The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Literature Guide Developed by Debra Navratil for Secondary Solutions® ISBN-10: 1-938913-56-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-938913-56-3 Digital ISBN: 978-1-938913-57-0 © 2013 Secondary Solutions. All rights reserved. A classroom teacher who has purchased this Guide may photocopy the materials in this publication for his/her classroom use only. Use or reproduction by a part of or an entire school or school system, by for-profit tutoring centers and like institutions, or for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, translated or stored in any form (including digitally) without the express written permission of the publisher. Created and printed in the United States of America. WWW.4SECONDARYSOLUTIONS.COM The House on Mango Street Literature Guide About This Literature Guide ............................................................................................ 4 How to Use Our Literature Guides ................................................................................... 5 Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros (1954 - ) ............................................................... 6 Comprehension Check: Author Biography ......................................................................... 7 Historical Context: The Mexican Population in Chicago ................................................... 8 Comprehension Check: The Mexican Population in Chicago .................................................10 Standards Focus: Literary Style—Novellas and Vignettes .............................................. 11 Pre-Reading Ideas ........................................................................................................ 13 Pre-Reading Activity: Thematic Literary Elements ........................................................ 14 Anticipation/Reaction Activity ...................................................................................... 15 Anticipation/Reaction Reflection .................................................................................. 16 Standards Focus: Allusions, Slang, and Spanish Words ................................................. 17 Vocabulary List ............................................................................................................. 22 Standards Focus: Note-Taking and Response Chart ...................................................... 23 Note-Taking and Response Chart: Sample........................................................................24 Note-Taking and Response Chart ....................................................................................25 Standards Focus: Journal Response—Sample ................................................................ 26 Standards Focus: Journal Response Chart ........................................................................27 Part One........................................................................................................................ 28 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................28 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................29 Literature Focus: Sequence ............................................................................................30 Language Focus: Sentence Structure...............................................................................31 Part Two ....................................................................................................................... 33 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................33 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................34 Literature Focus: Figurative Language .............................................................................35 Language Focus: Parallel Structure .................................................................................37 Part Three ..................................................................................................................... 39 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................39 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................40 Literature Focus: Character Interaction ............................................................................41 Language Focus: Context Clues ......................................................................................43 Part Four ....................................................................................................................... 45 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................45 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................46 Literature Focus: Setting and Theme ...............................................................................47 Assessment Preparation: Allusions ..................................................................................49 Part Five ....................................................................................................................... 52 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................52 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................53 Literature Focus: Theme and Character – Gender Roles ....................................................54 Language Focus: Colons ................................................................................................56 Part Six ......................................................................................................................... 58 Comprehension and Analysis ..........................................................................................58 Journal Topics ..............................................................................................................59 Literature Focus: Referential Texts – The Bible .................................................................60 Writing Focus: Task, Audience, and Purpose .....................................................................62 Part One Quiz ................................................................................................................ 64 Part Two: Quiz .............................................................................................................. 65 Part Three: Quiz ............................................................................................................ 67 Part Four: Quiz .............................................................................................................. 69 Part Five: Quiz .............................................................................................................. 71 Part Six: Quiz ................................................................................................................ 73 Mixed Review Final Test ................................................................................................ 75 Multiple Choice Final Test ............................................................................................. 77 Teacher Resources ........................................................................................................ 82 ©2013 Secondary Solutions -2– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Sample Agenda............................................................................................................ 82 Notes for the Teacher ................................................................................................... 85 Summary of the Novel .................................................................................................. 86 Vocabulary with Definitions ........................................................................................... 92 Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessment .......................................................... 93 Essay Ideas ................................................................................................................. 96 Non-Essay Writing Ideas ............................................................................................... 97 Project Rubric A ........................................................................................................... 98 Project Rubric B ........................................................................................................... 99 Response to Literature Rubric ...................................................................................... 100 Answer Key ................................................................................................................. 102 ©2013 Secondary Solutions -3– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide About This Literature Guide Secondary Solutions is the endeavor of a high school English teacher who could not seem to find appropriate materials to help her students master the 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With our professionally developed teacherwritten Literature Guides, Secondary Solutions has provided you with the answer to your time management problems, while saving you hours of tedious and exhausting work. Our Guides will allow you to focus on the most important aspects of teaching—the personal, one-on-one, hands-on instruction you enjoy most—the reason you became a teacher in the first place. Secondary Solutions—The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher! www.4secondarysolutions.com ©2013 Secondary Solutions -4– ® The House on Mango Street Literature Guide How to Use Our Literature Guides Our Literature Guides are based upon the Common Core State Standards, the National Council of the Teachers of English and the International Reading Association’s national English/Language Arts Curriculum and Content Area Standards. The materials we offer allow you to teach the love and full enjoyment of literature, while still addressing the concepts upon which your students are assessed. 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Pre-Reading Ideas and Activities are located at the beginning of the Guide. • Exploring Expository Writing—Worksheets designed to address the exploration and analysis of functional and/or informational materials and of the historical aspects of the text ü Author Biography including heritage, beliefs, and customs of the author ü Historical Context, including allusions and unique diction, comparison of situations across historical eras, analysis of theme relevant to the historical era ü Biographies of relevant non-fictional characters ü Relevant news and magazine articles, etc. • Comprehension Check—Similar to Exploring Expository Writing, but designed for comprehension of narrative text—study questions designed to guide students as they read the text. ü Questions focus on Reading Comprehension and Analysis and cover a wide range of questioning based on Bloom’s Taxonomy • Literature Focus—Worksheets and activities that directly address the content standards and allow students extensive practice in literary skills and analysis. 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If you need additional assistance, please email us at [email protected] Thank you for choosing Secondary Solutions—The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher! ® ©2013 Secondary Solutions -5– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ The House on Mango Street Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros (1954 - Period ________ ) Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the third of seven children and the only daughter, so she sometimes felt left out in her brothers’ company. Her father, a Mexican immigrant, worked as an upholsterer and frequently talked about his sons, but not as often about Sandra. Her mother worked in a local factory and completed most chores around the house so Sandra could focus on her schoolwork because she felt an education was very important to her daughter’s future. Señor Cisneros’s family still lived in Mexico City, so the entire family made an annual trip to spend quality time with their extended family. Each time they returned to Chicago, the Cisneroses unpacked their belongings into a new apartment, and the children enrolled in a different school. Consequently, Sandra Cisneros had trouble making friends and feeling like she belonged. She found reading, especially reading fairy tales, an excellent way to escape her lonely childhood, and she was thankful that it was possible to do so, even in a poor family, with the library card her mother helped her obtain. In 1966, the family finally moved into a house of their own, which helped the children to stay in one school. When she began high school at Josephinum Academy, an all-girls Catholic school near her house, Cisneros found another place where she felt she belonged. Her classmates and one particular teacher acknowledged her writing talent—especially poetry writing—and encouraged her to continue. During her college years, first at Loyola University in Chicago and then in the Master’s Program at the University of Iowa, Cisneros found her unique writing voice. At first, she looked around her classes and observed the faculty, realizing that she was very different because she was a woman from a poor neighborhood with a personal identity that was part American and part Mexican. Eventually she discovered that she could pull experiences from her own life, especially the people and places from the neighborhoods of her childhood, to write poems and stories that were both important and interesting. At first, Cisneros could not make enough money as a full-time writer to pay her bills, so she took a job as a counselor for high school dropouts at Latino Youth Alternative High School in Chicago in 1978. During the day, she helped the students deal with their personal and academic troubles while encouraging them to focus on their goals. In the evenings, Cisneros gave public readings of her writing and worked on a small chapbook of her poetry, entitled Bad Boys, which was published in 1980 as a limited run. Also that year, she left the high school to take a job as a recruiter at her alma mater, Loyola University, in an effort to encourage more Latino students to attend college. While in both school environments, she continued to meet interesting people and collect their stories, which served as more inspiration for the writing she did in her free time. In 1982, Cisneros got her first big break: the National Endowment for the Arts awarded her a grant, which allowed her to quit her job and focus only on her writing for a while. She finally had time to put all her short writing pieces together, and the concept for her most famous publication emerged. To get some distance from her home and the people she was writing about, she left the United States to travel around Europe while she revised her little stories, called vignettes. During this time, she also wrote more poems and built friendships with people overseas. These friendships reminded her of how similar all people are, despite ©2013 Secondary Solutions -6– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ their many differences. She returned to the United States in 1984 for the publication of The House on Mango Street, which received so much critical praise for its new style and fresh voice that it won the Before Columbus American Book Award. Shortly thereafter, Cisneros moved to San Antonio to work with the Guadalupe Arts Center. She immediately found a community in San Antonio that made her feel welcome and comfortable in a way she never felt in Chicago. San Antonio has been her home since. After The House on Mango Street was published, she was also better able to earn money and secure awards and grants that allowed her to focus on her writing. In 1987, she published a book of poems, My Wicked, Wicked Ways, which further cemented her reputation as a gifted writer and may have been the catalyst for Random House to offer her $100,000 for another book of fiction—the largest advance ever offered a Latino writer at that time. Cisneros used the advance to write and revise a collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, which was published in 1991. Her second book of poetry, Loose Woman was published in 1994, and an epic novel entitled Carmelo was published in 2002. When Cisneros was a child, there were no Mexican writers that served as role models to her. As a young Mexican-American girl, most people expected Sandra to grow up strong, get married, have children, and take care of the home. She has never gotten married or had children because she says she needs the quiet of her home to write, and her books and poems are like her children. Instead Cisneros made a place in the world for herself, where a young Latina can be creative, thoughtful, and intelligent while also being happy and successful. Although she did not have suitable role models for her writing, as a best-selling author and possibly the most famous Mexican woman writer, Cisneros has become a role model for young writers, especially women, who are inspired by her dedication and talent. She has also been able to use her writing as a means of educating non-Spanish speakers about the Latino experience in America, thereby increasing our understanding of the basic human themes of identity, belonging, and home. Comprehension Check: Author Biography Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. 1. What is one of the problems Sandra Cisneros faced in her youth? How did she overcome it? 2. Do you find any similarities between your life and Sandra Cisneros’s? If so, what are they? If not, what is one part of your life that is completely different from Cisneros’s? 3. In one or two paragraphs, write an even shorter summary of Cisneros’s life, from her birth to the present day, including as many of the important events of her life as you can. 4. What is one life lesson you can learn from Sandra Cisneros’s life? Where do you see that lesson exemplified in her life? 5. What do you think Sandra Cisneros is like, based on the information offered in the article? Give three traits and evidence from the article to support your opinions. