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Abby Sebert

Humanities-1/2
10 Nov. 2014

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Escaping On Her Own


Eleanor Roosevelt once said, The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
their dreams. When Roosevelt said this, she was trying to help people see that every dream is
important and that if a person believes in them, they can come true. Esperanza realizes this and
decides to follow her own dream of escaping her poverty. In Sandra Cisneros's novella, The
House on Mango Street, Esperanza is put in situations with people who are restrained from
trying to achieve their dreams by gender, socioeconomic level and ethnicity. Through the
influences of the characters Alicia, Marin and Sally, Esperanza realizes that she can only count
on herself to get out of the treacherous obstacles of Mango Street.
Marin influences Esperanza in positive and negative ways. Readers can see the negative
influence Marin has when Esperanza explains, "Marin, under the street light, dancing by herself,
is singing the same song somewhere. I know. Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone
to change her life" (Cisneros 27). Marin shows Esperanza one way to get out by attracting a man,
but Esperanza is a very insecure girl and does not think a man will look her way, let alone take
her away. Marin wants a man to come and take her away from Mango Street, but only Esperanza
realizes that trying to escape through a man will lead her to being trapped and abused. On the
other hand, Marin influences her in a powerful way when Esperanza states, "Straight ahead,
straight eyes. I walked past. I knew he was looking. I had to prove to me I wasn't scared of
nobody's eyes, not even his" (Cisneros 72). Marin tells her to not be afraid of boys and so when
Esperanza notices a boy taking interest, she is not afraid. Even

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though Marin wants to get out through a man, she teaches Esperanza to be strong and not let
boys get the best of her. Good or bad, Esperanza is influenced by Marin.
Alicia is the only girl who influences Esperanza in a positive way. This is clear when
Esperanza declares, And anyway, a woman's place is sleeping so she can wake up early with the
tortilla star, the only one that appears early just in time to rise and catch the hind legs behind the
sink, beneath the four-clawed tub, under the swollen floorboards nobody fixes, in the corner of
your eyes (Cisneros 31). Esperanza is saying that women on Mango Street typically work in the
house and abide by their husbands. Esperanza does not want that so she decides that she needs to
find another way out. Alicia is an example of a dedicated woman who pursues throughout
difficulties in her life. In addition to the ways Alicia has inspired her Esperanza expresses,
Alicia, who inherited her mamas rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for
the first time at the university. Two trains and a bus, because she doesn't want to spend her whole
life in a factory or behind a rolling pin (Cisneros 32). Alicia wants to get out through school.
She does not want to be a stereotypical working woman and stay on Mango Street. Esperanza
wants to do the same and instead of depending on men as an escape, she is inspired by Alicia to
use education and her writing to leave Mango Street and achieve her goal. Alicia clearly
influences Esperanza in positive ways.
Sally influences Esperanza in positive ways through her questionable choices. This shows
when Esperanza says, Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but
married just the same. She met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar, and she married him
in another state where its legal to get married before eighth grade. She has her husband and her
house now, her pillowcases

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and her plates. She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape (Cisneros 101). Sally is a
young woman who is very beautiful and men practically worship her. She finds her way out of
Mango Street by finding a man to take her away. The sad part is that she is roughly forteen years
old and getting married to a grown man out of desperation to escape her abusive father. Sallys
desperate act to get out, influences Esperanza to see that she will be better off trying to escape on
her own. Another example of a questionable choice Sally makes is marrying a man who abuses
her. This is evident when Esperanza says, Sally says she likes being married because now she
gets to buy her own things when her husband gives her money. She is happy, except sometimes
her husband gets angry and once he broke the door where his foot went through, though most
days hes okay (Cisneros 101). Sally refuses to leave her abuser. Like all of the women on
Mango Street in an abusive relationship, Sally thinks that her husband will change. Men still
hold all of the power over women and Esperanza is the only one who realizes this. Because of
Sallys poor decision Esperanza is influenced to be an independent woman and to not depend on
a man to take her away from Mango Street.
Even though some of their choices show Esperanza examples of what she does not want
to become, Marin, Alicia and Sally also influence her to be an independent woman. If Esperanza
had never met Marin, Alicia and Sally, she may have never realized that it is crucial for every
women and herself to have the confidence to rely on themselves. These three young women
teach Esperanza that it will only hurt her to rely on a man for her rescue. Every girl living in a
harsh place like Mango Street can benefit from reading about the struggles Esperanza faces.
What they can take away from this novella is that if a person believe in themself, they have the
power to live a successful and powerful life.

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Work Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

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