Simply Novel ~ The House on Mango Street demo

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Objective IndexObjective IndexIn order to navigate to a specific objective within the program, locate the icon and click; the program will

advance you to the objective.

The House

The House

on

on

Mango

Mango

Street

StreetSandra Sandra

CisnerosCisneros

About the AuthorAbout the Author• Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954. Her father was a Spanish-speaking Mexican and her mother was Mexican- American.

•Cisneros grew up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago where she was expected to assume the traditional Latina female role.

• While growing up, Cisneros moved back and forth between the United States and Mexico with her family because her father missed his family there.

•Moving so much left Cisneros feeling lonely and displaced. She also struggled with identifying which culture she belonged to.

Have you ever felt like this?

She was their only daughter; Cisneros hassix brothers!

Some traditional roles of Latina women are to be dependent on, and submissive to, men.

Historical BackgroundHistorical Background

When The House on Mango Street was written many things were happening in the world…

• The Soviet Union boycotts the summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, California.

• U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. Bush are re-elected.

•The Space Shuttle Discovery takes its maiden voyage.

Not only that but they were re-elected with 59% percent of the popular vote!

Actually, 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies boycott these Olympics. Later that year boycotting countries organized an event called the Friendship Games.

The Space Shuttle Discovery got its name from the HMS Discovery, the ship that accompanied the explorer James Cook’s final voyage.

• More than 20,000 Latinos, typically from Mexico, move to the Chicago area annually.

•The 2000 U.S. Census Bureau reported that approximately 35 million Hispanic descendants live in the U.S.

• More than one million Hispanics live in the Chicago area now.

• In the Chicago area, both Spanish and English are spoken in approximately three-quarters of the Latino homes.

A Latino is a Hispanic person of Latin-American decent and usually lives in the U.S.

One language, two languages- that makes them bi-lingual.

A Hispanic person is from Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin American decent. The wordis usually associated with the Spanish speakingculture or people.

Did You Know?Did You Know?

Directions: Select the best answer to each question.Directions: Select the best answer to each question.

Comprehension CheckComprehension Check

1. Who wrote The House on Mango Street? a) Sandra Cisneros b) Jennifer Lopez c) Sam

Shelley

2. Where did Cisneros grow up? a) New York b) San Diego c) Chicago

c) Chicago

3. Cisneros has won many awards for her writing. a) False b) True

a) Sandra Cisneros

b) True

The SettingThe SettingChicago, Illinois

Chicago is the largest city in the state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States. Sometimes called the “second city” (second in population to New York), Chicago is home to nearly 3 million people.

Some of the world’s tallest buildings, including the Sears Tower and the Chicago Spire, are found there.

Famous people from Chicago include: Al Capone, Walter Payton, Sammy Sosa, Walt Disney, Jennifer Hudson, Oprah Winfrey, and Barack Obama… just to name a few.

Because The House on Mango Street is told by and is about Esperanza, the story is considered a female coming-of-age story.

This is a genre, or kind of literature, in which the main character is focused on building social relationships and searching to find their place within the community.

Genre

The House on Mango Street is divided into a series of short vignettes. Vignettes are short and well-written descriptive scenes.

Vignettes focus on a specific event, or give an impression about an idea, character, or setting.

Alone, the vignette may not make sense, but linking them together gives a better understanding of the author’s message.

Each vignette reveals something about Esperanza’s feelings on life, herself, her future, and the impact of poverty.

The word vignette (pronounced “vin-yet”) is from the Old French word vigne or vine.

VignetteVignette

While reading, try to identify the event or impression the author wants you to understand.

Plot ElementsPlot Elements

IntroductionThe narrator, Esperanza, longs to leave her neighborhood.

Rising Action Esperanza observes the

lives of those who live on Mango street.

ClimaxEsperanza’s roller-coaster

friendship with Sally brings humiliation.

Falling ActionEsperanza goes back to her friends. She now

understands that she does belong on Mango Street.

ResolutionEsperanza turns to writing

as a way to escape and accept her life on Mango

Street.

The CharactersThe Characters

… whose name means “hope” in Spanish, is the novel’s narrator and protagonist. She is a twelve-year-old “Chicana” (Mexican-American girl), who loves to write and who wishes for a home of her own.

…is one of Esperanza’s best friends. She is a Mexican-American girl who lives across the street from Esperanza with her family and sister Lucy.

So what is in a name?

Reread the chapter “My Name”. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would you pick?

1) Use a dictionary or book to find the meaning of the name.

2) What is the origin and history of the name?

3) How and why does this name fit you?

Write a one page paper that describes how the name fits you and give examples. You may want to write like Esperanza.

You Name It!!

Esperanza has moved a lot in her short twelve years, but the house on Mango Street is the first house her family owns.

In their last apartment the water pipes broke. The landlord refused to fix them because they were too old. Because of this, Esperanza and her family moved quickly.

The house on Mango Street is not the house her father or mother always dreamed about, nor is it a house Esperanza can feel proud of. Esperanza’s parents say it is only temporary.

Why do you think the author begins describing how many times she has moved? How many times have you moved? How does it make you feel?

Landlords who do not take care of their properties are often referred to as slum lords. These land owners make their money by spending very little on maintenance.

What does your dream house look like?

The House on Mango Street

My NameMy Name

In English Esperanza’s name means hope.

In Spanish her name means too many letters: sadness or waiting. She compares her name to the number nine or a muddy color.

Esperanza is named after her great-grandmother, both born in the Chinese year of the horse.

Not wanting to live a life of regret like her great-grandmother, Esperanza wishes to baptize herself under the new name: Zeze the X.

According to Chinese tradition, the year of the horse is believed to be bad luck if you are born a female.

What is in a name? According to Shakespeare a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet!

Do you know what your name means?

Character’s Actions What actions say about the character

Identifying Characters in The House on Mango StreetThe House on Mango Street

Nenny:

Sally:

Esperanza: a twelve-year-old “Chicana” who loves to write and wishes for a home of her

own. Rachel:

Lucy:

Marin:

Esperanza tests her power as a growing adolescent. She tries to remove herself from the stigma of Mango Street.

Family Member How does the meaning of the

name reflect the person?Meaning of Name

The House on Mango Street: Who Is My Family? Who Is My Family? Directions: Using the Internet, research the names of the people in your family. In the first column, write the person’s first name. In the second column write down the meaning of the person’s name. In the third column write down how the meaning of the person’s name reflects their personality.

Who am I?

Name ______________________________________ Date_______________________ Period_________

While You ReadDirections: While reading the story: 1) Identify at least 20 Spanish words. 2) Write the sentence that uses the word. 3) Define each word by using a Spanish/English dictionary. 4) Rewrite the sentence using the English word. You may need to rearrange the sentence. Spanish

WordSentence from Novel Definition Rewrite

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.