life without participating in it, something Esperanza does not want to do. This is the first instance of women, such as Mamacita and Minerva, who peer out of apartment windows as if they are trapped in jail cells. Often in literature the image of the window represents vistas of opportunity and freedom, but in this novel it is an image of female entrapment.

However, Cisneros also lends the great-grandmother more complexity: she has not always spent her life gazing out a window. She was once a "wild horse of a woman," the words "wild horse" painting a picture or image in our mind of creature that is beautiful, proud, and free. Because Esperanza imagines a horse as free and independent, she does not believe that being born in the year of the horse, as she has been told, is a sign of weakness.

In Chapter 4, "My Name," Esperanza says her name is "a muddy color" (10). This is an example of imagery, providing visual images or other sensory details to describe something. Another example of imagery is Esperanza's comparison of her name to "the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing" (10). This example of imagery uses the sensory details of the sound of a song to describe the sadness of Esperanza's name. Later, Esperanza says, "At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth" (11). She adds, "But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver" (11). These two sentences are also examples of imagery, as they use sensory details, such as the sound and feeling of tin and the softer feeling of silver, to describe Esperanza's name.  

In the fourth vignette, entitled "My Name," Esperanza reveals her feelings about her name, its origin, its meaning, and how society views it. At the beginning of the vignette, Esperanza repeats the word "means" to elaborate on the various definitions she associates with her name. She tells the reader that in English her name means "hope," but in Spanish, it means "too many letters." Esperanza also mentions that she feels her name means "sadness" and "waiting." There is also repetition of the word "horse" throughout the vignette as Esperanza describes her great-grandmother as a wild horse of a woman who was born in the Chinese year of the horse. The image of a horse conjures a powerful vision of a strong, confident, free being, which resembles Esperanza's great-grandmother. The word "sadness" is also repeated throughout the vignette and gives the reader insight into Esperanza's attitude and perceptions. Esperanza initially mentions that her name means sadness before saying that she doesn't want to be like her unhappy great-grandmother, who stares aimlessly out of her window. The use of repetition emphasizes Esperanza's feelings regarding her name and identity throughout the vignette.

In Chapter 4, "My Name," Esperanza repeats the word "means" in the first paragraph to refer to her name. She provides both the Spanish and English meanings of the name to convey that she has different experiences in the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking cultures. She translates her name into English as "hope" but feels it has too many letters in Spanish, suggesting that she feels a bit distanced from her Spanish-speaking roots and feels that her name is too awkward in Spanish. Esperanza also repeats the phrase "it is" or "it was" about her name, emphasizing its many meanings.

Later, in describing her great-grandmother, Esperanza repeats the words "wild" and "horse," suggesting that she thinks of her great-grandmother as a wild woman who, like a horse, was reluctantly partially tamed by her husband. The name "Esperanza" is also repeated in the chapter to emphasize that the protagonist still believes in the promise of her name and hopes to live a different life than that of her great-grandmother.

The House on Mango Street is not divided up by chapters but by vignettes. The fourth one is called "My Name," in which Esperanza explains how she feels about her Spanish name. She repeats different meanings of her name to show how deeply she dislikes it. Not only that, she seems to feel some frustration about it because her name means "hope" in English, but she believes that the Spanish meaning represents sadness and waiting for something better to come along in life that never does. For example, Esperanza repeats herself as follows:

"In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters.It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing" (10).

Esperanza uses the repetition of the word "name" and "it means," to highlight the importance of what the name means to her as opposed to what the different languages suggest. Hence, she does not like what her name represents because all she sees in the Spanish spelling is sadness and waiting, not hope. As a result, she tells the story of receiving her name from her great-grandmother who suffered under that name with both sadness and waiting as well.

"She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. . . I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window" (11).

Esperanza mentions sadness again coupled with the image of her great-grandmother leaning on her elbow and waiting for a better life to happen. This younger Esperanza, however, wants to be happy, make a life for herself, and not wait for someone or something to rescue her. 

Before I can help you discuss some of the metaphors in The House on Mango Street, let’s be clear on what a metaphor means. A metaphor tends to refer to something that is representative or symbolic of something else.

