What's Next?

I think that Esperanza has a very bright and great future coming for her because she deserves it. After all that she has been through I think she deserves a break. After she was forcibly kissed in Red Clowns and after being crept on by a homeless person I think she deserves it. Another reason that I think she will have a peaceful life is because of the vignette title Bums in the Attic. She writes

“One day I’ll have my own house, but I won’t forget who I am, or where I came from. Passing bums will ask can I come in? I’ll offer them the attic; ask them to stay, because I know how it is to be without a house. Some days after dinner guests and I will sit in front of a fire. Floorboards will squeak upstairs. The attic grumble. Rats? They’ll ask. Bums, I’ll say, and I’ll be happy.”

I think that this quote shows that she is truly a caring, nice spirited person. Because of her care and attentiveness I think it will give her the strength to move forward. I definitely think that she will come back for the ones that she left behind because it is just in her character. Her conscious will tell her to come back because they need her. She even says her in the last vignette.

“They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.”

This quote shows that she will most likely come back to help the ones who cannot escape Mango Street. When somebody lives in a certain place for a long time they will feel like they owe something to that place before they leave. This is exactly what Esperanza is doing. She is repaying Mango Street by helping those in need, for example the bums in the Attic.

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.

Vignette project

The Devil’s Spike

All of the men on my dad’s side of the family have a little spike on their eyebrow. Some say that it’s just a random trait, but I call it the devils spike. It makes me feel like I’m part of the family. To me the ‘devil’s spike’ is kind of cool. It makes me unique and different than other people. It reminds me of where I’ve come from and what I have descended from. Nobody can take it away. The other day I noticed that my brother didn’t have one and I was confused. Why didn’t he have it? Was he not one of us? I thought about it for a long time, and decided he just didn’t inherit it. It all has to do with science or something like that. All of the men have done great thing and have all been individuals and different personalities. It mainly reminds me of my dad and everything he has done for me. It almost brings is closer, but we still manage to keep our distance. If I ever lost my ‘devil’s spike’ I would feel like I lost a part of myself.

Different

Why are you so different? You always act weird and you always dress weird. I don’t know, it’s just who I am. Today my friend asked me this, and that’s all I could say, I don’t know. Should I be normal I asked? Yeah because if you aren’t normal what are you. That’s why I always try to fit in and be friends with everybody so I’m not an outcast. I sometimes sit in my bed staring at the ceiling wondering how I can act to be normal. It normally takes a while, but I usually think of about one or two ways before I go to bed. The next day I will try to be quiet and not say something that would make me sound weird, but it never happens. So I’ll just go back to being my normal self weird and all, and it just annoys people. What can I do? I’ve tried everything, but it never works. I hope one day I will just find somebody who gets me and knows what I’m talking about. It’s not bad, but it’s just not good.

Happy New Years

It was New Year’s Eve, and I just had to go. My mom thought oh it’s too dangerous, and there’s drunk drivers everywhere, but I knew I would be fine. It’s just for a couple of hours I pleaded, but it seemed like her iron wall of defense was just not letting down. Stuck in her ways she repeatedly told me I wasn’t going to do anything that night and I was just going to sit at home with her all night and do nothing. I refused to come out of my room as I was mad at her. I think she saw the sadness of not being able to do what I wanted and took that into consideration. She appeared at my doorstep after I told her that I hated her and did the one thing I had never seen her do. She actually listened to me and let me be free. To me this was the greatest gift of all. I knew I would be fine because I know I could take care of myself. After all aren’t I the one she called the wonder boy? The boy who could do anything and still manage to be safe while doing it? I left for the bus stop and took one look back and just started on my way. The party wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but it felt like a milestone for me. I was finally able to stay out past midnight. When I got home around 2:30 in the morning my mom looked tired and relieved at the same time. I saw that look in her face that showed happiness and calmness. All was well.

Good Morning.

