The House on Mango Street



“The House on Mango Street”  (pages 3-5)

•    What is the point of view of this book?
•    How does the author identify the house on Mango Street?
•    Draw a T chart comparing the girl's dream house with the real house.
•    Describe your street and house. Use a lot of adjectives.

“Hairs” (pages 6-7)

•    Why is hair important?

“Boys & Girls” (pages 8-9)

•    How are expectations for the boys and girls different for the storyteller?

“My Name” (Pages 10-11)

•    Why isn’t she happy with her name? What does this tell us about her personality?

“Cathy Queen of Cats” (pages 12-13)

•    What do you learn about Esperanza’s neighborhood from the four paragraphs in this chapter?

“Our Good Day” (pages 14-16)

•    What is the mood of the chapter?
•    Make a list of upbeat (optimistic, cheerful) words and phrases from this chapter.

“Laughter” (pages 17-18)

•    What is the special bond between Esperanza and Nenny? How is it expressed?

“Gil’s Furniture Bought &Sold” (pages 19-20)

•    How does the author describe Gil’s shop?

“Meme Ortiz” (pages 21-22)

•    What is ironic and childlike in the chapter?

“Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin” (pages 23-25)

•    What one word would you use to describe each of Louie’s cousins?

“Marin” (page 26-27)


•    What advice does Marin give Esperanza and her friends? Is it good advice? Why?

“Those who don’t” (page 28)

•    Who are the outsiders to Esperanza’s neighborhood?

“Alicia who sees Mice” (pages 31-32)

•    Why is Alicia afraid of fathers?


 “Hips” ( pages 49- 52)

The roles of women are discussed in this chapter.  What roles do the girls mention in their rhymes?  What do the comments about what hips are for show about the girls and their ideas about women and women’s roles?


At what age did you feel that you had left your childhood behind?  When did you feel that you were becoming an adult?   Have you felt that?  How would you describe growing up?

“The First Job”

The exploitation of women is a major theme of this novel.  How is this theme developed in this chapter?

In this chapter, Esperanza’s trusting nature is abused.  Has there been a time in your life when you feel that your trust in people put you in a difficult position?  Do you think it is better to be trusting or cynical?  Why?

“Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark”

The strength of and ties to family are shown in this chapter.  What lines let you know that Esperanza is aware of her need for her family?  


Esperanza is aware now that at some point in her life she will lose her parents.  Although she is growing up and preparing to be an adult, she realizes that her parents are a part of her home and she is not ready to do without them.  What parts make up your idea of a home?  What parts of that home could you do without?  What parts must you have?

“Born Bad”
Explain the significance of the following quotes.

You must keep writing.  It will keep you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn’t know what she meant.

1.    How does the description of her aunt’s body wasting away show Esperanza’s awareness of her aunt’s suffering?  What similes and metaphors are used to describe it?
2.    What lines in this chapter create the sense of guilt that the narrator feels?  
    
3.    Light is used as a metaphor in this chapter.  What does it represent?
    
4.    What cultural myths and values are presented in this chapter?

Esperanza connects her aunt’s death with the imitation game that she and the other children played.  Have you ever imitated or mocked someone else?  Did you feel guilty?  Do you feel guilty now?
Esperanza  questions why people get sick or injured.  She ends up believing that it is just chance.  What do you believe?

“Geraldo No Last Name”

This chapter is another social criticism.  The repetition of the questions reinforce the idea that Geraldo didn’t matter to the society in which he lived.  What were the questions? How did the questioning of the police imply that Geraldo brought the accident on himself?

What actions and lines support Marin’s belief that Geraldo could have been saved?

1.    What role does the repetition in this chapter play in the development of the theme?

This chapter is a social commentary.  Are there still people in society that are treated the way that Geraldo was treated?  If so, what should be done about it?  Can anything be done?


“Four Skinny Trees”

•    In what ways does Esperanza identify with the four skinny trees?

 “No Speak English”
•    Mamacita is homesick. She is refusing to try to belong in America. Describe a situation in your life when you refused to try to fit in. Or describe a time in your life when you were homesick.

“Sally”
•    According to Esperanza what does Sally want?
•    The theme of the abuse and exploitation of women is continued in this novel. Describe society’s perception of Sally. Describe the reality of Sally’s life.
•    What similarity does Esperanza see in Sally?

“Bums in the Attic”

•    This chapter is a social commentary on class separation. What metaphor is used to represent the separation between the rich and the poor?

"Beautiful & Cruel" (pages 88-89)
1.    What does Esperanza want for herself?
2.    What is she fighting?
"A Smart Cookie" (pages 90-91)

1.    Why does Esperanza's mother speak of herself as a smart cookie in the past tense?
2.    What does Esperanza's mother know? What doesn't she know? Why are the two lists different?
3.    Why does Esperanza's mother bring up shame?
"What Sally Said" (pages 92-93)

1.    What is the main topic of this chapter?
2.    What does it mean to "break into his hands"?
"The Monkey Garden" (pages 94-98)

1.    How does the garden change when the monkey moves?
2.    How do Sally and Esperanza change?
3.    Why has the garden lost its special appeal?
"Red Clowns" (pages 99-100)

1.    What happens between Sally and Esperanza?
2.    Describe the assault in this chapter.
"Linoleum Roses" (pages 101-102)
1.    What is Sally's fate?
2.    Why does she marry the marshmallow salesman?

"The Three Sisters" (pages 103-105)

1.    Where does Esperanza meet the three sisters?
2.    Why do they predict her future? What is the prediction?

“A House of My Own”

  1. How does Esperanza describe her house? What does this say about her?
  2. What are your dreams in the future? What do you want to happen in your life?
“Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes”

What does she mean when she says “I’ve gone away to come back?”





What do each of these Cisneros phrases mean? Tell who is described, what the situation is, and what emotion is being expressed.



1.   "getting old from leaning out the window so much" (page 79)
2.   "cries because her luck is unlucky" (page 84)
3.   "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain." (page 88)
4.   "I was a smart cookie then." (page 91)
5.   "He never hits me hard." (page 92)
6.   "They didn't seem to be my feet anymore." (page 98)
7.   "One with laughter like tin and one with eyes of a cat and one with hands like porcelain." (page 103)
8.   "The boys and the girls live in separate worlds." (page 8)
9.   "It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color." (page 10)
10.   "Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life." (page 27)

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