Response: The House on Mango Street

Write one paragraph in response to each of the four following prompts:

1. 1n a novel, you often look to see if the main character changes. With Mango S treet, I want you to write about the narrator, Esperanza. Describe what she's like in the early stages of the book. Point to evidence that tells us about her maturity level. Then detail what Esperanza's like later in the book. Note the changes that you see. What evidence is there to suggest that she has matured (or not matured) over the course of the novella (a short novel)? Be specific.

2. Focus on the treatment of the female characters in Mango Street, especially the ones outside Esperanza's family. Describe what you see. Is there a trend that you can identify? Try to generalize about the way women are treated in this story. Use specific characters to illustrate your points.

3. What is Esperanza's American Dream*? Tell us about it and then compare and contrast it with the dream of one other character (for example, Sally) in the story, OR one other character from an earlier reading (Boy Willie from The Piano Lesson or Leroy from "Shiloh" or Dr. King in "I Have a Dream.")

4. Conclude by writing a paragraph that presents your definition of the American Dream. It could be similar to, or vastly different from, the standard definition.