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -7– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Historical Context: The Mexican Population in Chicago According to the 2010 census, two-thirds of the United States’ Latino population lives in California, Texas, or Arizona. However, the fourth most populous state for Latinos, especially Mexicans, is Illinois. In 1850, the Mexican population of Chicago consisted of a mere 50 people. By 1920, the census reported 1,200 Mexicans living in Chicago, and there were over one million by the year 2000. Today, many Mexican-Americans living in Chicago can trace their family’s history in the city as far back as the turn of the previous century. The period between 1900 and 1925 was full of change for both Mexico and the United States. Mexico was experiencing a time of political unrest and war, so men looking for better wages crossed the American border. In addition, many people found it unsafe to stay in Mexico, so entire families fled the country for the political or religious safety and the freedoms the United States offered. At this time, Chicago’s economy was heavily reliant on the railroad, steel, sugar beet, and meatpacking industries, but more workers were needed, sometimes to replace employees on strike or men fighting overseas during World War I. Business leaders sent representatives to the Southwest to hire newly arrived Mexican immigrants and transport them north. The recruiters, called enganchistas, paid for the new workers’ railroad fees and meals on the trip to Chicago, with the understanding that the Mexicans’ first paychecks would be docked a percentage until the money was compensated. They had better-paying jobs in the United States, but Mexicans still struggled. Many worked ten or more hours per shift, and their meals consisted of small portions of bread or watereddown stew, if they ate anything at all. Mexican immigrants had difficulty finding reasonably priced housing because many apartment complexes were owned by Europeans who resented immigrants. Therefore, landlords unfairly raised rent prices for Mexicans, which meant many people lived in the same apartment to be able to afford a roof over their heads. With more people in such small spaces, good health and sanitation was difficult to maintain. By the early 1920s, American soldiers had returned from war and wanted Mexicans to vacate their jobs and their communities. In Chicago, neighborhoods called colonias, or enclaves, were informally established to help keep Mexicans together. Some of those areas included Calumet, on the near West Side of Chicago; the Back of the Yards area, near the stockyards; and Pilsen, on the lower West Side. These enclaves gave rise to tortilla factories, restaurants, markets, and Spanish-language newspapers like El Ideal. The 1930 census reports 20,000 Mexicans, both immigrants and American citizens, living in Chicago—an increase of six hundred percent in just ten years. When the Great Depression hit the United States, Mexicans were seen as expendable and undesirable, so a nationwide campaign of repatriation began. Mexicans were rounded up and sent back to Mexico, even those who were born in the United States and were American citizens. Those who remained in the country had an even harder time getting jobs and food for their families, and some were hurt or killed because of racial violence. At the end of the campaign, about one-third of the Mexican population in the United States had been forced out. In Chicago, the loss was not as severe, in part because of the involvement of social workers and the work of settlement houses’ staff, who had already been offering assistance to immigrants for decades. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -8– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ By the late 1930s, Mexicans in Chicago began to take action to protect themselves and each other from the difficulties around them. Mutual aid societies were established in the enclaves, which required members to put a portion of their earnings into a community collection box each month. When a member needed money for a serious problem, like unemployment, illness, or death, they were given a portion of the money in the community savings to alleviate the issue. In addition, Mexicans, especially steel workers, joined labor unions like the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to win better wages and working conditions and to fight racism they observed in the workplace. In 1940, there were 35,000 Mexicans living in or around Chicago, but that was about to change. When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, Mexicans living in the United States joined the military to fight with the Allied forces in World War II. Some illegal immigrants were able to earn their citizenship this way, including Sandra Cisneros’s father. However, there were once again thousands of jobs needing to be filled, so the United States government established the Bracero Program (brazo means arm in Spanish) to invite guest workers from Mexico into the United States. These men were each on a six-month employment contract to work in agriculture in the Southwest and the railroad industry in Chicago and other major cities. The program ran until 1964. In the meantime, the Mexican-American community in Chicago continued to expand. Some braceros did not return to Mexico when their contracts were up, and they illegally stayed in the country with friends or relatives, taking jobs where they could. Colonias spread to larger areas, and an area near Pilsen called Little Village, or La Villita, became the center of Mexican culture in Chicago and remains so today. Mexican families also moved out of the city to the suburbs, including Joliet and Aurora, to find more space and larger homes. From the 1950s to the 1970s, organizations like the Mexican Patriotic Committee, the Chicago Area Project, and a branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) formed to meet the community, educational, and civil rights needs of the 250,000 Mexican citizens living in the Chicago area in 1970, a number that had increased five hundred percent since 1950. In the 1970s, the Chicano movement encouraged strength and pride in the Mexican culture in Chicago. Muralists such as Mario Castillo painted reminders of their heritage—from Aztec and Mayan symbols to entertainers, political leaders, and personal family members—as a way to pay homage to their roots. Mexican-Americans also worked in community organizations like the Spanish Coalition for Jobs and the Latino Institute to get the housing, medical coverage, and education they needed for their families. Through these organizations, they were also able to fight unfair employment practices and racial discrimination in the workplace. Today, Chicago remains a city where the Mexican culture is showcased and MexicanAmericans feel more empowered. Community service and activist groups work to educate Mexican-Americans on the resources and issues that pertain to them, while smaller pride organizations stage citywide celebrations, like the Mexican Independence Day Parade down 26th Street every September. Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, opened in 1987, has become a major institute for Mexican art and is visited by over 200,000 people annually. Mexican-Americans have earned top offices in local, state, and federal government as representatives of Chicago, and the state of Illinois, and they serve the more than one million Mexican-Americans living in the metropolitan area as of 2010. It is clear that without Mexicans’ contributions to the city’s industries, community, and culture for over a century, Chicago would not be what it is today. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -9– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Comprehension Check: The Mexican Population in Chicago 1. Create a graph showing the growth of the Mexican population in the Greater Chicago Area from 1850 to 2010, according to census data. 2. What are three reasons that Mexicans moved to the United States between 1900 and 1950? 3. Describe several ways that the social workers, settlement houses, or activism organizations helped Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans in Chicago. 4. Why is it logical that two-thirds of the Mexican-American population in the United States lives in Texas, California, and Arizona? 5. Develop three research questions you could use to discover more about the Mexican-American experience in Chicago or the United States. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 10 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Literary Style—Novellas and Vignettes The House on Mango Street is a novella, which is shorter than a novel. When compared to short stories, novellas are longer, with more conflicts and characters to develop. One definition requires a novella to be between 17,500 words and 40,000 words. Other novellas you might have heard of include Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, and A Christmas Carol. Instead of chapters, House on Mango Street includes vignettes (vin-YETS), brief descriptive writing pieces. In her vignettes, Sandra Cisneros describes the narrator, Esperanza, and her dreams, her family members and neighbors, and the neighborhood around Esperanza’s home. Each vignette is like a photograph, full of sensory details to help readers feel and understand the message the author is trying to convey. The vignettes seem disconnected at first, but careful readers will notice a plot emerge as Esperanza relates her life and the lives of those around her. In describing her concept of the book, Cisneros thought the reader “would understand each story like a little pearl, or you could look at the whole thing like a necklace.” 1. What benefits or challenges do you see to reading a novella written in vignettes? Explain your answer on a separate piece of paper, using the facts from above. In the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros wrote about the writer she was before publishing it. (Note: Cisneros is talking about herself in the third person here.) She wants to write stories that ignore borders between genres, between written and spoken, between highbrow literature and children’s nursery rhymes, between New York and the imaginary village of Macondo, between the U.S. and Mexico. It’s true, she wants writers she admires to respect her work, but she also wants people who don’t usually read books to enjoy these stories, too. She doesn’t want to write a book that a reader doesn’t understand and would feel ashamed for not understanding. She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty that is there to be admired by anyone, like a herd of clouds grazing overhead. She thinks people who are busy working for a living deserve beautiful little stories, because they don’t have much time and are often tired. She has in mind a book that can be opened at any page and will still make sense to the reader who doesn’t know what came before or comes after. 2. Do you know people who don’t read in their free time? Based on Sandra Cisneros’s opinions, what are a few reasons they might not read? Why does Cisneros think people should read her stories? Write your answers on your paper. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 11 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Cisneros continues to write about the style she adopted for House on Mango Street: She experiments, creating text that is as succinct and flexible as poetry, snapping sentences into fragments so that the reader pauses, making each sentence serve her and not the other way around, abandoning quotation marks to streamline the typography and make the page as simple and readable as possible. So that the sentences are pliant as branches and can be read in more ways than one. 3. With poetic writing, fragments and longer sentences, no quotation marks, do you think The House on Mango Street will be easy for you to read? Explain your reasoning with personal experience or the details from above. Write your answers on your paper. In an interview she did with her publisher, Cisneros said she felt that The House on Mango Street has a particular draw for teenagers because Esperanza has some of the same questions they do. I think that it speaks to young people's isolation, loneliness, and longing. . . . You basically have to invent [your list of possibilities] as you go, and you don't know who you're going to become yet. So you're looking around for models, as Esperanza is. She's looking at other women around her, saying, "I don't wanna go that way. I'm not going that way. But where do I go? Where do I fit? And how do I make myself into the person I want to be if I don't see that person I want to be?" I think that that's true for young people of any culture in their teens, when one day they still feel like a kid and the next day, you know, you’ve got the responsibilities of the adult. 4. Do you think young people are basically isolated and lonely? Are young people searching for role models? Do you agree that teens can be a kid one day and an adult the next? Respond to Cisneros’s comments. Do you think a story like this is one you will like to read? Write your answers on your paper. Cisneros characterizes her novella as a coming-of-age story, or a bildungsroman. In this type of book, a young main character has to learn about his or her world through observation and questioning, and this new education forces the character to make some surprising or uncomfortable realizations in order to become an adult. You may have read another bildungsroman, like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, or Ender’s Game. Can you think of any more? 5. Predict what kind of adult knowledge Esperanza may learn in The House on Mango Street that may cause her to mature and feel like an adult. Write your answers on your paper. Interview Responses from "The House on Mango Street” – The Story on YouTube.com, KnopfGroup Channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pyf89VsNmg ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 12 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Pre-Reading Ideas • • • • • • • • • • • • Journal or discuss topics related to the book, such as feeling a sense of belonging, growing up, prejudice, identifying a role model, or dreams for adult life. Complete a K-W-L (Know, Wonder, Learned) about the Latino culture. Write research questions from the Wonder column and have the students report their findings to the class. Share and discuss photos of Mexicans or Mexican-Americans (Chicanos) in everyday life. One excellent resource is Mexican Chicago, from the Images of America series by Arcadia Press. Find out about the term “rite of passage” and brainstorm a list of events that might be considered a rite of passage, e.g. moving from childhood to adolescence or adolescence to adulthood. Examples may include permission to go somewhere without parents, a job, babysitting, a religious ceremony, a cell phone, car keys, first kiss or sexual experience, graduation, etc. Read a short story from Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros. “Eleven,” about a girl who is forced to wear an uncomfortable sweater from the lost and found at school, is one that is frequently anthologized. Read picture books with both English and Spanish in them. Some examples might be Gathering the Sun by Alma Flor Ada and Simon Silver; Loverboy by Lee Merrill Byrd; My Colors, My World by Maya Christina Gonzalez; I Remember Abuelito: A Day of the Dead Story by Janice Levy, Loretta Lopez, and Miguel Arisa; In my Family by Carmen Lomas Garza; or This Home We Have Made by Anna Hammond. Discuss the flow of language and the themes that the stories have in common. The Mayans and the Aztecs used to inhabit the area that is now Mexico and beyond. Read some of their ancient stories and mythology and compare them to mythological stories from other cultures. Chicago has a rich history of muralists, especially those with cultural significance. Search for photos of Chicago murals and look closely at them to determine their message or purpose. Some artists to begin your search might include Jeff Zimmerman, Hector Duarte, and Alejandro Medina. The Chicago Public Art Guide also has a portfolio of some on their website. Bring in a picture of your home and write about it while looking at the picture. You can describe it, explain your feelings about it, or narrate an event that took place there. Alternately, search for a picture of your dream home or simply write about what your dream home would need to have, as Esperanza does in the first vignette of The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros said the vignettes in this novella were partially inspired by stories from her family, friends, and students. During an interview, when someone asked if the events in the novella really happened, her answer was, “all fiction has a basis in truth.” Tell a story to another student without him/her taking notes, and then have your partner tell you a story, in the same manner. Afterwards, take about ten minutes to write your partner’s story down. How much did you get right? How much did you have to make up to bridge a gap in your memory? Discuss whether it matters that part of the story is not true. Begin planning a Mexican festival, to be held after completion of the novella. Break into groups, with each group responsible for researching and planning something different, such as decorations, music, food, games or activities, or anything else that interests your class. It can even be a school wide event or fundraiser, with Spanish classes, Latino clubs, the dance class or band participating. Be sure to get families involved. Arrange for speakers to come in and share their stories with the students. The speakers may want to explain how they overcame adversity, created a path for their life that was not traditional, or accomplished the dreams they had as a child. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 13 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Pre-Reading Activity: Thematic Literary Elements Directions: For the following statements and questions, compose several sentences or a paragraph giving your reaction or answer to each question. Do your writing on a separate sheet of paper. 1. List five events that indicate that a child is growing into an adult. Explain how each of these experiences signifies that someone has become more adult. a. Consider: How much do a person's physical qualities, personal abilities and accomplishments, and emotional readiness make that person an adult? b. Which should be more important in determining maturity: a person's physical appearance, his/her intellectual abilities, or his/her emotional strength? Explain your answer. 2. Discuss how the statement, "Once you leave, you can never go home again," applies to children becoming adults. a. How important do you think it is to have a home? Is it important that it remain the same while you're away? For example, would you be upset if your home changed while you were away for the weekend? for summer camp? for college? b. Think about a time when you have left someplace you frequented as a child, and it seemed different when you returned. For example, you might think about a former home, your kindergarten classroom, a playground you used to visit, or the pool where you learned to swim. Has the place changed much, or have you? How? 3. Discuss how dreams (having a goal or vision) motivate human behavior. a. Provide a personal, literary, or historical example of a person with dreams. Discuss how this person's actions led to attaining his/her dream or prevented him/her from turning the dream into reality. b. Explain why you think humans tend to dream about a different life. Is dreaming necessary for growth and motivation? Why or why not? 4. Consider the cultural importance of the spiritual. a. Why do you think people consider belief in a god or gods to be important hallmarks of a culture? b. Select a particular historical or modern-day culture and explain how its people display or do not display belief in a higher existence. How do these beliefs affect the daily lives of the people of this culture? 5. The House on Mango Street repeatedly examines the role of women in their own lives, their parents' lives, their husbands' lives, their children's lives, and the world outside their homes. a. Provide a modern-day example of a woman who holds many important roles in her life. How does she meet all of the expectations that come with those roles? If she does not balance the roles well, what prevents her from doing so? b. Anticipate how you think the concept of women's roles will be developed in The House on Mango Street. After you have answered Questions 1-5, you will be divided into five small groups. As a group, discuss and summarize your group’s responses. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 14 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Anticipation/Reaction Activity Directions—Before reading the novel: In the “Before Reading” column, write “yes” if you agree with the statement, “no” if you disagree with the statement, and “?” if you don’t have a strong opinion or are not sure about the statement. Yes = I agree No = I disagree Before Reading ? = I don’t know After Reading Statement 1. The names people are given determine what type of people they will become. 2. Little girls should be able to wear anything, even if it makes them look like women. 