For example, you might argue that Angel Vargas is a metaphor. You might say that his flight from Mr. Benny’s roof represents or symbolizes something else. It might represent the careless ways of some of the children in Esperanza’s community. You might also say that it symbolizes the normalization of injury and hurt in Esperanza’s community. When Angel appears to fall from the roof, Esperanza says, “Nobody looked up.” It’s like they don’t care or it’s no big deal.

Another metaphor might be the high heels. The heels that the girls wear might represent their developing sexuality. The homeless man who flirts with Rachel while she wears the heels might be a metaphor, too. He might be a symbol for the predatory way in which some men respond to female sexuality. In other words, he might be a symbol of danger.

One more metaphor I can identify for you is warm bread. You might want to look at the “Hairs” chapter and think about the ways in which warm bread might represent Esperanza’s relationship with her mom.

Now that I’ve provided you with four metaphors—Angel, the high heels, the homeless man, and the warm bread—I think you should be able to locate two more on your own.

In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the house itself is a metaphor. "It's small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath" (page 4). The house, and the other metaphors that the author regularly uses, stand for the pervasive sadness and occasional joy that characterize life as a poor latino family in the United States.

For example, even Esperanza's name is metaphorical. As Esperanza, the narrator of the novel, says, "It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing" (page 10). Her name, which means hope, is also tinged with sadness because her family hopes for a better life in the United States that they have not yet achieved. Her great-grandmother, described metaphorically as "a wild horse of a woman" (page 11), was also named Esperanza, but her future husband carried her off  "as if she were a fancy chandelier" (page 11). In other words, her great-grandmother's hope for something better was thwarted, and her name is ironic as a result. 

While many of the metaphors in the novel carry the sadness of Esperanza's life, many are also joyful or celebratory. For example, she says, "My hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands" (page 6). Her mother's hair, on the other hand,"smells like bread" (page 7). These metaphors convey the distinctiveness and joy of the family, as does the metaphor describing their laughter, which is "all of a sudden and surprised like a pile of dishes breaking" (page 17). The author's metaphorical language give a distinctive sense of what Esperanza's life is like on Mango Street. 

The House on Mango Street is a novel narrated by Esperanza who, along with five members of her family, move into a barrio and must live in a red house that does not even have running water. She is so disgruntled with this house that she wants to go somewhere else. She narrates,

Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my having to explain them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.

In this metaphor Esperanza compares herself to a red balloon because her house in painted with red paint and it resembles a balloon that is tied down because she is trapped in that barrio with no hope for her future. 

Then, Esperanza remarks that she and her sister are alike in several ways, one of which is their laughter, which is 

Not the shy ice cream bells' giggle of Rachel and Lucy's family, but all of a sudden and surprised like a pile of dishes breaking.

In other words, her sister's and her laughter are not light and giggly, but sudden and crashing, like dishes breaking'

Another example of metaphor comes when Esperanza goes to "Elenita, witch woman..." who reads the tarot cards. After she deals some out, she says,

Here a pillar of bees and this a mattress of luxury

These are metaphor for hardships and times of comfort.

Some examples of metaphors in The House on Mango Street are as follows:

"Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor." (9)

"You can never have too much sky." (33)

"Today we are Cinderella because our feet fit exactly. . ." (40)

"But I think diseases have no eyes." (59)

"Everything is holding its breath inside me.  Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas." (73)

"You will always be Mango Street." (105)

Metaphors are figures of speech that make direct comparisons between two seemingly unrelated things.  Explore your interpretation of the story to see how the above lines are metaphors in Esperanza's story.

An interesting allusion is in the vignette entitled "The Family of Little Feet." In this section, Esperanza and her friends are trying on old high-heeled shoes. The girls feel as though it is Christmas because of the unexpected gifts. They also feel like Cinderella because they are wearing such fancy shoes. The allusions are presented as follows:

Today we are Cinderella because our feet fit exactly (40).

The First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest

Immediately, the images of Cinderella and Christmas bring to mind the way the girls feel about their experience with the shoes. Furthermore, both Cinderella and Christmas are allusions a reader would probably know and identify. 

Another allusion occurs in "Meme Ortiz" when some of the children in the neighborhood have "The First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest." Since Tarzan is known for his ability to jump great distances between trees, this competition name is an allusion to his famed abilities.

Examples of hyperbole can be found in "Hips" and "Boys and Girls." When Esperanza discovers her figure is spreading with hips, she also realizes her little sister cannot relate to this new development. Esperanza uses hyperbole to describe the distance in understanding as follows:

Nenny, I say, but she doesn't hear me. She is too many light-years away. She is in a world we don't belong to anymore (52).

