I really enjoyed the book I chose for our Coming Of Age unit, The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The House On Mango Street is the story of an adolescent girl Esperanza, who lives in a poor neighborhood in Chicago. Throughout the book, Esperanza finds herself, and figures out who she is, what she wants and what she deserves. It's told in the form of vignettes which gives it a deeper meaning.
The line that struck me most about coming of age, was the very last line "They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out." This line hit me so much because it showed how much Esperanza had changed throughout the book. In the beginning, it started with her not having much confidence, hating her name, and being afraid of the world out in front of her. For Esperanza to make her own decisions and throw them out into the air like no one can hear, is a big change in her character. It shows how much bravery and courage she's gained. Even though she had many inner and outer struggles, this shows how you can't just get to the top. You have to start down low without an idea of who you are, and gradually build up to a girl who can soar up high. This quote shows how Esperanza is willing to come back to the people who are at their confused point, and help them build up to their strong point too.
I think the Mango Street house helped her figure out who she was. For most of her life on Mango, Esperanza kept saying how she didn't like living there. She said she was ashamed of it and felt like she didn't belong. This is what makes us realize what we take for granted in our lives. Esperanza's role in the family was to look after her siblings. I think doing this made her skip by her youth hood in the blink of an eye. This made Esperanza realize much faster than she should have. She should have enjoyed being a child. She should have loved making new friends and she should have enjoyed having a place to sleep at night. Making her look after the children as if she's the mom, makes her see all the wrong in her life and in the world. Should she have stayed younger for more time, or did she come of age at the right time?
In the end, it's important that Esperanza put the puzzle pieces of her life back together. Esperanza had gone farther than just learning who she was, but she was also willing to help people who couldn't get past their struggles. Like the quote says, Esperanza is ready to help other people who cannot out. She says one day she will pack up her bags of books and paper. One day she will say goodbye to Mango. But I think Esperanza has already said her goodbyes to Mango...at least the memories of her childhood that she didn't want to remember. Even though Esperanza is still on Mango, she has grown through the hardships of her living in the home. Esperanza has Come of Age, and she's now ready to have a house of her own.