3. Getting to know the neighbors is an excellent way to feel comfortable in a new home. 4. People who are born smart will have an easy time being successful. 5. Beautiful women use their looks as power to control others. 6. Where we live now has nothing to do with our lives in the future. 7. Dreams are as important to human survival as education, love, and health. 8. When trying to build a life, people need role models more than they need motivation. After completing the “Before Reading” column, get into small groups and tally the number of “yes,” “no,” and “?” responses for each question. Each group member should keep track of the tally. Group Members: Statement # 1 Yes No I Don’t Know 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Once you have collected your data, discuss those issues about which your group was divided. Make your case for your opinions, and pay attention to your classmates’ arguments. Once you have discussed all of the issues, answer the Pre-Reading Individual Reflection questions on the next page on your own. *Your teacher will collect and keep your chart and responses to use after you have finished reading the novel, when you will complete the Post-Reading Individual Reflection.* ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 15 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Anticipation/Reaction Reflection Pre-Reading Individual Reflection Directions: Use the information and discussion from the “Before Reading” responses to answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use complete sentences. 1. Which statements triggered the most thought-provoking or interesting discussion? 2. Summarize the discussion/debate. 3. For any of the statements that you discussed, what were some of the strongest or most memorable points made by your group members? 4. What was your reaction when a group member disagreed with the way you feel about an issue? 5. Was any argument strong enough to make you change your mind or want to change any of your initial responses? Why or why not? What made the argument effective? Post-Reading Individual Reflection Directions: After reading the novel, revisit your Anticipation/Reaction Activity and your answers to the discussion questions. Now that you have read the novel, complete the “After Reading” column on page 15 and answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper, comparing your responses. Answer each question using complete sentences. 1. How many of your responses have changed since reading the novel? 2. Which statements do you see differently after reading the novel? 3. Describe an important part of the novel that affected you or made you think differently after reading. 4. In small groups, talk to some of your classmates about their responses. How are their responses different after reading the novel? 5. Overall, are the feelings of your other group members the same or different from yours? Do any of their responses surprise you? Which ones? How? 6. Why do you think there might be so many different opinions and viewpoints? What do you feel has contributed to the way you and your other classmates responded to each statement? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 16 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Allusions, Slang, and Spanish Words Part 1 Mango Street, Loomis Street, Keeler Street, Paulina Street: Mango Street is a fictional location, but Loomis and Paulina are streets in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, which has a high population of Mexicans and other immigrants. An even bigger Mexican population is in the Little Village neighborhood, where Keeler is located. “Chinese year of the horse”: The Chinese zodiac associates each year with an animal and its characteristics. It rotates on a twelveyear cycle. People born in “the year of the horse” are thought to be cheerful, flexible, perceptive, intelligent, childish, and stubborn. Esperanza: The narrator’s name means “hope” in Spanish. “the neighborhood is getting bad”: People are moving into the neighborhood that are not welcome by the speaker. “shiny Sunday shoes”: In many cultures, it is important to dress up to go to religious services on the weekend. Often, kids have special clothes they only wear on Sunday, so their good clothes stay clean during the week. “You sure got quite a load”: You are carrying heavy objects. “popsicle lips”: lips that are big and pink, as after eating a popsicle Part 2 “I bought the Statue of Liberty for a dime”: The Statue of Liberty is a statue of the Roman goddess of freedom, holding a tablet and a torch, with a broken chain at her feet. It is over 300 feet tall and stands in New York harbor as the first thing some immigrants see when they arrive in the United States. Tourists can buy small replicas of the statue as a souvenir. “big brass record…with holes”: refers to a music box containing tiny metal “combs,” that when plucked by the holes on the record, produce sound. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 17 – marimbas: instruments similar to xylophones, but with lower and broader ranges Tarzan: Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912, this fictional character is a child raised in the wild by apes—the subject of hundreds of books, comic books, movies, television shows, and songs. Avon: a makeup company that trains women to go into homes and sell its products “Apples, peaches, pumpkin pah-ay”: The first line is from the song “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” by Jay and the Techniques in 1967. The second line is not in the song, but it fits the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the real lyrics. whitewalls: also known as whitewall tires or white sidewall tires, these tires are considered stylish, expensive, and high-maintenance flooring: pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, making the car go fast “what cream is best for taking off moustache hair”: a lotion that has chemicals to break down hair (ex. Nair) “a star to fall”: Sometimes called a falling star or shooting star, these streaks in the night sky are meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Some people believe that making a wish after seeing a falling star will help their wish come true. “straw brim”: a large hat made of straw and often used by farmers because of the brim, which keeps sun out of their eyes and off their necks and ears “There Was an Old Woman…”: an English th nursery rhyme dating back to the late 18 century. The full text reads, “There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. / She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do; / She gave them some broth without any bread; / Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.” “playing chicken”: a game in which two players try not to give up on a dare or conflict. If one gives up, that player is “chicken” and cowardly. If neither gives up, they both suffer the worst outcome, sometimes a serious injury. “swollen floorboards”: floorboards on a car or vehicle that have absorbed water and may begin to rot soon Part 3 “The Eskimos got thirty different names for snow”: a common belief, which is stated to show how words can convey the importance of a culture. Although it is true the Eskimo-Aleut languages have many words for snow, the English The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ language has about as many, including sleet, hail, blizzard, and flurry. cumulus: clouds that are white and puffy nimbus: clouds that are dark and tall, usually warning of precipitation “your mama”: a common, all-purpose insult “too much trash”: an insult, suggesting the target is unwanted or dirty “Cream of Wheat cereal”: a breakfast product like grits or oatmeal, but made of finely ground wheat kernels foot fleas: chigoe fleas, or “chiggers,” are parasites which burrow into the feet of humans and other mammals to lay eggs, leaving an irritating blister at the site chicken lips: an insult frijoles: “beans” in Spanish, and a staple of many Latin American diets tamales: With a history traced back to the Ancient Mayans, tamales are a traditional Central American dish made of a starchy corn dough called masa that is filled with a variety of foods, placed in a corn husk wrapper, and then steamed or boiled Cinderella: a fairy tale character who endured abuse at home, received magical help, and married a prince who found her by using a shoe that fit only her foot double-dutch rope: a jump rope game using two ropes, which alternately turn in opposite directions whiskey words: things people might say when they are drinking or drunk bushel basket: a wooden basket used to collect crops in a field “the ones who wear keys around their necks”: These classmates use their keys to enter an empty house after school, since their parents will be gone, usually working afternoon or evening shifts at their jobs. patrol boys: boys who wander around the school or neighborhood to keep their classmates, especially the younger ones, safe while traveling to and from school 300 Spartans: a movie from 1962 about 300 soldiers from the city of Sparta who lead a Greek army against an even larger Persian army, and refuse to surrender Sister Superior: the leader of a group of nuns or the principal of a school run by nuns three-flats: buildings that have three apartments chanclas: sandals or flip-flips; also, old, unwanted shoes ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 18 - Period ________ baptism: a sacred ceremony in Christian religions, when a person is welcomed into the faith community “tilts his thumbs to his lips”: a silent signal that someone has been drinking alcohol and may be drunk saddle shoes: a laced, usually leather shoe with a plain white toe and heel, but a black saddleshaped area in the middle of the shoe, in the lace and ankle area “my cousin by first communion or something”: probably meant to be “first cousin,” meaning the child of her aunt or uncle, or perhaps “cousin by marriage,” referring to a child who is her aunt’s or uncle’s nephew in another family “I like coffee, I like tea”: The indented, italicized rhymes in this vignette are jump rope jingles, chanted while a person is jumping rope to help keep rhythm. hoochi-coochie: a sexually suggestive belly dance or belly dancer, from which the classic blues song “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters takes its name heebie-jeebie: a modern idiom to refer to a feeling of anxious discomfort; also, a blues song by Louis Armstrong, in which he sings to a woman about doing “the heebie jeebies dance,” which may also be a euphemism for sexual intercourse Tahiti: an island located in the French Polynesia collection of islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, known for ‘ote’a, a fast hip-shaking dance often confused with Hawaiian hula dancing. merengue: a term which refers to a style of both music and partner dance originating from the Dominican Republic, but popular worldwide. Dancers hold their upper body upright while their feet move to the fast musical arrangements, often written in a 2/4 signature. tembleque: Translated from Spanish, it means “wobbly” or “trembling.” It is also the name of a Puerto Rican pudding dessert made with coconut milk, or a beaded headdress worn by folk dancers in some Spanish-speaking countries. “Skip, skip, snake in your hips”: Although this is just a jump rope chant, it has sexual undertones. “She misses on maybe so”: Lucy was jumping rope while chanting and did not jump at the right time when she said the last “maybe so,” which ended her turn jumping. “naphtha laundry soap”: Naphtha is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, and products made with it include lighter fluid and some cleaning supplies. However, Fels-Naptha (no h after the p) is a brand of laundry soap now owned by Dial, which comes in bar form and is used as a stain remover or laundry detergent booster. The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ “light-years away”: a form of hyperbole or exaggeration; about six trillion miles (just under ten trillion kilometers), or the distance light travels in a vacuum in 365.25 days “social security office,” “social security number”: a nine-digit number issued by the United States government through local Social Security Offices to help track wages and other income earned, to calculate how much an individual needs to pay in taxes, and to determine how much and which types of insurance an individual is entitled to when they retire from working dime store: a store offering inexpensive items for sale, often at ten cents or less, also known as a “five and dime” or “five and ten.” The modern equivalent is the dollar store. “negatives with their prints”: referring to the film that comes out of cameras, called “negatives” after the film is processed, and the photos created from the film, called “prints.” Touching negatives with wet or greasy fingers can damage them, making them it difficult to create more prints of the same picture, which is why employees of photo-processing stores handle the negatives with clean gloves on. Oriental man: “Oriental” is used to refer to people, objects, or ideas from the Eastern world, specifically those from Asia, according st to American English usage. In the 21 century, some consider it offensive to use the term to describe a person or group of people, but opinion varies. Part 4 abuelito: “grandfather” in Spanish “Está muerto”: “(He) is dead” in Spanish evil day: referring to the belief in astrology and that some days are more lucky than others Joan Crawford: a famous actress in movies, television, and on stage. She was one of the top female actresses from the 1920s through the 1940s, but continued to appear on screen until 1975. The book and movie Mommie Dearest is her adopted daughter’s story of the abusive relationship Crawford had with her children. “I knew her sick from the disease that would not go”: Although the disease Aunt Lupe has is never named, other clues in the vignette – she used to swim, her body is limp, her legs are useless, the fact that it is a longterm and incurable disease – suggest that it might be polio, a disease that experienced a ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 19 - Period ________ large increase of confirmed cases into the 1950’s, when a vaccine was developed. There is still no cure for those already inflicted with the disease. Blindness may be a result of a blood clot due to her inactivity. Wonder Woman: a superheroine created by William Moulton Marston for DC Comics. She has superhuman strength, speed, and agility; a Lasso of Truth; and a pair of indestructible bracelets. Beatles: an English rock band of four men who played together between 1960 and 1970 and the best-selling band or musical act in history Marilyn Monroe: an award-winning American actress, model, and singer, primarily in the 1950’s and one of the original sex symbols in American culture The Waterbabies: a children’s novel published in 1983 and written by Reverend Charles Kingsley. The story follows Tom, a young chimney sweep who drowns and becomes a water baby; he receives an education in morals and Christian values, and finally proves himself good enough to return to life in human form. Kool-Aid: a brand of fruit-flavored powder mixed with sugar and water, making a drink that is marketed primarily for kids Bugs Bunny: a Warner Brothers cartoon character created in 1938, who appears as a rabbit who walks upright and talks with a Brooklyn accent. He is known for being clever and enjoys playing tricks on other characters in the television show. “planets were all mixed up”: referring to a belief in astrology and the power of planetary position to affect human events and decisions plaster saint: a plaster statue of a saint in the Catholic religion Palm Sunday cross: Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter in Christian faiths, when they celebrate Jesus’s arrival into Jerusalem. Today, palm fronds are passed out during or after the Palm Sunday service, after which they are often tied into a cross-like shape and displayed in the home. voodoo hand: a diagram related to the voodoo religion practiced by people in the West Indies or people with ancestors from that area Milwaukee: a city in Wisconsin with a rich history of brewing and distributing beers the sign of the cross: a way to bless someone or something in Christian religions, by tracing a cross in the air “They’re not like ordinary playing cards”: Elenita is using tarot cards, which have seventyeight cards in a deck and can be used by mystics The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ for divination and determining the themes of someone’s life in the past, present, and future. los espíritus: “the spirits” or “the ghosts” in Spanish evil eye: a look believed to cause injury or bad luck for the person it is directed at hit-and-run: an accident when someone or something is hit, usually by a car, but the driver leaves without reporting it or claiming responsibility cumbias: a style of music and partner dance originally from Colombia, where it was traditionally used in courtship rituals salsas: a style of music and partner dance with a reputation for being sensual and sexy rancheras: a style of music associated with mariachi, with themes of love, the beauty of nature, and loyalty to the homeland brazer: an insulting term for a Mexican immigrant who acts like the stereotypical Mexican immigrant wetback: in Spanish, mojado; an insulting term for an illegal Mexican immigrant, since he or she must have waded through the Rio Grande to get across the border money orders: papers promising payment of a pre-determined amount of money, like a check, but more secure, since the amount is pre-paid to the issuer of the money order babushka: “grandmother” in Russian; the term for a scarf some Eastern European women wear over their hair and tie under their chins Emperor’s nightingale: from “The Nightingale,” a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson, in which a freedomloving nightingale bird teaches the Emperor of China that he cannot own everything he wants Marlon Brando: an award-winning actor and civil rights activist who had a reputation for saying what he felt and breaking rules, known for his roles in movies such as Viva Zapata!, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and A Dry White Season sphinx: a mythical creature with the head of a woman and the body of a lion braille: a form of reading for blind people, created by Louis Braille in 1825, in which the blind use their fingers to feel patterns of raised dots, which correspond to letters “The Walrus and the Carpenter”: a poem in Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both written by Lewis Carroll. In the poem, the title characters convince a group of young oysters ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 20 - Period ________ to leave their safe home, talk to them about sophisticated subjects, and then eat all the oysters with little regret. jukebox: a machine used to play popular music, originally records, but now able to play CDs or MP3 files 45 records: a flat music storage disc with a spiral groove, popular during most of the 1900s; a “45” refers to the smaller discs, about seven inches in diameter, which turn at forty-five revolutions per minute on a record player or in a jukebox crook of the arm: the area inside the elbow when the elbow is bent pitching pennies: a game in which players sit a set distance from a wall and throw their pennies or alternative objects at it. The winner is the person whose penny lands closest to the wall, usually winning all the pennies. “It made your blood freeze”: It made you so scared or nervous that you felt cold or shivered involuntarily. punk: an insult for a useless boy or teenager, with a suggestion that he is a criminal “those girls