Study
Questions and Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. What role does
death play in
The House on Mango Street? How do
the many deaths in the novel relate to one another, and how do they
influence Esperanza?
2. What role
does magic or the supernatural play in
The House on Mango
Street? How does it affect and influence Esperanza?
3. Discuss
the role of parents in the novel. How can Esperanza’s relationship
with her parents be characterized? In what ways is it different
or similar to other characters’ parent/child relationships in the novel?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. What is the purpose of the
internal rhymes that appear in many vignettes? Provide a detailed
reading of a section’s rhyming words, explaining how the rhymes
contribute to the meaning of that section as a whole.
2. How do race and gender come
into conflict in The House on Mango Street? Does
one triumph as the more important concern, or do both issues receive
equal consideration?
3. How are sex and violence linked
in this novel? Why does Esperanza both seek and try to avoid sexual
experiences?
4. In what ways does writing
set Esperanza apart from her neighborhood? In what ways does it
help her integrate into her neighborhood?
5. Why do you think Cisneros
chooses not to try to represent dialect, slang, or accents? Is her
language ever particularly “Chicano” or “Latino”?
