How does Sandra Cisneros use stream of consciousness in The House on Mango Street?
In stream of consciousness writing, a character's thoughts are presented as they occur, creating a sense of narrative flow that jumps from one association to another. It is as if we are eavesdropping on the character's internal jumble of ideas; there is no narrator to summarize, reorganize, or explain what...
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the thoughts mean.
In The House on Mango Street, having direct access to Esperanza's thoughts brings us closer to her and helps us understand her world view. We are not getting an objective view of Mango Street, but Esperanza's subjective experience of it.
An example of the flow associated with stream of consciousness occurs in chapter one. Esperanza jumps from thought to thought. She moves from her dreams of what a real house would be like—for example, it would have three bathrooms—to the reality of the house they actually purchase. For example, the front door is "swollen" so that you have to push on it to open it, and there is only one bathroom. The reality of the house causes her to recall the response of a nun to her previous address. She remembers her saying "you live there?" which made her "feel like nothing."
Through Esperanza's thoughts, we begin to understand that while the house on Mango Street is not what she dreamed of, it is a step up from where she was.
What are examples of stream of consciousness in The House on Mango Street?
You might begin to examine the effect of a stream of consciousness organization in The House on Mango Street by considering the topics of the chapters. The titles reflect a nonlinear progression of ideas, focusing on topics which are central to Esperanza's character development. The first chapter, for example, focuses on the setting, and the following chapter is an reflection of how each member of her family has unique hair. The third chapter describes the way Esperanza longs for a "best friend all [her] own," and the following chapter explains the significance of her name.
The novel is not organized, therefore, with a defined point that generates one central conflict for Esperanza. Instead, the short vignettes follow Esperanza's emotional response as she matures in a society where she must face a growing awareness of the limitations others want to exert over her. The stream of consciousness approach allows readers to connect with Esperanza's emotional reaction to weighty conflicts such as racism and poverty.
This structure also mimics a young girl's attempts to make sense out of what sometimes seems to be a chaotic world, filled with uncertainty and unpredictability. Esperanza is determined to leave Mango Street, yet she also comes to the realization that she "[is] Mango Street," encompassing all of its challenges, and that it would be selfish to imagine that she should only rescue herself. The stream of consciousness approach is itself a rejection of the traditional approach to storytelling, just as Esperanza rejects the limitations others try to place upon her because of her sex and race.