are the ones that go into alleys”: suggests that the girls are sexually active in alleys, where they think they can have privacy Part 5 Mamacita: “mommy” in Spanish Mamasota: “an attractive woman” in Spanish hatboxes: boxes with a detachable lid and a handle, meant to carry large hats that would be crushed in regular luggage Holy smokes: an American exclamation to show surprise or disbelief hollyhocks: tall perennial plants that have wide rounded leaves and multiple small flowers that grow on the same stem Cuándo: “when” in Spanish ¡Ay, caray!: an exclamation of surprise in Spanish, like “oh, wow!” dominoes: a matching game using black tiles with white dots on them Rapunzel: a fictional character from a German fairy tale, which the Grimm Brothers included in their story collections. Rapunzel is a beautiful woman with long hair who is trapped in a tower by an evil witch until a prince helps her escape. silver string: a way to hold on to something valuable and make it look more beautiful, like tying a ribbon on a present, but with stronger material “eyes like Egypt”: eye makeup that is heavy and black, usually with lines at the edge of the eyelids and points on the outside of eyes The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Cleopatra: Cleopatra VII, a woman who served as the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and had a reputation for being beautiful, clever, and strong-willed “enough is enough”: a phrase indicating that the speaker is upset and does not want to deal with any more unwelcome behavior/comments “lay their necks on the threshold”: referring to the guillotine, a device that was used to cut off the head of a human in the th th 19 and early 20 centuries “ball and chain”: a heavy chain connecting a prisoner to a heavy metal ball so the prisoner cannot run away; an insult for a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse who weighs the partner down with responsibilities or prevents him/her from achieving personal goals “who leaves the table like a man”: who leaves the table without cleaning up after himself because the woman is responsible for doing that morning glories: a type of flower. Many morning glories open in the morning to absorb full sun, curl up in the evening, and repeat the cycle the next morning. Ancient civilizations in Central America used sulfur extracted from morning glories to strengthen rubber, which might explain why Esperanza thinks the flowers are powerful. In the Victorian language of flowers, morning glories symbolize love in vain. Madame Butterfly: most commonly known as a tragic Italian opera, but versions of the same story have been told in short stories, novels, and movies. It is a complex story about unrequited love, hope, courage, and despair, in which the title character waits years for her missing husband to return to her. Eventually, he does, but he is married to someone else and wants to take their young son away, so she kills herself. comadres: “close female friends” in Spanish, sometimes referring to the godmothers of a woman’s children, who also act as their mothers (“co-“ meaning together and “madres” meaning mothers) smart cookie: slang for an intelligent person Part 6 sweetbread: known as pan dulce in Spanish. Examples include conchas (seashell), ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 21 - Period ________ cuernos (horns), besos (kisses), and empanadas (turnovers). cockscombs: sometimes spelled coxcombs; an edible flowering plant whose head tapers up to a point, like a flame theater curtains: thick heavy curtains, made of velour or velvet fabric and hung between the front of a stage and the audience pickup: the shortened version of “pick-up truck,” referring to a light truck with an open back and low sides Rip Van Winkle: the main character in a short story written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. Beginning before the American Revolutionary War, the story describes Rip as a lazy husband who is trying to avoid his wife’s nagging when he discovers some men in a clearing in the mountains and falls asleep. When he awakes twenty years later, the land is no longer under British rule because the Americans won the war, but his wife and friends are dead. His daughter, now an adult, agrees to take him in, and he returns to his old lazy habits. “the monkey garden had been there before anything”: a reference to the Garden of Eden in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament of the Bible. It states that God created the Earth in six days, but on the last day he created humans and put them in the Garden of Eden to live happily and innocently. Eventually, they are tempted to break his rule by eating a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and God banishes them from the garden, causing them to work and live a more difficult life. tilt-a-whirl: a circular carnival ride, which goes up and down short hills while also spinning in tight circles that could cause riders to feel dizzy and nauseous The Three Sisters: reminiscent of the Three Fates, creatures who appear in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology by different names, but who are usually in charge of destiny, or the past, present, and future of all individuals Guadalajara: the capital city of the Mexican state Jalisco petunias: tubular flowers native to South American countries because of their need for long periods of sun exposure “Nobody to shake a stick at”: an idiom that means nobody of importance The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Vocabulary List Directions: Use a dictionary to find the meanings of the following words in The House on Mango Street. Your teacher will direct you to do this either as you read each section, or as a pre-reading activity. Whatever method your teacher chooses, be sure to keep this list and your definitions to use in vocabulary exercises and to study for quizzes and tests. Part 1 barrettes rosettes pincurls raggedy inherit wobbly crumbly sassy Part 4 imitate capsules limp intern notify wedged Part 5 ferocious droop despite fuchsia hysterical nylons suede content Part 2 lopsided scrambling pleated dangle Part 3 doughy velvety strutted tavern canteen anemic slip authority cue ©2013 Secondary Solutions Part 6 twangy porcelain fringe will bazaar marble trudged - 22 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Note-Taking and Response Chart Directions: As you read each vignette of The House on Mango Street, use words or short phrases to summarize the details in each of the categories below. Completing this activity will help you understand and appreciate what you are reading, find common motifs in the vignettes, and trace character development and theme. A sample chart for the first vignette, “The House on Mango Street,” has been done for you on the next page. Vignette Number: Title: Setting: Describe the time and place of the action in each vignette, if possible. (The where and when) Characters: Write the names of the major characters involved in each vignette. (The who) Plot: Write the main events, the most important information, and the relevant details from this vignette. (The what) Connection: Write down anything that you found familiar in this vignette. Has anything similar ever happened to you or someone you know? How would you handle a comparable situation? Are you reminded of other stories? Are there any lessons or themes that you recognize? Prediction: Make a guess as to what may happen next in the vignette. Write what you think will happen and the effect it will have on the characters and on the plot. Thoughts/Illustration: Record your thoughts and illustrate a summary of the vignette using a simple but detailed drawing. (i.e., one that you will be able to refer to later and understand how it relates to your knowledge of The House on Mango Street). ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 23 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Note-Taking and Response Chart: Sample Vignette Number: 1 Title: “The House on Mango Street” Setting: the narrator’s new house on Mango Street, but she mentions several apartments she used to live in, too Characters: the narrator; also mentioned: Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kikki, Nenny, a nun from school Plot: The narrator explains that she and her family used to live in a series of apartments that were run-down and maybe in poor neighborhoods. However, now they live in a small house that her parents own. The narrator thinks it is disappointing because it is not the house she dreams of, but her parents say this is a temporary move. She doesn’t believe them. Connection: When I was young, my aunt and uncle moved to a big house on a street with other brand-new homes. I thought it was wonderful and wanted one just like they did, but my parents said we would move into a new house when they won the lottery. My parents never bought lottery tickets, so I understood that they were joking with me. Prediction: I think that the narrator will be embarrassed about where she lives again, but she will eventually accept it as a nice place. Thoughts/Illustration: The narrator is unhappy at her new home, but thinking about a nicer, bigger house to live in. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 24 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Note-Taking and Response Chart Vignette Number: Title: Setting: Characters: Plot: Connection: Prediction: Thoughts/Illustration: Vignette Number: Title: Setting: Characters: Plot: Connection: Prediction: Thoughts/Illustration: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 25 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Journal Response—Sample As you read each vignette of The House on Mango Street, you will be completing a chart like the one at the bottom of this page. Under “Quotes,” select two or three quotes from each vignette that capture your attention and/or are meaningful in some way. Under “Responses,” respond to your quote choice using ideas from the following guide: • Make a personal or global connection to the quote. • Make a prediction based on the content of the quote. • Analyze the significance of the quote as it relates to the development of the plot. • Analyze the significance of the quote as it relates to the development of a character. • Explain how the quote changes your opinion of a character or plotline. • Explain how this quote confuses the plot. • Describe in detail why you find that this quote is important or well said. • • • • • • • Below is a list of some possible ways to start your quote response “I wonder why . . . " "This reminds me of . . . " "What if . . ." "This is significant because . . ." "This might foreshadow . . . " "This leads me to believe that . . . " "This makes me question . . . " Vignette “The House on Mango Street” Quote Response p. 4 “But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all." This leads me to believe that the narrator is disappointed with the house that her family moves into. I wonder if she will be more happy and accepting of her home by the end. p. 5 “There. I had to look to where she pointed – the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing.” This reminds me of when a family friend came to visit right after we moved from the condo to a house. It was bigger than the condo, and I was happy with it, but bringing the friend over to see the new place made it feel small, unimpressive, and a little dirty. I was able to see my house from a stranger’s point of view, and it was embarrassing then. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 26 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Standards Focus: Journal Response Chart Vignette #s Title and Quote Response Quote Response Title ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 27 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “House on Mango Street” 1) Who are the people that live with the narrator? 2) Contrast the house on Mango Street with the narrator’s dream house. 3) How long do the narrator’s parents plan to live in the house on Mango Street? How does the narrator feel about this? “Hairs” 1) Describe each of the narrator’s family members according to his or her hair. 2) How does the narrator feel about her mother? Find evidence to support your decision. “Boys and Girls” 1) According to the narrator, can boys be friends with girls? What experience does she have to support her opinion? 2) How does the narrator feel about her sister? 3) What does the narrator wish for? Why does she want one? “My Name” 1) What is the narrator’s name and what does it mean? 2) Who is she named after? What was that woman like? 3) What is a woman’s role in Mexican society, according to the narrator? “Cathy Queen of Cats” 1) Who is Cathy and why is she the queen of cats? 2) Why does Cathy’s family have to move soon? 3) How do you think Esperanza feels about their reason for moving? “Our Good Day” 1) What does Esperanza get for five dollars? 2) How does Cathy react to the purchase? How do you think she feels about Esperanza’s new friendship with Rachel and Lucy? 3) What do the girls do with their new purchase on the first day? What do they plan to do with it in the future? 4) Why do Rachel and Lucy seem better friends to Esperanza than Cathy does? “Laughter” 1) How are Rachel and Lucy alike? How are Esperanza and Nenny alike? 2) What do the houses remind Esperanza of? Who agrees with her? 3) What does the incident with the house suggest about Esperanza and Nenny? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 28 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “The House on Mango Street” A. What does your house look like? Describe its good and bad points. B. Is it better to get none of something that you hope for, or is it better to get part of it? Explain your reasoning. “Hairs” A. What is your hair like? How is it different from others in your family? B. What is it about your family that makes you feel loved, safe, or supported? “Boys & Girls” A. How do boys and girls interact with each other in your life? Give a few examples. B. What are some expectations or responsibilities boys have that are usually masculine? What are some expectations or responsibilities girls have that are usually feminine? Give some exceptions to these rules. “My Name” A. Write what you know about your name. What does it mean? How was it chosen? How do you feel about it? What similes or metaphors would you use to describe your feelings about it? B. Do you think that someone’s name or birthday determines their personality or future? Explain. Do you pay attention to horoscopes or zodiac signs? Why or why not? “Cathy Queen of Cats” A. Has someone ever shown prejudice toward you because of your age, race, ethnic background, religion, or something else? What did the person do or say? How did you react? B. If you could help Esperanza respond to Cathy’s prejudiced comments rationally, what would you tell her she should have said to increase understanding and awareness between them? “Our Good Day” A. Describe a good day with your friends. B. Why do you think simple toys, like bicycles and kites, are still popular in an era of cell phones, the Internet, and video games? Explain your reasoning. “Laughter” A. Which family member are you most like, physically? How? Which family member are you most like in personality? How? B. Do you feel that you most often make friends with people who think like you do? Why or why not? Give a few examples to support your answer. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 29 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Literature Focus: Sequence The way The House on Mango Street was written can be challenging to readers because the events are not told in sequential order. When a story is told in sequential order, the first event is explained first, the second event is explained next, and so on, until the last event is told at the end of the story. Esperanza does explain the events in the story in sequential order most of the time, but sometimes she skips to the past, which is called a flashback. In addition, some vignettes do not describe any events, but they do share Esperanza’s feelings or her dreams for the future, which is a form of character development. It is important to pay attention to these shifts in time and tone in order to understand the text and its purpose. Directions: Paraphrase the statements below to put them in sequential order on the timeline. If a phrase does not seem like an event in Esperanza’s life, but rather a point of character development, draw a star next to the statement and leave it off the timeline. Esperanza loves the bread-like smell of her mother’s hair. Esperanza and Nenny notice a house that reminds them of Mexico. Esperanza spends time with her little sister while her brothers play separately. Esperanza’s great-grandmother was forced to get married. Esperanza meets Rachel and Lucy and buys a bike with them. Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy spend the day riding their bike together. Rachel and Lucy laugh in the same way. Esperanza dreams of a bigger house with a large yard and three washrooms. Cathy becomes Esperanza’s friend. Esperanza’s name makes her feel uncomfortable, and she wants to change it. Esperanza’s family moves to the house on Mango Street. Esperanza does not want to grow up like her great-grandmother. Cathy walks away and is not Esperanza’s friend anymore. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 30 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Language Focus: Sentence Structure A complete sentence has a subject and a verb. Examples: Nikaria laughed. Hoang has walked. The team was losing. These types of sentences are simplistic and lack extra information to deepen our understanding of the subject. We can add adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses, or even additional subjects and verbs to make our sentences more interesting. Examples: Nikaria laughed suddenly. Nikaria laughed yesterday. Nikaria laughed at her brother. Nikaria laughed, spewing soda out of her mouth. These are still all simple sentences, but they offer a bit more information. However, they appear to all relate to the same incident, so combining the sentences would be appropriate to convey a more complex event. For example: Yesterday, Nikaria cracked up at her brother, spewing soda out of her mouth. Directions: Combine the simple sentences in each block into one complete sentence on the space provided. Then, share your sentence with a partner and write down your partner’s sentence. Finally, find a sentence in the vignette “The House on Mango Street” that gives the same information and copy it down. 1. We had to leave the flat. The flat was on Loomis. We had to leave quick. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 2. The water pipes broke. The landlord wouldn’t fix the pipes. The house was too old to fix. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 31 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. That’s why Mama and Papa looked for a house. That’s why we moved into the house. The house is on Mango Street. Mango Street is far away. Mango Street is on the other side of town. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 4. This is the house Papa talked about. He talked about it and held up a ticket. The ticket was from the lottery. This was the house Mama dreamed up in stories. She told these stories to us. We heard these stories before we went to bed. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 5. The laundromat downstairs had been boarded up. The laundromat had been robbed two days before. The owner had painted on the wood. The wood said YES WE’RE OPEN. The owner did not want to lose business. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 6. Now, look at the sentences for each item. What similarities or differences do you see? 7. What did you notice about Sandra Cisneros’s use of conjunctions (and, but, or) and commas in her writing? What does this suggest about Cisneros’s writing style in the rest of the book? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 32 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” 1) Describe the item in the store that fascinates Esperanza. 2) Why does Esperanza pretend she does not want it? 3) How does Nenny react to the item? What is Esperanza’s opinion of Nenny’s behavior? “Meme Ortiz” 1) How are Meme and his dog alike? 2) Was Meme’s house built well? Cite details from the vignette to support your conclusion. 3) Why do you think Esperanza thinks the large tree in his backyard is so memorable? “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin” 1) Who are Louie’s cousins? 2) How do you know that the car the other cousin is driving is expensive and luxurious? 3) How did Louie’s other cousin get the car? Why did you make that inference? “Marin” 1) What are Marin’s plans for her future? 2) What is Marin’s nightly ritual? 3) What are three words you or Esperanza might use to describe Marin’s personality? “Those Who Don’t” 1) How do strangers feel in Esperanza’s neighborhood? How is that different from the feelings Esperanza and her neighbors have? 2) How do people from Esperanza’s neighborhood behave when they are in a different area of town? “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” 1) Who is Rosa Vargas? Describe her life. 2) What does Esperanza think the Vargas children are missing, aside from their father? 3) How do other people in the neighborhood react to the Vargas children? “Alicia Who Sees Mice” 1) What are Alicia’s responsibilities at home? Why? 2) What is Alicia afraid of? 3) How does Alicia’s father react when she mentions mice? How does he feel about women in general? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 33 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational, analytic, or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” A. Have you ever been to a place (i.e. a store, a home, a tourist attraction) that had so much to look at that you felt overwhelmed? Describe the place and some of the items you remember from it. B. Is it fair for Gil to have such a beautiful object in a store and not sell it? Explain your position. “Meme Ortiz” A. Write a narrative about a time you risked your safety to win a competition or to have more fun. Would you do it again? B. Create an overview of a competition entitled the Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest. How would it be set up and what are the rules? How would you publicize a competition like this? How would the winner be determined? “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin” A. Describe an interaction with someone you barely know that changed your life in some way. B. What do you think of Louie’s other cousin? Is he generous for taking the kids for a ride or unwise for involving them and delaying his escape? Explain your opinion or what you would have done in his situation. “Marin” A. Who is a person in your life who “is older and knows lots of things”? What did he or she teach you? B. Is it better to wait for someone to change your life or to do it yourself? Give an example from your experience that may support your opinion. “Those Who Don’t” A. Explain how you felt when you went into a strange neighborhood and were not welcomed. How did the residents there behave that made you feel unwelcome? How did you react? B. In this vignette, Esperanza states, “All brown all around, we are safe.” What aspects, aside from race, separate people from others who are different? Do you think segregation or integration is the way to build safe neighborhoods and cities? Why? “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” A. When you were young, did families in your neighborhood take care of each other together or mind their own business? Describe an incident to illustrate your impression. B. Do you think a society should work together to take care of its children, or should parents govern only their own children? What are responsibilities that should be shared in the society and others that should fall to the parents alone? “Alicia Who Sees Mice” A. Recount an incident when you were scared or you shared your fears with others. Include their reactions to your fears. B. Alicia and Marin, who are mentioned earlier in the novella, both have plans for their futures. Contrast their methods for achieving their goals and explain why you think one girl will be more successful than the other. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 34 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Literature Focus: Figurative Language Figurative language is a tool writers use to describe a feeling, or create a picture or situation when the usual words do not convey it perfectly. Several forms of figurative language and their definitions are listed below. • • • • • • • • alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds to invoke a feeling or sound allusion: a reference to a person, place, or item outside the context of the text metaphor: the comparison of two unlike things personification: the act of giving an animal or inanimate object human characteristics onomatopoeia: a word that mimics the sound it describes simile: the comparison of two unlike things, using the word “like” or “as” symbolism: the use of items to represent ideas or qualities synesthesia: the explanation of one sensory experience by describing another Part I Directions: Read the sentences below. Identify which type of figurative language is being used, and write your answer on the line provided. Then, underline the examples of that type of figurative language in the sentence. 1. This winter is like an old dog that cannot decide where to rest for the night. 2. Several scaly snakes slithered across the street this morning! 3. You should have seen Khoi at the swim meet! He was showing the kinds of times Michael Phelps put up in his pre-Olympic days! 4. As I packed my things for college and moved into my dorm, the falling maple leaves reminded me that my childhood was over. 5. Parvati drove home that night, with the feeling that the moon was following her to ensure she arrived safely. 6. I love to drink a mug of hot chocolate while listening to the sweet notes of a jazz concert, away from the bitter cold outside. 7. Happiness is breathing the fresh mountain air while working with your hands. 8. Serena’s mother clicked her tongue to show she disapproved of a teenager with such an expensive purse. Pick one of the sentences above and explain its use of figurative language. Why was the sound, comparison, or imagery important to describing the situation? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 35 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Part II Directions: Read each of the examples of figurative language from The House on Mango Street below. On the lines below the quotation, identify the type of figurative language being used and explain the line using literal language (simple factual description), rather than figurative language. 1. “And me, my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands.” (6) 2. “Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.” (9) 3. “[Rachel and Lucy] are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks.” (15) 4. “Me, I never said nothing to him except once when I bought the Statue of Liberty for a dime.” (20) 5. “Then he starts [the music box] up and all sorts of things start happening. It’s like all of a sudden he let go a million moths all over the dusty furniture…” (20) 6. “But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake and our car windows get rolled up tight and our eyes look straight.” (28) 7. “… 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) 8. “Alicia, who inherited her mama’s rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for the first time at the university.” (31) ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 36 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Language Focus: Parallel Structure In geometry, when lines are parallel, they run side-by-side smoothly, with no confusion about which line is which. In communication, sentences that use parallel structure use the same forms of subjects, verbs, phrases, or clauses. When parallel structure is used well, a sentence is clear and smooth. When parallel structure is not used well, a sentence can be confusing and distracting to the reader. There are several common types of parallel structures. A. Using verbs as nouns (gerunds or infinitives) Incorrect: Deborah loves camping, scrapbooking, and to bake. Correct: Deborah loves camping, scrapbooking, and baking. Correct: Deborah loves to camp, to scrapbook, and to bake. B. Using adjectives or adverbs Incorrect: The new Prius is compact, quiet, and runs on very little gas. Correct: The new Prius is compact, quiet, and energy-efficient. Incorrect: Liliana danced into the room quietly and with grace. Correct: Liliana danced into the room quietly and gracefully. C. Connecting phrases or clauses with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) Incorrect: Carlos and José went hiking and then to a fast food restaurant. Correct: Carlos and José went on a hike and then to a fast food restaurant. D. Comparing options Incorrect: I would prefer eating at home instead of to go out for dinner tonight. Correct: I would prefer eating at home instead of going out for dinner tonight. E. Offering a list of items Incorrect: Schools are unfair because of grades, dress codes, and using cell phones. Correct: Schools are unfair because of grades, dress codes, and cell phone policies. Directions: Combine the short sentences below into one complete sentence that uses parallel structure. 1. Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold sells old refrigerators. He also sells dusty couches. The televisions he is selling probably do not work. 2. Meme Ortiz has a dog. The sheepdog has grey eyes. Meme gave the dog two names. The dog has a clumsy, floppy run. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 37 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. Louie, his mom, and his sisters live in the basement of Meme’s house. Marin is also living in the basement of Meme’s house. Louie’s other cousin is going to jail. 4. Marin wears her skirts short. She also has pretty green eyes. She has a boyfriend back in Puerto Rico. 5. In a neighborhood of another color, Esperanza’s knees begin to shake. The car windows get rolled up. Straight ahead is where she looks. 6. Efren Vargas chipped his buck tooth on a parking meter. Refugia Vargas’s head was stuck between two slats in the gate. Death is what resulted when Angel Vargas fell. 7. Staying up late and studying is something Alicia likes doing. Alicia studies for university. The kitchen is not where Alicia wants to stay all her life. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 38 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Darius & the Clouds” 1) What does Esperanza think there is a shortage of on Mango Street? 2) What does Darius see at the end of the vignette, and where does he see it? 3) How are Darius’s comments in this vignette so surprising in comparison to his normal behavior? “And Some More” 1) What starts the disagreement between the girls? 2) Is the name-calling serious, meant to hurt each other's feelings, or is it just joking? Explain your opinion. 3) How is Nenny’s behavior different from the rest of the girls’? Why do you think that is the case? “The Family of Little Feet” 1) What do the girls get from the family with little feet? How do the girls react to the gifts? 2) What discovery do the girls make because of the gifts? Why do you think they just made this discovery now? 3) How does the behavior of the boys and men in the neighborhood change? “A Rice Sandwich” 1) Why does Esperanza want to eat in the canteen? 2) Which reasons does Esperanza use to convince her mother to write a note for her? 3) What was Esperanza’s experience in the canteen? “Chanclas” 1) What did Esperanza’s mother forget? How does she react to this mistake? 2) How do Esperanza’s feelings change during her dance with her uncle? 3) Who else wants to dance with Esperanza? Why do you think she mentions him watching her dance? “Hips” 1) What are the girls doing in this vignette while they talk about hips? 2) Name three things the girls say hips are needed for. 3) Contrast Nenny’s comments with the other girls’ comments. Take a guess at Nenny’s age, and explain your guess. “The First Job” 1) Why does Esperanza need to get a job? 2) What does Esperanza do at her job? 3) List three moments during her first day that are awkward or uncomfortable for Esperanza. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 39 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Darius & the Clouds” A. Tell the story of a time when a concept that was extremely complex was simplified for you. It could be a school concept (e.g. double-digit multiplication), a personal solution (e.g. how to resolve an argument with a friend), or a much larger issue (e.g. why there is suffering in the world). B. Write about your spiritual feelings. Do you believe in a greater presence in the world? Have you been raised in a certain religion, and how has that faith community changed you, as you have gotten older? If you do not have a religion, has that affected your life? How? “And Some More” A. Describe a normal afternoon you spent with some friends. B. Do you think it is normal and acceptable for friends to call each other names and insult each other, like Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy do in this vignette? Is it all in fun, or does it really hurt feelings? Does it strengthen a friendship or weaken it? Use personal experience to support your ideas. “The Family of Little Feet” A. Do you remember the time when you first realized that your body was turning into a body more like an adult’s? Explain how you made that discovery. B. Is it fair that women and men are categorized and judged by the clothing they wear? What are the benefits and disadvantages of such judgment? “A Rice Sandwich” A. Describe a situation in which you got something you really wanted because you thought it was very special, but once you had it, it was nothing like you expected? B. The kids at the canteen have keys around their necks because they return home after school to an empty house. What determines when a child can be at home alone? Is it age, ability, or maturity? What would be the requirements for your child(ren) to be able to stay home alone for several hours? “Chanclas” A. Describe one of your most embarrassing moments. Now, after time has passed, how have your feelings about the incident changed? B. Do you feel that some people put too much pressure on themselves to look perfect? Cite evidence from the news or your experience to illustrate your position. “Hips” A. The girls compare growing up to blooming roses. What is another comparison you could draw? Write an extended metaphor, connecting the process of growing up to something else. B. How should people behave when they are around others who are younger or more innocent? Should they protect that innocence or destroy it? Why? “The First Job” A. Describe a situation like Esperanza's, when someone took advantage of your trusting nature and made you feel uncomfortable. B. If you were in a similar situation with the older man in this vignette, what would you do to defend yourself or report the aggressor’s behavior? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 40 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Literature Focus: Character Interaction In some stories, like the ones in The House on Mango Street, there are so many characters that you do not know which ones are going to be important to the plot and development of the story, and which are not. However, in this novella, it is clear that Esperanza is the most important character. Therefore, analyzing her relationships with each of the other characters will help to better understand her and the way the plot elements emerge. Character mapping is one way to show relationships between people in a visual way. It allows for as many characters and relationships as there is space to put them, and readers’ maps tend to look different because they understand and perceive the characters differently. However, each map reflects the essence of the characters’ relationships, which requires both summary and analysis skills on the part of the person doing the mapping. Below is an example of a character map for the popular Grimm Brothers fairy tale, Cinderella. To read it correctly, start with the shape at the end of the arrow as the subject of the sentence, fill in the words on the arrow, and use the shape the arrow points to as the object of the action or phrase. For arrows with two points, the sentence can begin from either shape. Ex: Father is unaware of the abuse of Cinderella. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 41 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Directions: Use the space below or another piece of paper to create a map of the characters you have encountered in The House on Mango Street so far, with Esperanza in the middle. As you complete the map, consider a few things: § Use shapes to reflect the characters’ personalities. Cinderella’s stepmother is sharp and mean, so a rectangle is more appropriate than a circle. Since the stepmother is a rectangle, it makes sense for her daughters to be squares, which are smaller versions of a rectangle. § The placement of a shape is important, too. Some shapes could be closer to Esperanza because she has a close relationship with those people, but others will be further away. Consider putting characters whose relationships are similar, like her family members, in the same general area to keep the arrows neater and easier to follow. § Not all relationships will create two arrows. Cinderella’s stepsisters know who the prince is, but the fairy tale does not state that he even knows who the stepsisters are. Follow-up As you continue to read The House on Mango Street, refer back to your map for help remembering the characters. You can also add new characters or revise relationships as needed. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 42 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Language Focus: Context Clues Context is the environment around a focused object. In the context of your classroom, there are probably desks, posters, students, and a teacher. These are around you, and they add to your understanding of what a classroom is. With reading and vocabulary, context is similar: it is the words or sentences around a certain word that all contribute to your understanding of the word. Read the sentence below and try to use the context to guess at the underlined word. I love Club Day at my school because I enjoy gathering information from the multifarious organizations I could join: from Video Gamers Anonymous to the volunteer-driven Key Club, from Young Entrepreneurs to Club Français. What do you think multifarious means? Now, write the meaning of the word, as found in a print or online dictionary. Underline the words in the original sentence that were good context clues, hinting at its meaning. Directions: For each selection from The House on Mango Street below, a) record the meaning you infer for each bold word, b) write the word’s meaning from a dictionary, and c) underline the context clues in the sentence that could help clarify its meaning. The first one has been done for you. Ex. “A very fat lady crossing the street says, You sure got quite a load there. Rachel shouts, You got quite a load there too. She is very sassy.” (16) a) Inferred meaning: rude b) Dictionary meaning: outspoken or inconsiderate 1. “Because Lucy has long legs she pedals. I sit on the back seat and Rachel is skinny enough to get up on the handlebars which makes the bike all wobbly as if the wheels are spaghetti, but after a bit you get used to it.” (15-16) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 2. “We saw the yellow Cadillac at the end of the block trying to make a left-hand turn, but our alley is too skinny and the car crashed into a lamppost. . . . The nose of that yellow Cadillac was all pleated like an alligator’s, and except for a bloody lip and a bruised forehead, Louie’s cousin was okay.” (24-25) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 43 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. “His feet were fat and doughy like thick tamales, and these he powdered and stuffed into white socks and brown leather shoes.” (39) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 4. “It’s Rachel who learns to walk the best all strutted in those magic high heels.” (40) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 5. “Across the street in front of the tavern a bum man on the stoop. . . . Now you know to talk to drunks is crazy and to tell them your name is worse, but who can blame her.” (41) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 6. “The special kids, the ones who wear keys around their necks, get to eat in the canteen. The canteen! Even the name sounds important. And these kids at lunch time go there because their mothers aren’t home or home is too far away to get to.” (43) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 7. “I’m no Spartan and hold up my anemic wrist to prove it. I can’t even blow up a balloon without getting dizzy.” (44) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 8. “But most important, hips are scientific, I say repeating what Alicia already told me. It’s the bones that let you know which skeleton was a man’s when it was a man and which a woman’s. “They bloom like roses, I continue because it’s obvious I’m the only one who can speak with any authority; I have science on my side.” (50) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: Application: With your dictionary still open, find a word you didn’t know and read its definition. Write a sentence below, trying to use the word and include several context clues around it in the sentence to clarify its meaning. Then switch papers with a partner and try to infer the meaning of the word he or she used. 9. a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 44 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Four Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” 1) What news does Esperanza’s father share with her? 2) Contrast Papa’s reaction with Esperanza’s reaction to the news. 3) What are Esperanza’s responsibilities for the day? What will her father have to do? “Born Bad” 1) Who is Aunt Lupe? What has her life been like? 2) According to Esperanza, who is “born bad”? Why? 3) What advice does Aunt Lupe give Esperanza? What do you think it means? “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” 1) What is Esperanza hoping to do when she visits Elenita? 2) Why does Esperanza long to watch Bugs Bunny cartoons instead? 3) What does Elenita suggest for Esperanza’s future? Is Esperanza satisfied? Why? “Geraldo No Last Name” 1) Where do Marin and Geraldo meet? Who is he to Marin? 2) Why does no one seem to know Geraldo’s last name? 3) Which statements from the vignette suggest that Geraldo could have survived the accident? “Edna’s Ruthie” 1) Who are Edna and Ruthie? 2) What are two things about Ruthie that Esperanza likes? 3) What does Esperanza not realize about Ruthie? “Earl of Tennessee” 1) Who is Earl? What does he do for a living? 2) How does Earl interact with the kids in the neighborhood? 3) What is the gossip about Earl? What do Esperanza and the other neighborhood kids not realize about Earl and his wife? “Sire” 1) Why is Esperanza afraid of Sire? 2) Who is Lois? How does Esperanza feel about her? 3) How is Esperanza changing in this vignette? Cite two details to support your answer. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 45 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Four Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first one is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one is more informational, analytical, or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” A. How do you want people to react when you die? How should they remember or celebrate your life? B. Do you think adults should show their vulnerable sides to their children? Why? “Born Bad” A. What is something you truly regret doing now? Rewrite the ending of your story as if you had done something else. B. Even though Esperanza and her friends are not really responsible for Aunt Lupe’s death, do you think they should feel guilty? If so, why? If not, why do they feel so bad about it? “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” A. Have you ever used a Ouija board, tarot cards, a palm reader, a horoscope, or any other mysterious tool? What did you hope would happen? What really happened? Do you believe in the results these tools yield? Explain. B. Why do you think Elenita has tools and reminders of Catholicism, voodoo, and divination in her home? How would she justify ascribing to such varied faiths? “Geraldo No Last Name” A. Describe a time when you wanted to get help for yourself or someone else, but you felt powerless because of forces greater than yourself. B. Are there still residents of our country who are ignored as easily as Geraldo was? Who are they? What could be done about it? What would it require to make a change? “Edna’s Ruthie” A. Do you take joy in the little things in life? Write a list of the small moments in your life that make you happy. B. Esperanza dreams of her future, but Ruthie lives in the present and enjoys each moment. In your opinion, which is a better way to live? Explain your answer. “Earl of Tennessee” A. Write a character description of a strange neighbor you have had. Use specific details and events from your experience, as well as descriptive language, to show how that person is strange. B. What is a daily ritual you have that has a series of sounds? Use paragraph 3 of this vignette as a mentor text to write your own sound paragraph. “Sire” A. When have you felt “everything is holding its breath inside”? Narrate the story of your feelings and what caused them. B. If Esperanza were your child, would you offer the same warnings about boys and girls that her parents do? When will it be appropriate for your children to have the experiences Esperanza longs for in this vignette? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 46 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Four Literature Focus: Setting and Theme Authors choose the titles of their novels carefully, allowing the titles to suggest the important ideas of the text. The House on Mango Street could have been called Esperanza or The Cordoro Family or even Growing Up. What message do you think Sandra Cisneros means to send because she chose the title The House on Mango Street? Why do you think Cisneros used the word “house” in the title instead of “home”? What is the difference between a house and a home? Because Cisneros is focusing on Esperanza’s surroundings — her home, her neighborhood, and her life as a result of where she lives – we know the setting is related to the theme, or the life lesson, the author wants to convey. Looking closely at the houses mentioned in the story will help us understand what Cisneros is suggesting in The House on Mango Street. Directions: For each of the residences below, identify details from the story, and then identify impressions that you or Esperanza may associate with the home because of her word choice. The first one has been done for you. Homes Details from the Text Impressions Esperanza's apartment on Loomis (p. 4-5) broken water pipes, third floor, above a boarded-up laundromat, peeling paint, bars over the windows embarrassing, hostile, rundown, poor, dangerous the house on Mango Street (p. 4, 106-107, 109110) Cathy's house, which Meme’s family moves into (p. 21-22) Alicia's home (p. 31-32) ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 47 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Homes Details from the Text Period ________ Impressions Aunt Lupe's apartment (p. 58-61) Elenita's home (p. 62-64) Earl's apartment (p. 70-71) Mamacita's apartment (p.7678) Rafaela's apartment (p. 79-80) Sally's home after her marriage (p. 101-102) Esperanza's dream home (p. 4, 82-83, 8687, 108) Why are all these residences described in such detail? Which have the most favorable or comfortable associations for Esperanza? Esperanza appears to be looking for “her place in the world.” What does that phrase mean? How is it related to a home, in Esperanza’s mind? What do you think one of the themes of The House on Mango Street could be, based upon this exercise? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 48 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Four Language Focus: Allusions Sandra Cisneros has written that she wanted The House on Mango Street to be easily read and enjoyed by a variety of people, including those who do not normally read. Therefore, she does not include many challenging words in this text. On the other hand, she does weave in dozens of allusions, or references, to famous people, places, and things outside the text, and readers who understand the allusions are better able to understand her writing. Learning the meanings of allusions will also increase your cultural literacy and your ability to have discussions with diverse groups of people. Directions: Read the quotations from The House on Mango Street below. First, write what you think the underlined words mean. Then, use a reliable resource, like a dictionary, encyclopedia, or legitimate Internet site, to find the meaning. Finally, answer the question in a complete sentence. 1. “Her name was Guadalupe and she was pretty like my mother. Dark. Good to look at. In her Joan Crawford dress and swimmer’s legs. Aunt Lupe of the photographs.” (58) a. inference: b. meaning: c. What would a Joan Crawford dress look like? 2. “You had to pick someone. You had to think of someone everybody knew. Someone you could imitate and everyone else would have to guess who it was. It started out with famous people: Wonder Woman, the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe…” (59-60) a. inference: b. meaning: c. What could the children do to act like Wonder Woman? 3. “I took my library books to her house. I read her stories. I liked the book The Waterbabies. She liked it too.” (60) a. inference: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 49 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ b. meaning: c. Based on what you know about her, why would Aunt Lupe like The Waterbabies? 4. “They’re not like ordinary playing cards, these cards. They’re strange, with blond men on horses and crazy baseball bats with thorns. Golden goblets, sad-looking women dressed in old-fashioned dresses, and roses that cry…. My whole life is on that kitchen table: past, present, and future.” (63) a. inference: b. meaning: c. What is the term most people use for the cards Elenita uses for fortunetelling? 5. “Thank you and goodbye and be careful of the evil eye. Come back again on a Thursday when the stars are stronger.” (64) a. inference: b. meaning: c. What is Elenita talking about when she says the stars are stronger at another time? 6. “[Marin] knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras.” (65) a. inference: b. meaning: c. Why might someone think Geraldo is Marin’s boyfriend if she is dancing cumbias, salsas, and rancheras with him? 7. “Then we heard someone whistling—beautiful like the Emperor’s nightingale — and when we turned around there was Ruthie.” (68) a. inference: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 50 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ b. meaning: c. What do Ruthie and the nightingale have in common, aside from their beautiful whistling? 8. “One day I memorized all of “The Walrus and the Carpenter” because I wanted Ruthie to hear me. 'The sun was shining on the sea, shining with all his might…' Ruthie looked at the sky and her eyes got watery at times.” (69) a. inference: b. meaning: c. What happens in “The Walrus and the Carpenter” that might make Ruthie’s eyes water? Personal Evaluation Go back and look at your inferences, the meanings of the allusions, and your answers to the questions. How often did you need the outside resource to comprehend the basic meaning of the allusion and its purpose in the text? What inference can you draw about your own level of cultural literacy and understanding of allusions in context? How do life experiences and knowing more about cultures help you to better appreciate a story? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 51 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Five Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Four Skinny Trees” 1) What are three things Esperanza has in common with the trees? 2) Compare the tone of this vignette with the mention of the trees in the first one, “The House on Mango Street.” How have Esperanza’s feelings changed about the trees? 3) What does Esperanza learn from the trees? “No Speak English” 1) Why does Mamacita move to Mango Street? How does she adjust to the move? 2) Which English phrases can Mamacita use? Why are each of these phrases useful for her? 3) What breaks Mamacita’s heart? Why? “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” 1) Explain the title: who is Rafaela, why does she drink those juices, and why on Tuesdays? 2) What do Rafaela and Mamacita have in common? How are they different? 3) What does Rafaela dream of? “Sally” 1) Who is Sally and how does Esperanza feel about her? 2) What is Sally’s relationship with her father? 3) How does Sally change when she walks home from school? 4) What does Esperanza think Sally wants? Do you agree? Why? “Minerva Writes Poems” 1) What are some things that make Minerva sad? 2) Describe Minerva’s relationship with her husband. 3) Why does Esperanza feel helpless to assist Minerva? “Bums in the Attic” 1) What does Esperanza’s father do for a living? 2) What does the family do together on Sundays? Why does Esperanza stop going? 3) What does Esperanza hope to do with her home in the future? “Beautiful & Cruel” 1) How does Esperanza characterize herself? 2) What decision has Esperanza made about her life? 3) What “quiet war” has Esperanza begun? What is the first step in that war for her? “A Smart Cookie” 1) What kinds of skills does Esperanza’s mother have? What does she dream of doing? 2) What advice does she give Esperanza? 3) Why did Esperanza’s mother quit school? Do you think she could go back now? Why? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 52 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Five Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first one is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one is more informational, analytical, or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Four Skinny Trees” A. Do you have a special connection with the natural, insect, or animal world? If so, describe one of those experiences or explain what benefits you derive from such a connection. B. Do you feel that urban areas, like the neighborhood in which Esperanza lives, need more or less natural spaces? Itemize the pros and cons, and then take a stand. “No Speak English” A. Describe a situation in which you were not able to communicate with another person. Be sure to explain where and when it happened, your feelings during the incident, and how you dealt with the difficulty. B. Mamacita is clearly miserable in her new home, but her husband has worked very hard to bring her there and make her happy. Write a monologue from his point of view that presents his hopes and expectations for the move. “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” A. Construct a short story with a framework: someone in a dull setting who has a daydream in an exotic setting. B. Rafaela wishes she were Rapunzel, but she is only trapped in her apartment. Are the messages that fairy tales convey beneficial or destructive for children? Why? “Sally” A. Write a character description of a person in your life who appears to be a loner. Like Esperanza, be sure to include what he or she imagines for the future. B. Is Sally lying if she is one type of person at home and another person at school? Which is the true Sally? “Minerva Who Writes Poems” A. Is there a side of you that almost no one knows, or a skill or hobby you have that you only do when alone? Explain that aspect of your personality. B. Why do you think Minerva threw her husband out of the apartment? Why do you think she took him back? Do you think she had another choice? “Bums in the Attic” A. Illustrate a situation when you were kind to those who had less. B. Many people want to help the homeless, but feel afraid or powerless to do so. What are some simple ways people can help the homeless in their communities? Do research or make some phone calls to add ideas to your list. “Beautiful & Cruel” A. Esperanza starts a “quiet war” on gender expectations by walking away from the table without clearing her plate. What would be your “quiet war”? B. Do you believe, as Esperanza does, that people who are beautiful can also be cruel and controlling? Why or why not? Support your opinion with personal experience. “A Smart Cookie” A. What is a decision you made that has changed your life forever? Do you have any regrets? B. List ten or more pieces of advice you would offer to a younger sibling, cousin, or friend, so they can benefit from the life lessons you have learned. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 53 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Five Literature Focus: Theme and Character – Gender Roles In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza offers glimpses of the people who live in her neighborhood. However, the vast majority of her character descriptions focus on women and their situations in life. Why would Esperanza be looking more closely at women’s lives, instead of men’s lives, or a more even combination of both? Directions: For each of the neighbors listed below, write a 1-2 sentence description of the woman’s situation in life, based on details presented in the text. Include their hopes or dreams, if possible. 1. Esperanza’s great-grandmother (p. 10-11) 2. Marin (p. 23-27, 65-66) 3. Rosa Vargas (p. 29-30) 4. Alicia (p. 31-32) 5. Aunt Lupe (p. 58-61) 6. Elenita (p. 62-64) ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 54 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 7. Ruthie (p. 67-69) 8. Mamacita (p. 76-78) 9. Rafaela (p. 79-80) 10. Minerva (p. 84-85) 11. Esperanza’s mother (p. 90-91) Through all of these women’s descriptions, Esperanza and the author Sandra Cisneros are investigating how women’s roles are affected by the men in their lives. What aspects of their lives do most of these women have in common with each other? Based on the commonalities you identified above, what do you think is Cisneros’s central idea, as related to relationships between women and men? On a separate sheet of paper, use this central idea above as the thesis sentence of a summary paragraph in which you describe the way women’s roles are portrayed in The House on Mango Street. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 55 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Five Language Focus: Colons Colons ( : ) are used after an independent clause and before a list or explanation. The colon is like a doorway, inviting you to read on for more information. A colon can be used in front of a list that is introduced earlier in the sentence. If used, the colon replaces words like “including,” “for example,” or “such as.” • • Haru gathered materials for his project: fabric, glue, permanent markers, and a poster. Flaca was disappointed by what she saw outside: snow, icy streets, and overcast skies. A colon can be used between two independent clauses to clarify, prove, or explain the first clause. In this case, the colon takes the place of a conjunction. • • I can only see one solution to the problem: Joshua will have to apologize. We noticed a difference after the family camping trip: we definitely listened to each other more. Why use colons? • Using a colon, instead of a comma and a conjunction, forces the reader to pay attention and identify the relationship between the two clauses without any help from the writer. • If you have a writing assignment with a low word limit, but you want to express several ideas at length, a colon will save you a few words in the final word count. • If your writing has been critiqued as too wordy, trimming some longer sentences by using a colon will help vary your sentence structure and eliminate unnecessary words. Directions: Write the two sentences below as one sentence joined with a colon. Be sure to eliminate any words that should not be included when using colons. 1. The House on Mango Street is difficult to categorize. It is somewhere between fictional prose and poetry. 2. In the novella, Cisneros wrote about things that are important to her. For example, she is concerned with love, oppression, feminism, and growth. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 56 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. No one expected Mango Street to be popular. Latina characters were not common at the time. 4. After its publication, book reviews were very positive. The New York Times called Cisneros a gifted writer. 5. Cisneros’s colleagues also admired her work. A committee of writers chose The House on Mango Street as a recipient of the American Book Award in 1985. 6. Today, The House on Mango Street has been read by millions of people. It is used in middle and high school classrooms as well as adult book clubs 7. College students have also read it for their coursework in different departments. The novella has been read in courses on poetry, composition, creative writing, women’s studies, ethnic studies, and education. 8. Sandra Cisneros continues to write about the Chicana experience in the United States. She has published four more books since The House on Mango Street. Revision: Reread a piece of writing you have completed recently. Revise it to include a colon in one or more sentences. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 57 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Six Comprehension and Analysis Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “What Sally Said” 1) What does Sally say about her father? What does Esperanza know? 2) What does Sally’s father fear? 3) How do you think Esperanza feels about the situation? Why do you think that? “The Monkey Garden” 1) How does the Monkey Garden change over time? 2) What game do the kids play there? What game does Sally play there? 3) How does Esperanza try to help Sally? Does she succeed? 4) Why does Esperanza never return to the Monkey Garden? “Red Clowns” 1) What happened to Esperanza at the carnival? 2) Why didn’t Sally help Esperanza? 3) What does Esperanza think Sally and the others lied about? “Linoleum Roses” 1) How does Sally escape her father’s home? 2) Does Sally appear happy in her new life? Explain your opinion. 3) What is Esperanza’s opinion of Sally’s new life? What details suggest this? “The Three Sisters” 1) Where does Esperanza meet the three sisters? 2) What are three details about the sisters that make them mysterious? 3) What do the sisters predict for Esperanza? What advice do the sisters urge her to follow? “Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Steps” 1) What do Alicia and Esperanza disagree about? 2) What does Alicia predict for Esperanza’s future? 3) Why do the girls talk about the mayor? What does it suggest about their neighborhood? “A House of My Own” 1) What will Esperanza’s house not be? What does this say about Esperanza? 2) What type of person is Esperanza? Is she an introvert or an extrovert? How do you know? “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes” 1) What does Esperanza do to get through each day? 2) What are Esperanza’s goals for her future? Does she plan on following the three sisters’ advice? 3) How does this vignette come full circle from the first vignette in the novella? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 58 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Six Journal Topics Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first one is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one is more informational, analytical, or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “What Sally Said” A. When have you lied because you believed the truth would make a situation worse? Reflect on your decision and whether you would tell the same lie now. B. Why aren’t Sally’s mother, teachers, and friends helping her? What should they do? “The Monkey Garden” A. Describe a place in your experience, like the monkey garden, that seems to embody opposite characteristics at the same time. It may be a place that is both organized while out of control, beautiful yet grotesque, or crowded but lonely. Include details to clearly illustrate both characteristics. B. Do you think Esperanza is right to get involved and try to protect Sally? Would you do the same? Explain your reasoning. “Red Clowns” A. Write about an experience you had that made you grow up faster than you might have otherwise. B. Do you think it is fair to be judged based on the people you spend your time with? What might strangers think of you, if they were to look closely at the personalities of your current friends and close relatives? “Linoleum Roses” A. Create a story for your future that is the opposite of what you hope for. What string of events could lead you to that disappointing or unfulfilling future? B. There is an idiom that states, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” What does this mean? How does it apply to Sally’s life? How could it apply to your life? “The Three Sisters” A. Do you have someone in your life who seems to know things about you without being told? Recount an incident when he or she did this and describe your reaction. B. Why do some people stay in their hometowns all their lives? Why do some people leave? Why do some people leave and come back? Which one do you think you will be? Why? “Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Front Steps” A. When people ask you, where do you say you are from? What parts of your hometown, your family, or your neighborhood will forever be a part of you? B. Is it politicians’ responsibility alone take care of our neighborhoods? Ideally, what specifically should residents do for their communities? “A House of My Own” A. Write the narration for a tour of your ideal home. What would it look like? What would it contain? What would be absent from it? B. Historically, why have certain groups been barred from owning land? What does land or home ownership symbolize? What message does it convey to others? Why is that important? “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes” A. Have you ever felt left behind by someone who moved? Have you ever left someone behind because you felt you had to? Narrate one such story. B. Write a persuasive letter to someone you know who needs to leave. What could you say to convince him or her? Why is it important to leave? Note: you can write a letter to yourself, if it is appropriate. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 59 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Six Literature Focus: Referential Texts – The Bible The Bible is one of the most widely read texts in the world. It is an important religious text for many religions, and the first part – the Old Testament – is shared by those who practice Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Consequently, even if you are not a believer in one of these religions, knowing and understanding the most popular stories from the Bible will help you comprehend references to them that appear in your reading and listening. You have probably noticed that The House on Mango Street does have references to Christianity: some of them appear in “Chanclas,” “A Rice Sandwich,” and “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water.” However, there is an extremely strong connection to the story of the Garden of Eden in the vignette “The Monkey Garden.” Read a summary of “The Garden of Eden” below and identify any parts where it reminds you of the monkey garden with a star. The Garden of Eden Summarized from the King James edition of Genesis 2 – 3 God created man from the dust of the ground and he breathed life into the man. God planted a garden east from Eden and he put the man there. In that area, he grew every beautiful tree, and he also put the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden, with a river running through it. God told the man to eat from any of the trees in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If the man ate from that tree, God warned, he would surely die. Then, God decided the man should not be alone, so he created beasts and birds, and he brought them to the man, Adam, to be named. Adam named every creature he saw, but he did not have a helpmate. God put the man into a deep sleep, and he broke off one of Adam’s ribs. God made a woman with the rib, and he brought her to Adam. The man recognized the woman as bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and they became man and wife. The man and woman were both naked, but they were not ashamed. The serpent was more cunning than any creature that God made. He asked the woman if she was allowed to eat from every tree in the garden. She responded that she was allowed to eat from every tree except the tree in the middle of the garden. The serpent insisted that the woman would not die if she ate from that tree. Instead, he suggested the fruit would open their eyes and they would be like gods, knowing good and evil. The woman evaluated the tree and decided to pick a fruit and eat it. She gave some to her husband, too, who also ate the fruit. Their eyes were truly opened, and they knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves into aprons to cover their nakedness. Soon after, they heard God’s voice, but they hid from him among the trees. God called for Adam and asked where he was. Adam replied that he was hiding in the garden because he was naked. God asked if Adam had eaten from the forbidden tree, and Adam said he had because his wife had given him the fruit. God asked the woman what she had done, and she said the serpent tricked her, and she ate the fruit. God punished the serpent by forcing him to slither on his belly all his life. He swore that the serpent and the woman would be enemies, as would their children. God also punished the woman by causing her sorrow in childbirth and giving the man control over her. Additionally, God said the man would toil on the earth for his food until he died and returned to the earth. Then, God made clothes for the man and the woman so they would not be naked anymore. He banished them from the garden before they ate from the tree of life, which would allow them to live forever. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 60 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Directions: Answer each question below in complete sentences. Use specific details from the summary and “The Monkey Garden” to support your responses. 1. What are some of the similarities between the settings of the monkey garden and the Garden of Eden? 2. The serpent is the creature that begins the chain of events in the Garden of Eden. Who is the character in the monkey garden that changes the climate? How do the events begin? 3. The woman, Eve, and Sally are both tricked into creating trouble in their gardens. How are their objectives, or goals, for their choices different? 4. Adam and Eve have a moment when their innocence about their lives changes. What is the realization they come to, and what causes the realization? 5. Esperanza has a similar experience in the monkey garden, when she can no longer feel innocent. What causes this realization? How do her feelings about the incident compare to Adam and Eve’s feelings? 6. How does each garden story end? Do you see any similarities or major differences? 7. Review the style of the summary of “The Garden of Eden” and “The Monkey Garden.” How are the styles – language, structure, formality – different? Which do you prefer? Why? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 61 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Six Writing Focus: Task, Audience, and Purpose When you write for an assessment, the task, purpose, and audience are usually clearly defined. • The task is the writing prompt or performance assignment. The directions will tell you to write a persuasive essay, create an informative brochure, or design a commercial. • The purpose is your reason for completing the task. It may be to write a persuasive speech to convince the city council to renovate the baseball stadium. • Your audience may be your teacher or some nameless test evaluators, but there may be more. In the above example, the audience is the city council. In life, although the task may stay the same, your purpose and audience may change. Take a look at how the words change with the different audiences below. To your father: Hey, Dad. How was work? To your boss: Hello Sir. How was the meeting this morning? To your best friend, who stayed home sick: Hey. You didn’t miss anything, but Bio was totally lame without you. Similarly, when book reviewers write summaries, they have to be aware of their audience before they write, so their reviews will appeal to the widest audience possible. Directions: On the lines below, summarize The House on Mango Street to the audience indicated. In your summaries, consider which aspects of the book you could focus on, which aspects should be left out, and your level of formality in your word choice. 1. Audience: your little brother, who is eight years old and in third grade 2. Audience: a close female friend, who is having some problems at home ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 62 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. Audience: your English teacher from last year, who does not think her students would read the book 4. Audience: your parent or grandparent, who wants to know what you are reading in English class 5. Audience: the city librarian, who thinks kids should only read books from the 1800’s 6. Audience: the school board, who wants to ban the book because of “Red Clowns” ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 63 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Quiz Directions: Match the character names on the left with the items on the right. All of the character names have more than one answer, and answers may be used more than once. 1. Esperanza and A. was a wild woman who was forced to get married 2. Nenny and 3. Carlos and D. only plays with boys outside of the house 4. Kiki and E. has tightly-curled hair that smells like bread 5. Cathy and 6. Rachel and H. has an explosive laugh like Esperanza 7. Lucy and I. 8. Mama and J. tells Esperanza that the neighborhood is getting bad B. is Esperanza’s responsibility C. longs for a friend she can tell secrets to F. offers to be Esperanza’s friend until Tuesday G. has a bell-like laugh and similarly full lips spent her life looking out the window K. dreams of a home with a yard and three washrooms 9. great-grandmother and L. shares a bike with Esperanza and Nenny M. helps Esperanza feel safe and loved N. shares a bedroom with his brother 10. In 3-4 sentences, describe how Esperanza feels about her great-grandmother, her mother, and Nenny. 11. In 2-3 sentences, explain which friend(s) you would choose: Cathy, Rachel, and/or Lucy. Why? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 64 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two: Quiz Directions: Write the letter of the BEST answer on the line provided. 1. __________ What do Esperanza and Nenny want to buy at Gil’s store? a. some clothes c. a music box b. a side table d. two pairs of shoes 2. __________ What about Meme Ortiz’s backyard does Esperanza remember best? a. a large tree c. the rosebushes in bloom b. the broken-down garage d. a yellow birdhouse 3. __________ What does Louie’s cousin do with the Cadillac he drove? a. travels to Mexico and back c. sells it for $3,750 b. takes his cousins for a ride d. picks up his girlfriend from work 4. __________ What happens to Louie’s cousin? a. He becomes terribly ill. c. He is arrested. b. He loses his job. d. His girlfriend breaks up with him. 5. __________ What does Marin do to earn money? a. She collects cans and bottles. c. She cleans Louie’s house. b. She babysits Louie’s sisters. d. She is a waitress at a bar. 6. __________ What does Marin expect to do if she returns to Puerto Rico? a. return to the United States right c. sell Avon makeup in Puerto Rico away d. marry her boyfriend b. work on her other cousin’s farm 7. __________ Why does Esperanza like Marin? a. She is good at babysitting. c. She tells Esperanza adult things. b. She is teaching Esperanza to sing. d. She bakes excellent cookies. 8. __________ What does Marin do each night? a. stand out front of her house c. volunteer at the local church b. bake cookies d. go dancing 9. __________ What does Esperanza notice about strangers who come into her neighborhood and new neighborhoods she drives through? a. Strangers feel scared and c. People are extremely and unsafe in new areas. unexpectedly kind to strangers. b. It is easy to get lost in new d. There are good stores and areas. restaurants to discover in new areas. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 65 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 10. __________ What is Rosa Vargas’s life like? a. busy – she has three jobs she c. happy – she has everything she loves wants b. exciting – she travels monthly d. tiring – she cries because her husband left her and her kids 11. __________ What do the neighbors do when the Vargas children misbehave? a. redirect them with a fun new c. ignore the kids’ behavior game d. gossip about which children will b. call their mother to inform her go to jail first 12. __________ Why does Alicia get up early to make tortillas? a. Her father expects her to since her mother died. b. Tortillas are her favorite food, and no one else makes them correctly. c. The local bodega had a break-in, so she makes money selling the tortillas. d. She feeds the cute little mice with her scraps. 13. __________ Why does Alicia stay up so late each night? a. She goes out dancing until 3 o’clock in the morning. b. She is studying for her classes at the college across town. c. She is an insomniac, so she watches television to improve her English. d. She is too scared of the squeaking mice who scamper in the dark. Directions: Answer each question in complete sentences, using information from the book to explain and support your response. 14. Esperanza calls both Alicia and Marin her friends, but they are also both older than Esperanza. Who is a better role model? 15. Boys and men take a slightly bigger role in Esperanza’s life in this part of the novella. Pick two characters and explain why they might be memorable or significant in Esperanza’s life, e.g. Gil, Juan “Meme” Ortiz, Louie’s other cousin, or Mr. Benny. