The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street was really enjoyable. I can really see it being taught in middle and even lower level high school English courses. In fact, I know that it is taught in a middle school within the Portage Public School District (according to my pre-internship mentor teacher).

When Teaching the Book....

As a project idea, I love love love the idea of students creating their own version of chapters. Students would write about their own ideas and cultures in the style of Sandra Cisneros. There could be a specific number of chapters for them to write, with a list of subjects that they could choose from. These subjects could be anything: birthdays, best days, bad days, someone special, a family member, the big game, first love, family traditions, free choice - anything! I would have students provide a book cover or even illustations to go along with their writing.

Another idea that I like is to illustrate different part of The House on Mango Street. Cisneros uses such descriptive and vivid imagery in her text. I think that it would be really cool to put those words into images through the students' point of view.

Just to Talk About the Book...

When thinking about this book, certain sections really stand out to me. "Alicia Who Sees Mice" really got to me. It might be the shortest (or close to) chapter in the book; but I think that it may also be one of the most powerful. The line, "Is afraid of nothing except four-legged fur. And fathers." really stands out to me and also leaves me with questions. Is Alicia abused? This could really create some great classroom discussion about opinions and how students read the text. The meaning is of course up to interpretation and there is no right answer. Personally, it seems that Alicia is being abused in one way or another by her father.

I found "Bums in the Attic" kind of funny. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Esperanza's future house guests asking if there were mice in her attic, only for her to happily and matter-of-factly reply, that the noises they were hearing were bums. Here, she is talking about her dream house, and yet she wants bums in her attic so that they will have a place to sleep and stay. This says something about her character.

The reoccuring character, Sally really makes me sad. This poor girl never had a chance. A pretty girl, but always beaten and trying to get out - never shown that there was anything more in life for her. Unlike Esperanza, she does not seem to have the ache for more than what is available to her on Mango Street. She doesn't know any better.

"Red Clowns" was maybe the part that stood out to me the most. It was eerie and sad. It made me feel so bad for Esperanza and her innocence.