and they had to pay rent a lot. So making the adjustment from an apartment to a house was going to be a little complex for them, but it was something they looked forward to. Although this not the dream-house she listened to her parents talk about all the time, she becomes disappointed by the overall quality of their house. Esperanza is not only ashamed of her home, but she is also uncomfortable with her outside appearance, which she feels does not convey the true personality hidden insider her. She is also very self-conscious about her name, which was always mispronounced by teachers and peers at her school. She was named after her great-grandmother, whose was involved in a terrible marriage; in result of that, Esperanza vows that she will not end up like her grandmother and let her life go right out the window. So in order for her to break free from her name connotations, she longs to rename herself "Zeze the X," a choice she finds more reflective of her true self. Although the novel does not follow a chronological pattern as often found in most novels, a story emerges, nevertheless, of Esperanza self-empowerment and will to overcome obstacles of poverty and race. This book is very poignant and it opens your eyes to view the world with a critical eye. This book is great and it is one I recommend that you pick up soon.

Rating:
Summary: A well written book
Review: "The House on Mango Street" was a very well written and articulate book. It related to me on so many different levels and took me back to when I was Esperanza's age. Even though we didn't go through the exact same things I remember being that age and experiencing new things. That age is an awesome age for picking things up and it's the time that you really develop your personality. Sandra Cisneros took her readers on a journey and really portrayed the world through a young girl's eyes.It was very descriptive and very imaginative. At times it was also very deep and surprising. All in all I would say that "The House on Mango Street" is a very good book and I recommend it to people of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: A confusing but interesting book
Review: In my opinion, The House on Mango Street, was a very interesting book, although at some times it was confusing. The book tells the life of a young girl named Esperanza and her journey through developing her womanhood. The book was written like the little girl was talking to someone off the street. This made it easy to understand, but at many times there wasn't enough detail given to the situations that she was in. This ambuiguity kept the reader on his/her toes to get what they though she meant out of the statements, but at the same time it got frustrating because the reader couldn't understand what was going on. For young girls, I think the book would be very interesting for them to read. It tells about the stuggles with boys and attention that a girl can go through to fit in with what she thinks is the cool crowd. The girl eventually finds out that this is not the kind of treatment that she wants for herself, and this is a lesson that alll young girls need to learn. The House on Mango Street was confusing but the positive message that is sends to young girls was worth the ambuigity.

Rating:
Summary: A House that Speaks to the World
Review: As a teacher in a rural high school with a student population that is 98% Latino most years and the author of a mystery series featuring a Latino private investigator, I can vouch for the power of Sandra Cisneros's HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. It is written in deceptively simple English--perfect for teenagers still struggling with their second language (or third language for youths who first learned to speak an indigenous native language). It tells the tale of a girl named Esperanza as she learns about life growing up in Chicago living in a house on Mango Street. In a series of powerful vignettes, Cisneros reveals the truth about the girl's life--a truth that Esperanza has not quite yet realized. While the book has a focus on a Latino girl, the book is universal. You don't have to be a Danish prince to be touched by HAMLET, and the same is true about THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. The vignettes illustrate Esperanza's life, learnings, and yearnings. They reveal her dreams--dreams that reach far beyond Mango Street.

Rating:
Summary: Personally, it wasn't my favorite
Review: I thought that this book could have been a lot better if it didn't concentrate on the whole neighborhood. It got confusing with all the people. I did like that it told most of Experanza's feelings. If you want a book that you could read in just one sitting then this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: cool, and honest...breaking
Review: I love the short stories in this book, they are well written, and honest. I annot pick in story in particualr to talk about cause it has been ages since I read this. Its provacative and spellbinding.

Rating:
Summary: House on Mango Street
Review: The House on Mango Street follows the coming of age of young Esperanza through a series of vingettes.Though some consider it the newest in great literature, I disagree. It is fairly off the wall and is not to be compared to the likes of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The lack of quotaion marks throughout the novel left me wondering if the author had graduated from grammar school. Another annoying feature of this book is that it has no continuity. The story simply jumps from place to place with no warning and is garranteed to give the reader whiplash. Call me old fashion, but I would prefer Oliver Twist to this novel any day.