Nenny isn't really in a different world or light years away, but the hyperbole helps to explain the way Esperanza feels as she changes physically and mentally during puberty. Also, according to Esperanza, boys don't seem to understand girls, either. She explains the difference as follows:

The boys and the girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours (8).

Living in a different world or universe from boys is physically impossible; therefore, the reference used here is an exaggeration. This exaggeration is used to explain how differently Esperanza views the lives of girls from boys. 

As far as symbolism is concerned, the dominant symbol of the story is Esperanza's house. Esperanza is infatuated with the ideal home because it represents the perfect life she desires to lead. The house on Mango Street is not as luxurious as she would have it. Not only is it everything she doesn't want in life, but it also represents her feelings of inferiority and powerlessness due to poverty. Esperanza explains how she feels trapped and isolated with another symbol as seen in the following passage:

Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor (9).

The color red symbolizes passion, which Esperanza has for life. The fact that she is also a balloon refers to the fact that she has a great desire to fly away. Unfortunately, this passionate flyer is tied to an anchor, a device that prohibits her from living a life she wants. The anchor could also represent poverty, her culture, or anything else that seems to keep Esperanza from escaping her circumstances.

Here is one example of each:

Allusion--In the chapter titled "Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays," Esperanza makes an allusion to Rapunzel.  She says that Rafaela leans out the window and dreams that her hair is like Rapunzel's implying that Rafaela wishes she would be rescued from the metaphorical dungeon in which she lives with her husband.

Hyperbole--In the chapter titled "And Some More," the girls talk about the names that Eskimos have for snow.  Nenny says that they have a million zillion names for snow to exaggerate the fact that no two snowflakes are alike.

Symbolism--In the chapter "Linoleum Roses," Sally pretends that she has the perfect life with her husband.  He is controlling and abusive, and all day she dreams of the happy life she wishes she had.  She stares at the rose pattern on the floor, a symbol of this desired life.

Personification is a figure of speech that authors use to give animals, ideas, or things human attributes.  In other words, non-human things are portrayed in a way that makes readers think that object is capable of acting human. 

Early in The House on Mango Street, the narrator is describing the house.  She tells readers the following information. 

It's small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath.

In this line, the windows of the house are compared to a human with lungs that is holding his/her breath.  The line creates an image of a person straining to let air in and out his/her body.  The house's windows are so small that air strains to do the same thing for the house. 

On page 88 of my text, there is another good example of personification.  It's at the start of the chapter titled "Beautiful and Cruel."  

My mother says when I get older my dusty hair will settle and my blouse will learn to stay clean, but I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain.

In this sentence, the blouse is given the ability to learn.  Obviously a blouse can't do that.  It doesn't have consciousness.  

Related to giving non-human things a consciousness, the narrator does this at the start of the chapter titled "Four Skinny Trees."  

They [the trees] are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them.

Finally, on page 82 of my text, the narrator personifies a room.  She creates the image of a room that can and is patiently awaiting an occupant.  

. . . and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you.

Personification is not as readily used by Cisneros in The House on Mango Street--there are many more examples of simile and metaphor.  However, there are some key examples of personification.  In the vignette titled "Born Bad," Esperanza explores religious guilt and her belief that she will go to hell.  Her mother has told her that the family will have to pay for their sins against their Aunt Lupe.  Her aunt became sick with a terminal illness, and Esperanza uses personification to characterize the disease and the time before her aunt's death:

"Maybe the sky didn't look the day she fell down."

"But I think diseases have no eyes.  They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone."

These examples suggest that Esperanza feels like her aunt's disease had a mind of its own and that there was no reason why it should have been her aunt to get sick.  Esperanza explores the unfair, random nature of fate and how it has affected both her and her family.

A hyperbole is an exaggeration and is used for emphasis. In The House on Mango Street, the following passage contains a hyperbole:

On Tuesdays, Rafaela's husband comes home late because that's the night he plays dominoes. 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 (from the chapter Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays).

The passage states that Rafaela is rapidly growing "old from leaning out the window so much." This hyperbole emphasizes Rafaela's dreary existence. She has nothing to look forward to in life, apart from watching and waiting for her husband's return.