It’s so early that raccoons are still scurrying around. But they make no noise the only noise I hear is the voice in my head telling me to do what’s right. I keep putting it off for a while saying I’ll do it in a little while. Time passes and suddenly it’s about a half an hour later. Oh crap! Time to make it work. I start kind of slow at first, but the time is flying by so I start to speed up and do what I have to do. I feel like it took to long for the amount that I produced, but it was just enough to get me by. And that’s all that I ever do, is get by. I want to make a change to where I can commit to doing something regularly, but I can’t find the strength to do so. I need to look deep down and find a spark to ignite the fire of my brain. They say we only use the percent of our brain, but I want to use it all and make the most of it. So here it is.

the Color Red

In The House on Mango Street the color red and pink seem to show up quite a bit. To me the red symbolizes something that she has to do, but doesn’t necessarily want to do. On page 41 Cisneros tells about the time with her red high heels and her kissing a bum. She says

You are a pretty girl, Bum Man continues. What’s your name, pretty girl? And Rachel says Rachel just like that.

This is right before they kiss bum man, and it is obviously something that they don’t want to do. The bum man offers them money for it, and the girls don’t know any better. After this is all over they run home and put those shoes away and never look at them again. The second piece of red symbolism is on page four. This is where they are just moving into the house on Mango Street.

But the House on Mago Street is not the way they told it at all. It’s small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you’d think they were holding their breath. Brick crumbling in places and front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in.

You can tell that Esperanza doesn’t want to move into the house because of the details that she uses. All the problems with house aren’t that big alone, but together they add up. Once again this is just one of those things she has to do whether she likes it or not. I can relate to this because I remember not wanting to go tutoring for my essay, but it was just something I had to do. These points in life happen to everyone at some time, and you will have to face it then. The final symbolism I found was when Esperanza was waiting for sally by the red Clowns. While she was waiting she was approached by a man and was forced to kiss him. I don’t think that it was a coincidence that the clowns just happened to be red. It seems like every time she is around red it is almost like a warning.

Windows

In the House on Mango Street windows are a big part of the story. To me they represent freedom and what they could be doing if they didn’t live on Mango Street. For example on page 11 it says,

And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out her window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got. or was she sorry she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be.

This shows that she is almost depressed about her life, so she goes to the window. When she gets there she looks out and thinks of all the things that she could be if she wasn’t herself. It is almost like a place of revelation to her. This theme of a window appears a lot in the book. In many if the vignettes a women is seen sitting at a window looking out just thinking about how things can be different. When this happens later on page 77 it is Mamacita who is at her house alone. She only speaks 8 words of English, yet she still doesn’t let it hold her back. She says,

She sits by the window all day and plays the Spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs about her country in a voice that sounds like a seagull.

This quote shows that Mamacita is very sad about leaving her home in Mexico and how it is better that she is here. That right there is a revelation in itself. She says that she sits there all day doing this, so it must be something very important to her. I can tell this because when someone is devoted to something they will spend a lot of time doing it. Windows are sort of like a gateway for people to escape their real lives and just think to themselves and imagine all of their dreams coming through. If you are ever feeling down and want to escape just go to a window and all of you problems will go away.

The Color Purple Response

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a very spiritual novel that shows the lives of two sisters, Celie and Nettie. Celie sees god as somebody to talk to whereas Nettie thinks god can help people and make their lives better. Celie doesn’t really like men, while Nettie thinks marriage is sacred. They might have different views on important subjects, but they are still so close together.
When it comes to spirituality the sisters are two different people. Celie uses god as just a person to talk to because she feels nobody else will listen. She asks god for help on page 3 which is significant because she doesn’t really believe in god. She even says so later in the book. On page 192 she tells Nettie how she doesn’t write to god any more, and how she writes to her first. She writes to Nettie now because she has tried to get help from god before, but nothing ever helped her. Also on page 192 she says “What god do for me?” This proves she doesn’t believe any more because if she did she would still pray to god. Because Celie doesn’t believe in god she sort of feels bad about it. When she goes out in public she acts like she still believes and is faithful, but deep down she is scared to tell anyone. I know where she is coming from because when I was in third grade I said I didn’t believe in god. All of the kids in my class would say things like ‘you’re going to hell’ or ‘what is wrong with you. Of course he is real’. Overall I was sort of an outcast the rest of that year because I had different beliefs. Celie has every right to tell people what she believes in, and she shouldn’t be shunned for it.

