LITERATURE ANALYSIS

HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (Sandra Cisneros)
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
In this coming of age story, a girl named Esperanza Cordero, who lives in Chicago struggles to find who she is. The story begins when Esperanza is about 11-12 years old and her family just moved to a house on Mango street. Even though the house is an improvement to the apartment they used to live, Esperanza does not like it because she does not have privacy and that is what makes her determined to have a house of her own.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The theme is the struggle of self discovery.



3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The tone through out the story is innocent and hopeful.
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
allusion: “Today we are Cinderella because our feet fit exactly” (pg.40)

personification: “windows so small you’d think they were holding their breath,” (p.4)

simile: It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. ” (My Name, p.10)

ambiguity: "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" (p.10)

metaphor: “at school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of you mouth” (p. 11)

analogy: Esperanza's great-grandfather threw a sack over her great-grandmother's head and carried her off. "Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier or something."

alliteration: (Page 108) "With my porch and my pillows, my pretty purple petunias."

symbolism: “Our house would be white with trees around it. . .” (p.-)

Imagery/simile:  “the snoring, the rain, and Mama’s hair that smells like bread”

anaphora: “five dollar… five dollar”
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
indirect characterization: Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark: in this
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
the author uses some Spanish terms in order to show the cultural background of Esperanza. When Cisneros talks about
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
The protagonist is dynamic and round because through the course of the story she changes and the reader can see that she has different reactions through out the story.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
Yes. Since I could relate to some scenes, I feel like that made Esperanza a more real. The part that had the biggest impact on me was the part when describes what her father does every morning.