Rafaela's husband leaves her at home when he goes to the bar to enjoy himself and to cavort with other women. Rafaela knows that there is music at the bar, but she is not allowed to go; she can only hope to have an opportunity to dance there one day before she becomes too old to do so. The hyperbole also emphasizes Rafaela's powerlessness.

Another example of hyperbole comes from the chapter Darius and the Clouds.

You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.

Of course, the sky cannot keep us safe and we cannot get "drunk" on the sky. The author uses hyperbole to draw our attention to small blessings: even when there is a dearth of beautiful things around us, we still have the sky. It belongs to all of us and is always there. Its wide expanse symbolizes freedom and hope.

One example of hyperbole in The House on Mango Street is in the chapter titled "Those Who Don't."  Esperanza says that people who don't know the neighborhood come into it scared.  She implies that these people are white.  She says that these people ". . .think we're dangerous."  Esperanza's statement is exaggerated because she cannot know whether or not all the people who drive into the neighborhood are indeed afraid.  However, the hyperbole is used here to characterize the socioeconomic divide that exists between Esperanza's neighborhood and other around them.

Another example of hyperbole is in the chapter titled "And Some More."  In this chapter, the girls talk about all the different names that Eskimos have for snow.  Nenny says that "[t]here are a million zillion kinds" to imply that no two snowflakes are alike.  This hyperbole is in contrast to the comment of Lucy who says that snow is only either dirty or clean--a statement on the reality of their urban lives.

In a broad sense, oxymoron present throughout The House on Mango Street—this is seen through the identities of the characters but especially in the character of Esperanza. When the reader is first introduced to Esperanza, in the chapter titled "My Name," she writes, "In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Her identity exists on two ends of an opposite spectrum, which sets up the tone for the rest of the stories: Esperanza does not know where she fits in on these different, oxymoronic spectrums.

A prominent theme in the novel is the fine line that Esperanza walks between childhood and adulthood. As a teenager, she occupies a somewhat contradictory space between being and adult and being a child. This is particularly evident in the chapter "Born Bad," where Esperanza recounts playing a game with her friends where they would do impressions of famous people for each other. One day they are playing the game and impersonating someone they know, who happened to die that day. Thus, the children are forced out of their childhood and into adulthood with no transition, almost as if they are existing in both spaces at the same time.

Personification is defined as prescribing active or human qualities to nonhuman things. Each of the following is a different example of personification from Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street.

And my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands. (11)

Esperanza uses this to explain how her hair is difficult to manage and put into the hairstyles she likes.

. . . sky can keep you safe when you are sad. (24)

As a child, Esperanza equates the sky with God or heaven. Because of this, she views the sky as her protector, as indicated in this example of personification.

Maybe the sky didn’t look the day she fell down. (40)

Talking about her Aunt Lupe’s illness, Esperanza wonders why someone who was a healthy swimmer like her aunt could contract such a devastating, life-altering sickness. This also refers to her earlier description of the sky as a protector. In her child’s perception, the only reasonable explanation for her aunt’s illness is because the sky simply wasn’t paying attention.

. . . the trees talking to themselves: wait, wait, wait. (48)

This is included in the descriptions of the various sounds Esperanza imagines or hears about Sire and his girlfriend. Esperanza fantasizes about what it would be like to be with Sire, a boy she likes. The wind in the trees is calming and telling her that she is too young to be thinking about sexual desire.

Simile is defined as a comparison between two unlike things using the word “like” or “as.” Each of the following is an example of simile from the text.

Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. (13)

Esperanza uses this comparison to explain how women in her family had been treated in the past. Her great-grandmother for whom Esperanza was named was essentially kidnapped and forced into marriage. This underscores the way women and girls in the text are often regarded as objects.

There’s that puffy cloud that looks like your face when you wake up after falling asleep with all your clothes on. (26)

This is an example of a poetic description Cisneros writes so well. Talking about all the different names for clouds, the girls are using their imaginations to make sense of the physical world based on their experiences.

Ready and waiting like a new Buick with the keys in the ignition. (34)

This is how Esperanza describes the development of her hips. This shows that Esperanza feels powerful and excited as her body develops into a womanly shape.

Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem. (69)

This simile comes near the end when Esperanza has fully come of age. This quote represents her dream of independence. She wants a space that she inhabits alone, one that she owns, which she views as her ultimate freedom. In addition, this simile shows how she has developed as a writer. This quote is itself a kind of poem that eloquently yet concisely explains Esperanza’s hopes and desires.

