"The House on Mango Street," and Thoughts on Other Cultures

I, too, read “The House on Mango Street,” by Sandra Cisneros for this week’s book. I could apply all three critical themes of “gender, class, and language,” centering on the theme of immigration suggested by Medina in “Interpreting Latino/a Literature as Critical Fictions” to “The House of Mango Street.” I believe this book is a modern and believable look “into” the lives of poor, urban Latinos from an “insiders” perspective. Cisneros writes from experience with this culture; drawing from her own Latino heritage. The modern setting of this story and the coming of age plot, as Heather suggested filled with struggles and emotions teens from any culture would face (boys, friendship, love, family, peer rejection etc.) must make it easier for students to relate to and ultimately achieve empathy with the text (both parallel and reactive and possibly cross-cultural, as stated by Louie.)
I was drawn to this Latino book because of the large number of Hispanic/Latino students in area schools. I agree with the following statement “Schools should also teach students about the world,-the people they live with, the stories and messages of others, the diversity of cultures,” from “The Voices of Power and the Power of Voices.” Not only should students be learning about cultures globally; they should be exposed to the different cultures within their peer groups. How does it make students of Hispanic heritage feel or how are they equipped to engage with the texts, when they sit in a class that does not recognize their own culture? Thus, I think this Latino culture is often non-existent and is one that deserves to be included in secondary English.
Cisneros makes this story authentic by including use of Spanish words, description of the Spanish meanings of characters names, memories of Mexico(the country the characters immigrated from,) language barriers for characters, Mexican myths customs and religious practices and beliefs, all neatly woven into the separate chapters. The main character, Esperanza, who so desperately wants to escape Mango St. and the expectations that her society has for her as a woman, still vows to hold on to her culture and roots. “One day I will own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from.”
I loved the chapter titled “Those Who Don’t,” as it talked about the stereotypes that the “outsiders” had of Esperanza’s neighborhood, but in turn the stereotypes that Esperanza and the members of her neighborhood had for the rich, white people. Both cultures were uncomfortable in the other’s realms, and held stereotypes for one another. It really showed the need for cultural awareness and the chapter could help to bridge the topic in a classroom.
The book also centered on what it means to be a Latino woman and the cultural expectations for a young girl growing up in a poor, Hispanic neighborhood. Esperanza struggles with her desire to want more than to be a sexual object, young wife and mother. But, all around her she sees peers who focus on attention from boys as a way out, mothers who are left alone to raise children, women who are treated as second class citizens etc.
Honestly, I was angered while reading the chapter “Black Males and the Reading Achievement Gap.” While the claims the author made for a need to close the achievement gap for black males may be true, he became very bias by becoming too absorbed in this one group. It is important to consider the needs of poor, black males in the classroom, but it is just as important to consider the needs of affluent, black males or black females for that matter. What about poor, white students, students with learning disabilities or language challenged Hispanic students, per say. The list could go on and on. I also had a problem with the section that defined black males by the “cool pose.” Isn’t this stereotyping black, male students just a little, by trying to lump them into one biased, general category? Some of the characteristics of the “cool pose” black male students could be assigned to any general adolescent in turmoil with growing up. As teachers, we must try to include texts that represent all cultures, while helping individual students achieve strong identities. We can’t focus on one specific group of students or we will create turmoil amongst other groups.

Staci