Final post for Ihum260

In my Latin American Humanities class this semester we studied many texts that were really interesting to me. I enjoyed a lot of them, but there were others that were less interesting to me. However, all of these texts contributed to my understanding of Latin America and its peoples and cultures. One of my favorite texts that we read was The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

            In the short novel Cisneros explores the Latin community and experiences in Chicago through a young protagonist named Esperanza. I enjoyed reading about Esperanza’s experiences because I felt like I could compare the similarities and differences of her childhood and my own. There were many things that Cisneros wrote about that I felt I could relate to. Some of Esparanza’s experiences mimicked my own experiences in elementary school. However, some of her other experiences were much more intense and mature than things that I experienced during my childhood. Through reading about these events in Esperanza’s life I better understood and appreciated the shelter and comfort of my own childhood lifestyle.

            Another element of Cisneros’ novel that I really enjoyed is her writing style. She narrates in a fun, poetic way. The novel is divided up into short chapters, ranging from one paragraph to about five pages long. Each of these chapters reads like its own short story, but strung together they all contribute to the plot which centers around the growth into adolescence of the protagonist, Esperanza. This writing style made the reading go by really quickly. It also made it seem more fun, and it brought a childish light to the narration.

            Ultimately, Cisneros was able to create a story that could be interpreted differently by each individual reader depending on their age and experiences. The book is probably appropriate for junior high aged students, but is also intellectually enlarging at the collegiate level.