The following references are examples of figurative language and other literary devices in The House on Mango Street:

Hyperbole is used in the chapter "And Some More" when Nenny talks about snow.  She says that "[t]here are a million zillion kinds" of snow which is an exaggeration of reality.

At the beginning of the story, Esperanza flashes back to other places where the family has lived:  "Once when we were living on Loomis. . . ."  Esperanza goes on to discuss this experience that happened in the past at her old home.

Onomatopoeia is used in the chapter "Hips" when the girls play jump-rope games.  Esperanza describes the rope as "tick-ticking" which characterizes the sound that the rope makes when it hits the ground.

By the end of the story, the narrative has come full circle:  Esperanza at the beginning of the story moves onto Mango Street full of hope that is quickly crushed, and at the end of the story she desires to move away to save herself and others.

In the first chapter of the novel "The House on Mango Street," Esperanza recalls the time when the nun questioned where she lives.  She points to the house and the nun says, "There?"  Esperanza repeats the word, and then the narrator repeats the word "there" a few times.  The repetition reinforces the poor nature of the house and Esperanza's embarrassment over living there.

Finally, imagery relates to the five senses and may be found in descriptions that relate to sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste.  In "The Earl of Tennessee," Esperanza describes the sound of Earl's car when he returns home: 

First the click and whine of the car door opening, then the scrape of concrete, the excited tinkling of dog tags, followed by the heavy jingling of keys, and finally the moan of the wooden door as it opens and lets loose its sight of dampness.

Imagery has to do with phrases, references, or figurative language that uses one or more of the fives senses. The creation of imagery happens when an author uses the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, or sound to describe something. The following example from the first vignette mentions at least two of these senses:

"It's small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath. Bricks are crumbling in places, and the front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in" (4).

Notice that this passage has visual images: small, red, tight steps, bricks crumbling, and a swollen door. Next, it shows the sense of touch with words such as "push hard," and "holding their breath." One might identify with how it feels to push hard to open an old door, or to hold one's breath, for example. 

Another example of the use of imagery can bee seen in the following passage:

". . . and nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just like a falling star, and exploded down to earth without even an 'Oh'" (30).

The senses of sight, sound, and taste can be found in this quote. Words such as "sugar donut" and "falling star" can both be visualized. The sugar donut can be tasted; however, since a donut is also easily broken, the image shows that it is fragile to the touch. Then because the falling star "exploded," the sense of hearing can be employed. 

One final example of a passage that uses imagery is one that focuses on Esperanza's blind aunt.

"My aunt was blind by then. She never saw the dirty dishes in the sink. She couldn't see the ceilings dusty with flies, the ugly maroon walls, the bottles and sticky spoons. I can't forget the smell. Like sticky capsules filled with jelly. My aunt, a little oyster, a little piece of meat on an open shell for us to look at" (60).

Many people can identify with having dirty dishes in a sink. Readers can also visualize what flies on ceilings might look like, so visual images are strong in this passage. It might also be easy to imagine what maroon walls, bottles, and sticky spoons lying around the house look and smell like. Esperanza describes the smell of the apartment like "capsules filled with jelly," which smell may or may not be easy to imagine based on one's personal experience. However, the rest of the description of her aunt describes her as little as an oyster, and maybe only as significant as a tiny "piece of meat." Readers can visualize what an oyster in its shell looks like and apply it to how Esperanza's aunt appears to be and act like. Anyone who has eaten oysters might also apply the sense of taste when reading this description, too. Therefore, there are many visual images to ponder in this passage. The senses of smell and taste coincide with the descriptions of the objects in the apartment as well.

One of the symbols in Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street is shoes. At least twice in the novel, shoes are mentioned as representing one's inner self and the conflict which can arise as a result of one's desire to be something she or he is not.

At one point in the text, Esperanza, along with two of her friends, receives a few pairs of old high heels. While all of the girls believe the heels make them feel older and look more mature, none of the girls appreciate the attention that comes with wearing them. As they try them on and decide to walk around in them, they come to realize that the feelings of maturity and adulthood do not always bring about positive things. Some men begin harassing the girls by calling out rudely to them. In order to escape the harassment, the girls discard the shoes and, with them, they leave behind their early attempt at womanhood.

