The first thing I noticed while reading "House on Mango Street" was the separation between girls and boys. Not only are her brothers only friendly in the privacy of their own home, this boy/girl separation seems to make it extremely difficult for her to find a true friend at all. The way she talks about her sister shows there is a strained relationship, and she just wants a best friend all her own.
Nenny is too young to be my friend. She's just my sister and that was not my fault. You don't pick your sisters... she is my responsibility. Someday I will have a best friend all my own... until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor
It is evident in every one of the short stories that Esperanza is stuck in a patriarchal society. I believe this is a big influence in how she feels about herself and about her life. It is one of her core beliefs that you are what you look like -- here's an example:
Everybody is laughing except me, because I'm wearing... the old saddle shoes I wear to school, brown and white, the kind I get every September because they last long and they do. My feet scuffed and round, and the heels all crooked that look dumb with this dress, so I just sit.
There are more examples, but the main idea is that Esperanza is growing up in a patriarchal society where being a girl comes with many rules and an over-all feeling that you're inferior. At times, her pain is intertwined with her words as she describes her life.
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