Self Identity

In Sandra Cisneros novel The House on Mango Street she depicts the theme of identity/self definition through the book using stories of her adventures on Mango Street with friends, and events that all impact her to create her overall character.

In the first section of the book, there are two stories that portray identity and self definition. The first story I selected is My Name because it gives the reader a first glimpse at how Esperanza feels about herself. “In English my name means hope…don’t like their women strong” (Cisneros 10) shows that Esperanza already thinks that she’s cursed to begin with, because her name is too long, and because people make fun of her name “as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth” (11) proves the insecurity she has in her name because she longs to be different even to the point of wanting to “baptize [her]self under a new name.. Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X” (11). This portrays the crisis she has in her identity, and how she realizes she will always be Esperanza, the unlucky, ugly named Spanish girl.

Another short story I chose is Sally because Esperanza is seen fascinated with this girl, Sally, who “is the girl with eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke” (81). Through this vignette, Esperanza seems to be simply wondering about this girl who “paint[s her] eyes like Cleopatra” (81) then before going home “rub[s] the blue paint off [her] eyelids”(82). But at the end, the reader can conclude that she is not only questioning Sally, but applying these thoughts to herself when she says “Sally, do you sometimes wish you didn’t have to go home?… and no one could call that crazy” (82-83).

Overall, the thematic motif of identity/self definition occurs many times in the book, and portrays how we look at ourselves much like Esperanza looks at herself and her situation. Therefore, identity/self definition is a major thematic motif.