In the second chapter of "The House on Mango Street," Esperanza begins to describe her new neighborhood and the people who live there. She is immediately struck by the diversity of the community, noting that there are people of many different races and cultures living on Mango Street.
Esperanza's first impression of the neighborhood is not entirely positive. She feels that the houses are small and cramped, and that the streets are dirty and crowded. She also notices that the people who live on Mango Street seem to be struggling financially, as many of the houses are run-down and in disrepair.
Despite these initial negative impressions, Esperanza also begins to see the beauty and value in her new community. She observes that the people of Mango Street are friendly and welcoming, and that they work hard to make the best of their circumstances. She is especially drawn to the older women in the neighborhood, who she sees as wise and strong.
As the chapter progresses, Esperanza begins to form relationships with the people around her. She meets a girl named Lucy, who becomes her first friend on Mango Street. She also encounters a boy named Meme Ortiz, who she finds intriguing but also a bit intimidating.
Throughout the chapter, Esperanza grapples with the complexities of her new home. On the one hand, she is excited to be living in a diverse community and to be making new friends. On the other hand, she is also aware of the challenges and struggles that many of the people on Mango Street face, and she feels a sense of responsibility to help and support them in any way she can.
Overall, the second chapter of "The House on Mango Street" serves as an introduction to the neighborhood and its residents, as well as to Esperanza's own feelings and experiences as she begins to navigate her new home. It highlights the richness and complexity of the community, as well as the challenges and opportunities it presents to its inhabitants.
House on Mango Street, Chapter 2
. So wild that she refused to marry, utterly determined to be independent, she was at odds with her society. The kids are always getting into dangerous situatio. Her Papa's is like a broom, Carlos's thick and straight, Nenny's is slippery, Kiki's is like fur, her own is lazy, while her mother's is like candy circles and smells like fresh bread. The entire novel continues this way, with both random and not so random connections and logic. The horse is an animal that represents strength, and being born under this sign is supposed to be bad luck for women. She was named after her great-grandmother, who, like Esperanza, was born in the Chinese Year of the Horse.
The House on Mango Street Chapter Summaries
She… Dreams and beauty are spread throughout The House on Mango Street, and most often come as a means of escaping the harsh realities of life. When she goes to talk to her, the cat lady tells her that she is moving because the neighborhood is getting bad, which Esperanza knows refers to people like her moving in. Esperanza has not really learned how to tell stories correctly, and she relies on fragments that are grouped together loosely. Chapters 29—32 Esperanza feels a kinship between herself and the four trees the city planted in front of her house. A day or so later Esperanza meets three old women at the wake; they read her palm and tell her to make a wish. Esperanza must socialize with her younger sister Nenny, who, Esperanza notes, is too young and would not be her choice for a friend if she were not her sister.
Notes on Chapter 2
Esperanza first learns that the lack of language especially English means powerlessness, as with Mamacita, who is trapped in her apartment by her ignorance and fear of English. Chapters 37—40 Sally's father abuses her. This leads to Esperanza understanding the power of controlling language, which first comes through the idea of names. Despite the cat lady warning her not to, she agrees, with the help of two dollars that she takes from Nenny. There's a huge tree in the backyard "with fat arms and mighty famili. Chapter 1: The House as a Symbol of Women's Economic Freedom: The House on Mango Street and A Room of One's Own Chapter 2: The House and Female Mental Entrapment: The Yellow Wallpaper and Wide Sargasso Sea Chapter 3: The House as a Metaphor for Social Performance: The House of Mirth and The Awakening Chapter 4: The House as a Symbol of Female Physical Entrapment: A Doll House and La casa de Bernarda Alba Chapter 5: The House as a Magical Space: The House of the Spirits and Like Water for Chocolate Chapter 6: The House as a Metaphor of Social and Racial Integration: Brown Girl, Brownstones and A Raisin in the Sun A house, seldom a home for women —the more luxurious or impoverished, the more imprisoning, the more beautifully designed, the more objectifying, the more socially abiding, the more privately constraining— is the focus of this useful introduction to feminist and comparative studies covering a wide range of works by authors from an equally wide range of countries. It is never shortened unlike her sister Magdalena, whom they call Nenny.
(PDF) The House on Mango Street
Esperanza wants to play with the younger children, but Sally stays on the curb talking to Tito and some other boys. More importantly, the women, whose strong spirits are unable to roam free, suffer as their independence is stifled. She lives with her parents in Chicago, and they change apartments often as their family grows. They see no problem in manipulating Sally for sexual favors, and she allows herself to be manipulated, as she has become accustomed to sex being her primary interaction and currency with men and lost hope for or even the understanding that there could be anything better. She is too young, and too involved, to narrate objectively, and we must piece together her stories. In "Laughter" she explains how even though she and Nenny don't look alike, they resemble each other in other ways, such as their sudden, loud laughter. She doesn't want to be like her grandmother who looked out a window all her life, tamed by her husband.
