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Women In The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

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The novel The House on Mango Street written by Sandra Cisneros is a story about a young girl named Esperanza who lives in an all hispanic neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. Esperanza is a girl who would like to live in a house of her own and live the life she want but she is anchored down by the constraints of society. The story captures the idea of how women are portrayed and their role in society. Relying on men seems like the only way to live for women. Throughout the novel, Esperanza begins to notice how women are treated by men. She notices how gender inequality is common in lives of those dealing with the injustice. Some women find that getting married at a young age is their way to freedom, others find that education is the key to their …show more content…
Rafaela is another woman who is under control by a man. She is a beautiful woman who is confined and locked indoors by her husband. “And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” (Cisneros 79). Rafaela can’t even go to the store because of her husband’s strict rules. Rafaela loves papaya juice, but she has to give Esperanza and her friends money so they can buy it for her. Rafaela’s situation is also similar to Sally’s, a girl Esperanza’s age who is abused by her father at home. Sally got married in order to escape her father’s abuse. Marriage seems like the only way out for her. The only way to escape. She was not even in eighth grade when she got married. Like her sisters, she was young and not ready. “Sally says she likes being married because now she gets to buy her own things when her husband gives her money. She is happy, except sometimes her husband gets angry and once he broke the door where his foot went through, though most days he is okay. Except he won't let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn't let her look out the window” (Cisneros 101). Sally is just another example of how women must rely on men in order to survive. Sally cannot do anything unless her husband approves it. Rafaela and Sally share very similar lives. Both are restricted, beautiful, and not happy. If Sally waited till she finished school, got a job, and was mentally ready, she wouldn’t be so unhappy right now. Seeing this, Esperanza notices how women being trapped is a recurring

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