The Raising of the Children

In the House on Mango Street the girls and the boys are raised differently. All of the boys are worked a little harder, and raised to be a little tougher. I think that t is good to raise your children to be tough because if they ever get into a situation where they have to defend themselves they will be less likely to be injured. The girls in this story are raised to be very women like, which is good to a certain extent. Women are seen as more vulnerable in our society which means they are expected to be weaker, when really they don’t have to be. In the vignette entitled Red Clowns Cisneros writes:

“The one who grabbed my arm, he wouldn’t let me go. He said I love you Spanish girl, I love you, and pressed his sour mouth to mine.

At this part of the story Cisneros is waiting for her friend Sally by the red clowns. She is approached by a bum and held against her will. If Cisneros would have been raised to be able to defend herself this would have never happened. All she would have to have done is to know the right place to hit him, and then run as fast as she could. This is why I think she should have been raised differently. In my own life I kind of see the same things. There will be a boy who is raised with tough love and his sister who is pampered every day. I predict that in the future the boy will grow to be more rugged and be able to take care of himself. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the sister. Since she is so used to having things handed her when she gets out into the real world she will be lost with no hope. This is sad because if the kid‘s parent raised them both equally with the same amount of work they would most likely be fine in the future. Raising you kids equally will benefit them in the long run, so it is better to start early.