Nettie definitely will always believe in god because she is a very faithful character. She even lived in Africa to help build schools and teach kids religion. Nettie is a missionary in Africa which means she has a strong belief in god. On page 133 she says “And now god send me to watch over them”. This shows that she will listen to god and believe. Since Nettie is a missionary in Africa she feels as if it is her duty to help convert people to a higher power. Nettie seems to be open to all ideas and except them, but she will always stay true to hers. Nettie is a very free spirit, but manages to stay grounded. The two sisters are two very different people when it comes to religion, but they still manage to get along.
Gender equality is a very big problem between them two. When it comes to Celie she hates men and doesn’t like them. Celie just listens to her husband and does everything he says, and just tries to get it out of the way. This happens during many pages of the book, but mainly in the beginning. When Albert tells her to clean the dishes or wash the dishes she just says okay and goes to work. It is almost like she is a slave to her husband. Nettie doesn’t like to deal with the problems of men. On page 5 Celie says, ‘I may have got something in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women. Celie is a very sheltered person and doesn’t let anybody in, unless they are really close to her. Because she is so introverted she is more likely to listen to people who are bigger and stronger than her. Sometimes during the story it feels like she almost likes doing work for Albert. This really comes out in the movie when she is helping Albert get ready to go out. He is struggling to find his clothing and all of his necessities, and she knows where everything is. As she gets his stuff she has a little smirk on her face that shows that she finds the whole situation funny.

Nettie is an almost exact opposite of Celie because she likes men and believes that they should be equal. This is shown very brightly when she marries Samuel. Even though Nettie believes in equality the women in her village are not able to do all of the things men can. For example the village women are not allowed to go to school. This is weird to me because if she is so pro women’s rights, why does she not fight to get equal. If she started a group with the other women of the tribe I’m sure that she would be able to make some sort of difference. Nettie is a very confident person and I’m sure her brightness would shine through.

Nettie and Celie are two completely different people, and it amazes me that they are so close. Celie doesn’t believe in god, and Nettie does. Nettie likes men, and Celie doesn’t. it seems as if they barely ever argue with each other. I feel like the same thing happens with my brother, except we don’t always get along. I hope that one day everyone will get along despite their differences.

Response to Yen's Opening Statement

I decided to respond to Yen’s opening statement. As I was reading I saw we had the same viewpoint, so instead of rebutting to him I am going to respond to him by giving him tips about what he should add to his statement. The first thing that I noticed was that he had linked the sources in the statement, but they didn’t have anything to do with what he was talking about. For instance one thing he talked about was a baby who was cured of cancer by genetic mutation, but the link didn’t say anything about a baby being cured of cancer. I’m not sure if he put the wrong link or did it on purpose, but next time he should look over what he has done so far. Another thing I noticed was that he didn’t have a list of his sources at the end. He really needs to make sure he does that, or he could be caught for plagiarizing other peoples work. I don’t think he did it on purpose this time, and I was probably an accident.

I was reading the rest of his piece when I came across this. “First of all, it is the parent’s decision on how they raise their child, whether being hard on them school wise, or letting them decide their future, etc. In the same way, they should have all the right to mutate their children’s genetics. If the family is ready to put their child through genetic customizations, then they should. The same should be held for such actions on the physical appearance of the child (but I think this is completely unethical. Children should be born the way they were meant to, not the way they are artificially made. Their appearance is one of the factors what shapes their life, and changes of that may result in a completely different person.)” I don’t think that this could have been written any better because I agree with everything he said. All of his points were on target, from children being born naturally, to ‘changes may result in a completely different person’. All he needs to work on is his citation and he should have a solid statement.