At another point in the novel, Esperanza is going to a party and is wearing some new clothes. Yet, she is forced to wear her old shoes. Her embarrassment over the clashing of old and new, in the form of shoes, forces her to make the choice not to dance with a boy she likes. It seems that, at least for Esperanza, the shoes make the woman.

Even later, Esperanza feels jealous about Sally's new shoes, desiring them in the same way that she desires entering womanhood. Yet once again, Esperanza finds herself in inner conflict: while she wants to be mature and a woman, she is not ready for the other types of conflict which arise from sexual maturity.

The symbolism of shoes tends to hit home for many preadolescent and adolescent girls. As children, many young girls (and sometimes young boys) like to try on their mother's heels. These heels symbolize maturity and sexual attraction. The use of the heels as a symbol for womanhood helps readers connect with the 12-year-old character of Esperanza (the intent of most bildungsroman authors).

Since the novel is about a girl's understanding of self and unlocking the keys to her emerging and evolving identity, it's going to be hard to pick out symbols because as she grows up, most anything and everything have symbolic meaning.  Certainly, language is one symbol.  Esperanza understands the symbolic quality of language and voice.  In not understanding English, the symbolic meaning is that one is placed at a distinct disadvantage in America.  At the same time, this cultural disadvantage might be symbolic as it silences voices, making them unable to be heard.  Esperanza understands this early on, which might feed into the powerful meaning of becoming a writer.  Pay attention to how language/ voice are symbolic of something more in the book.  The House itself is both a symbol of poverty and identity.  While it does represent poverty, it also serves a source of strength for Esperanza as it gives birth to her dreams, but also inspires her to understand from where to where she has come as she understands her own sense of self in greater detail.  Her name is also symbolic, meaning "hope."

As the previous answer discusses, the family house is definitely one of the most prominent symbols in The House on Mango Street. I'll add a couple more symbols from the book to this discussion: the monkey garden and poems.

First, the poems throughout the book include the children's jump-roping chants, and the poems that Esperanza and other characters write. In the chapter, "Minerva Writes Poems," Esperanza and Minerva read poems they write out loud to each other. Minerva's husband is abusive, and she writes poems at night after her children go to bed. Both Minerva and Esperanza are aspiring poets, and they use language and self-expression as a way to escape. Specifically in this chapter, but also throughout the book, poems symbolize a way for women to express themselves freely and add beauty and creativity to their difficult and limited lives. Poems symbolize a way for women to take back some of their power and create something that is entirely their own.

Second, the monkey garden symbolizes the loss of innocence, the end of childhood, and the ways in which even places of safety and escape can change over time. The monkey garden is similar to the Bible's Garden of Eden--it starts out as a wonderful and safe place for the children to play, but as the book continues and Esperanza grows up, the garden fills with weeds and junk cars and loses its initial magic.

By far, the most prominent symbol in the book is the house itself.  Look again at the chapter "Bums in the Attic."  There is a comparison of the small, crooked, drab house she actually lives in to the one she imagines for herself.  One theme of the book is the longing for something more - or a desire to live more comfortably.  Esperanza's house is symbolic of this desire.  It is the constant reminder of what she does not have materially.  On the other hand, another theme presented in the book comes from the idea of hope - hope for something better when I grow up, hope to always have something better in the future... in this way, the house is symbolic of stability and protection from the difficulties of childhood.  It gives Esperanza a place to feel safe so that she is able to create and hold on to dreams of a better future for herself.

Another symbol in the book is shoes.  Shoes, for Esperanza, are a symbol of feminity, adulthood, sexualty.  They are a reminder for her as a child of her desire to be attractive but her struggle to also be independent.

Finally, trees are symbolic of independence and strength.  Esperanza takes careful notice of trees throughout her neighborhood and personifies them.

In The House on Mango Street, the elements of literature may be defined as follows.  Esperanza, an adolescent girl, is the narrator and protagonist of the story.  The form of the novel is characterized by a series of vignettes, each focusing on the experience of either Esperanza or a minor character.  The plot of the story follows Esperanza's journey during her formative years living on Mango Street.  Esperanza's major conflict revolves around the tension between her hopes and dreams and the negative experiences that her neighborhood offers to her.  Esperanza tries to find a way by which she can escape.  A major theme in the story revolves around hope and personal determination.