... September 11, 2014 The Loss of Innocence in “Monkey Garden” In the chapter, “Monkey Garden,” from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the garden symbolizes the archetypal Garden of Eden from Genesis. Similar to Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree, Esperanza loses her innocence in this mystical backyard. As an under-privileged child on Mango Street, Esperanza witnessed adult problems that most children her age would never dream of, especially the maltreatment of women. In this fantastical children’s garden, the kids escaped their real-life problems in search of the lost treasures the garden holds. The rich imagery Esperanza weaves into her description shows the evasion of her problems: “There were sunflowers big as flowers on Mars and thick cockscombs bleeding the deep red fringe of theatre curtains.” The images of Mars and the theatre imply entering a fictional or distant world without everyday challenges. In addition, the kids on Mango fabricate rumors that align the Monkey Garden with the Garden of Eden, “Somebody started the lie that the monkey garden had been there before anything.” Through her escape into fantasy, Esperanza kept her innocence. Through it, she stayed a child until the next day. Despite the seemingly irrevocable purity of the Monkey Garden, Sally’s kissing game with the boys not only defiles the image of the Monkey Garden but also substantiates the gender inequalities suffered by the women of Mango...
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