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 66 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three: Quiz Matching Directions: Match the character names on the left with the items on the right. Some of the answers will not be used. 1. ___________ Esperanza A. allows Esperanza to eat lunch at school 2. ___________ Darius B. finally moves away from the neighborhood 3. ___________ Rachel C. seems more innocent than Esperanza 4. ___________ Sister Superior 5. ___________ Mama D. buys Esperanza’s special dress for the baptism party 6. ___________ Uncle Nacho E. arranges for a job for Esperanza 7. ___________ Nenny F. wants to kiss Rachel 8. ___________ Aunt Lala G. is a troublemaker, but also thinks about God 9. ___________ Asian man at work H. forces Esperanza into a kiss on the lips 10. ___________ the bum man I. dances beautifully with Esperanza J. steals a $20 bill from a wallet at the park K. buys flowers for “a special someone” L. likes to flaunt her womanly legs and hips M. tries out for the softball team at school N. notices the boy looking at her at the party Short Answer Directions: Answer the questions below in complete sentences. Use details from the text to support your answers. 11. Esperanza is beginning to grow into a young woman, physically and sexually, in this part of the book. What are two scenes from the book that could support this statement? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 67 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 12. Esperanza is fairly young to have a job, but she begins one in the final vignette of this part. Based on what you know about her neighborhood and her parents’ expectations for their family, identify at least two reasons Esperanza may get a job at such a young age. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 68 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Four: Quiz Directions: For each of the numbered statements, determine whether it is true or false and write your decision on the line. If the statement is false, revise the statement to make it true. 1. _____________ Esperanza’s father wakes Esperanza to say his wife has died. 2. _____________ Aunt Lupe is looking forward to recovering from chicken pox. 3. _____________ Aunt Lupe encourages Esperanza to keep writing because it will keep her free. 4. _____________ Esperanza consults Elenita because she wants to know if she will get married. 5. _____________ Esperanza is disappointed when Elenita tells her she will find a home in the heart. 6. _____________ Marin’s dance partner Geraldo is killed, but she does not know how to contact his family. 7. _____________ The hospital staff who care for Geraldo do everything they can, but his injuries are just too serious. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 69 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 8. _____________ Esperanza’s neighbor, Ruthie, acts like a child, although she is an adult. 9. _____________ Ruthie has a house and a husband, and she insists he will come get her next weekend, but he never comes. 10. _____________ Another neighbor of Esperanza’s, Earl, is a business man who works days and goes to dances at night. 11. _____________ Esperanza is attracted to Sire, but he does not know she exists. 12. _____________ Esperanza spies on Sire and his girlfriend Lois, but she does not tell Sire her feelings. Short Answer In this section, Esperanza shows that she is innocent and does not fully understand the people she observes, but she also describes how she is becoming more mature and responsible. In a well-constructed paragraph, explain an instance when she shows her innocence and another instance when she shows her maturity or growing sense of responsibility. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 70 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Five: Quiz Directions: Find the word or phrase that completes each statement truthfully. Write its letter on the line before each sentence. 1. __________ Esperanza identifies with the _______ outside her window because they are strong. a. dogs c. trees b. flower pots d. garbage cans 2. __________ When her son begins to _______, Mamacita feels like her heart is breaking. a. sing along to American c. tell her she is embarrassing commercials d. order her around b. attend kindergarten in the United States 3. __________ Rafaela’s husband _______ each Tuesday night because he is afraid she will run away from him. a. locks her in her home c. takes her out for dinner and dancing b. threatens to beat her d. gives her a foot massage 4. __________ Rafaela asks the kids to _______ to help her imagine a sweeter alternative to her life. a. steal fashion magazines for her c. bake her cakes and cookies b. go to the theater with her d. buy her coconut and papaya juice 5. __________ Based on the clothing she wears when she returns home from school, Sally’s father probably expects her appearance to be ___________. a. colorful, but well-kept c. trendy, but not expensive b. modest and age-appropriate d. seductive and revealing 6. __________ Another neighbor, Minerva, is trapped in a marriage with a husband who is __________, but Esperanza does not know how to help her. a. wonderful, but boring c. mortally ill b. abusive d. over-committed to his job 7. __________ Esperanza dreams of keeping _________ in her attic, so she will not forget where she comes from. a. homeless men c. scrapbooks b. geraniums d. a map of Mango Street 8. __________ Esperanza wants to grow up beautiful and cruel, like the women in the movies, so she can __________. a. keep her personal power c. live alone b. model for fashion magazines d. publish her poems ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 71 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 9. __________ Esperanza’s mother regrets quitting _______ because she did not have the right clothes. a. her first job c. religious classes b. her quinceañera rehearsals d. school 10. __________ Esperanza’s mother advises her to _____. a. marry a rich man c. avoid relying on men to take b. never get pregnant before 21 care of her d. get a library card Directions: Answer the questions below in 2-3 complete sentences. Use information from The House on Mango Street to support your answer. 11. Based on what you know of Esperanza’s dreams for her future, what important life lessons do you think she can learn from her mother? 12. Do you think Esperanza can grow up to be a woman who is “beautiful and cruel”? Why or why not? 13. Do you think Sally would be a good or a bad friend for Esperanza? Explain. 14. Of the married women (Mamacita, Rafaela, Minerva, or Esperanza’s mother), choose one and explain why that woman’s life would not be appealing to Esperanza. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 72 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Six: Quiz Sentence Starters Directions: Read the beginning of the sentences below, and complete each one to summarize the major events in this part of the novella, from “What Sally Said” to “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes.” 1. Esperanza wants to help Sally with her situation at home, but Sally 2. In the Monkey Garden, Esperanza realizes that Sally 3. Esperanza’s first sexual experience occurs when 4. Sally’s dad and Sally’s husband are similar because ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 73 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 5. The three mysterious sisters tell Esperanza that 6. Alicia helps Esperanza see that Mango Street is 7. In the end, Esperanza understands that 8. The last vignette, “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes,” has a hopeful mood because ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 74 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Final Test Part A: Matching Directions: Match the following characters with the correct description or action. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided. 1. __________ Esperanza A. a fortuneteller 2. __________ Mama B. kissed boys in the Monkey Garden C. wants to escape, but knows she’ll return 3. __________ Alicia D. died just after Esperanza mimicked her 4. __________ Sally E. wakes up Esperanza’s sexual feelings 5. __________ Sire F. mysterious but wise 6. __________ Aunt Lupe G. loving, safe, but living with regrets 7. __________ Rachel & Lucy H. obedient daughter and university student I. 8. __________ Elenita died at the hospital without surgical attention J. explored the neighborhood on a bike and in high heels 9. __________ the three sisters 10. __________ Geraldo Part B: Multiple Choice Directions: Write the letter of the best word(s) to complete the statement on the line provided. 11. The House on Mango Street is known as a/an: a. epic poem c. novella b. novel d. anthology 12. In the beginning, Esperanza, the narrator, is discontent with her: a. boyfriend c. talent b. job d. home 13. Esperanza has many a. friends b. boyfriends in the story, but only a few see who she truly is. c. dogs d. bosses 14. Esperanza writes several vignettes about in her neighborhood, obviously searching for a role model. a. writers c. women b. high school students d. church leaders 15. Esperanza also examines the difference between: a. girls’ and boys’ lives d. her neighborhood and Cathy’s new b. private schools and public schools neighborhood c. Catholicism and Judaism ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 75 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ 16. that: a. b. c. d. Period ________ Esperanza’s mother wants the best for her daughter, but Mama is aware there is too much crime and poverty, which will prevent Esperanza from succeeding. men cannot be relied upon to take care of their wives. many people cannot make writing a career. the only way Esperanza will be happy is if she marries Sire and gets a nice house. 17. When Esperanza feels weak, she looks to the bedroom window to inspire her to feel strong and determined. a. small businesses b. colorful mural of Mexican-American politicians c. four skinny trees d. kids playing outside her 18. Although the vignettes in The House on Mango Street seem disconnected, the climax (or turning point) could be considered the vignette: a. “Sally” because Esperanza learns so much about womanhood from her. b. “Born Bad” because that is when the dreams begin. c. “A House of My Own” because it refers back to the first vignette. d. “Red Clowns” because the experience changes Esperanza’s goals for her future. 19. The decision about leaving home is easier to make after Esperanza talks to: a. her great-grandmother. c. the Sister Superior at school. b. the three sisters. d. her father. 20. a. b. c. d. In the end, Esperanza knows that after she leaves home, she will have to: return eventually, for those who cannot leave. send money home to her parents, so they do not have to work forever. come back for Christmases and birthdays, never allowing her to really leave. sever all communication with her friends and family at home so she can focus on her writing. Part C: Short Response Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper. 21. Despite being young, Esperanza is looking very sincerely at the future. Describe two things she wants for her future. 22. Cisneros’s language use is very poetic, but the word choice and sentence structures are fairly simple. Why do you think she wrote this way? What effect does it have on a reader’s experience? 23. Esperanza pays close attention to her neighbors, partially because she is looking for role models. Identify three women who live near Esperanza and explain why she could not adopt each of the women’s lifestyles. 24. The House on Mango Street is a story that cycles back on itself. Explain how the structure of the text reflects Esperanza’s own hope for her future. 25. Describe your opinion of the title of the novella. Is it a good title? If so, why? If not, what should it be named instead, and why? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 76 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Final Test - Multiple Choice Directions: Write the letter of the BEST answer on your bubble sheet or answer document. 1. What is the narrator’s name? A. Nenny B. Esperanza C. an unnamed neighbor on Mango Street D. Sally 2. What is the house on Mango Street like? A. It is four stories high with a lush lawn and garden all around. B. It is falling down and barely has running water. C. It is a small red house with a few trees out front and a small garage. D. It is a two-story blue and brick house with a tree house in the backyard. 3. How does Esperanza feel about her mother? A. They love each other, but they both work too hard to think about it. B. Esperanza loves her mother, but her mom died years ago. C. Esperanza hates her mother’s shouting and criticism. D. Esperanza’s mother makes her feel safe, loved, and comfortable. 4. How does Esperanza behave toward her sister, Nenny, at the beginning of the novella? A. She feels Nenny is a responsibility, and not a true friend. B. They are inseparable best friends who tell each other everything. C. She feels Nenny is an annoyance and avoids her at all costs. D. She does not think about Nenny because they are so far apart in age. 5. What does Esperanza’s name mean in Spanish? A. hope C. bravery B. love D. beauty 6. Who is Esperanza’s namesake, the person she is named after? A. her auntie, who works at the photography store B. her grandmother, a wild woman who regretted her married life C. the generous wife of a famous politician in Chicago D. the clever daughter of a character in a Mayan folktale 7. Why does Esperanza meet and become friends with Rachel and Lucy? A. She sees Rachel and Lucy run into each other’s bikes, and cleans up their cuts and abrasions. B. She takes them to Gil’s bicycle store to buy a new bike. C. She contributes money to buy and share a used bike with the sisters. D. She teaches them how to tune up their bikes. 8. Who is Cathy? A. a neighbor who insults Esperanza B. a girl from school who invites Esperanza to her big house for lunch C. the school bully who makes fun of Esperanza’s rice sandwiches D. the girlfriend of Sire, the boy Esperanza has a crush on ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 77 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 9. What happened to Louie’s male cousin? A. He got married and moved back to Puerto Rico. B. He was arrested and deported for having an expired green card. C. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college. D. He was arrested for stealing a car. 10. How is Louie’s mother keeping his female cousin, Marin, busy during the day? A. Marin has to make the family’s food from scratch. B. Marin is learning to read and write in English. C. Marin volunteers with the nuns at Esperanza’s school. D. Marin babysits Louie’s little sisters while his mother works. 11. What is the problem with Rosa Vargas’s children? A. They struggle in school and are reading below grade level. B. They are wild, out of control, and disrespectful to themselves and others. C. They are constantly sick because their home is full of mold and rodents. D. They keep running away from home, like their father did. 12. How do the neighbors deal with the Vargas kids? A. The neighbors have banded together to keep an eye on the kids and their safety. B. The neighbors help Rosa with her housework so she can deal with the kids. C. The neighbors treat the kids badly, shouting and throwing garbage at them. D. The neighbors ignore the kids, since the children do not listen to their warnings. 13. What are Alicia’s dreams for her future? A. She hopes to graduate from university and move away from home. B. She dreams of marrying a good man like her father. C. She wishes she could open up her own Mexican restaurant. D. She wants to run away to Hollywood to be a movie star and a model. 14. After Alicia’s mother died, what did Alicia’s father expect her to do? A. cook for him C. schedule his doctor’s appointments B. vacuum the house daily D. clear the table and wash his dishes 15. What do Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy receive from the family of little feet? A. homemade Chinese egg rolls and rice B. picture books and blank notepads C. three pairs of high-heeled shoes D. two leather purses and a leather belt 16. What do the girls do with the items from the family with little feet? A. They play dress-up and walk around the block. B. They eat them. C. They spend the afternoon leafing through the items. D. They hide them from Esperanza’s brothers. 17. What do the girls realize as a result of the items from the family with little feet? A. The girls realize they are able to read harder books than they thought. B. The girls realize that it is going to rain soon. C. The girls realize that they don’t have to dress up to look like princesses. D. The girls realize that their bodies are maturing into the bodies of women. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 78 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 18. What does the bum man offer to trade with Rachel? A. He offers to trade his empty bottle for a full one. B. He offers to trade a dollar for a kiss. C. He offers to clean her yard for a meal. D. He offers to move out of the way while she rides around the block. 19. What does Esperanza want to do for lunch at school? A. She wants to buy a hot lunch. B. She wants to work as a lunch monitor. C. She wants to leave and go home with Nenny’s friend Gloria to watch television. D. She wants to eat in the cafeteria. 20. Why is Esperanza embarrassed at her baby cousin’s baptism party? A. She spilled fruit juice all over the baby’s white blanket. B. Uncle Nacho explained why Mama was drunk. C. Mama did not buy new dress shoes, so Esperanza had to wear her school shoes. D. Esperanza’s hair would not stay in clips, so it looked messy. 21. Who convinced Esperanza to go out on the dance floor at the baptism party? A. Uncle Nacho C. a boy cousin who is related through marriage B. Mama D. her brother Kiki 22. Which body part inspires Rachel, Lucy, and Esperanza to make up sexually-suggestive jump rope songs? A. legs C. lips B. hips D. necks 23. Where does Esperanza get her first real job? A. She washes dishes at the local ice cream shoppe. B. She matches negatives to prints at a photo-finishing store. C. She works the cash register at a gas station. D. She shelves books at the school library. 24. What disturbing thing happens on Esperanza’s first day on the job? A. Esperanza gets lost on the way there and clocks in two hours late. B. A male co-worker forces Esperanza to give him a long kiss on the lips. C. Esperanza’s purse is stolen from the coatroom, so she cannot eat lunch. D. She spills cleaning chemicals all over her new uniform shirt. 25. How does Papa react when his father dies, and why is Esperanza uncomfortable? A. Papa shouts in anger, and Esperanza is afraid he will hit her. B. Papa cheers with joy, and Esperanza thinks it is disrespectful of him to do so. C. Papa cries, and Esperanza has never seen him cry before. D. Papa quietly sulks around the house, and Esperanza wants him to talk about it. 26. What is wrong with Aunt Lupe? A. She is sick with an incurable disease. B. She is an invalid, after a serious diving accident. C. She has been mentally slow since she was young. D. She has extreme and sudden mood swings. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 79 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 27. Why is Aunt Lupe important to Esperanza? A. Aunt Lupe encourages Esperanza to learn to swim because it could save her life. B. Aunt Lupe’s home offers Esperanza a place to escape from her annoying brothers. C. Aunt Lupe listens to Esperanza’s poems and urges her to keep writing. D. Esperanza wants to grow up to be just like Aunt Lupe. 28. Why does Esperanza go to a fortuneteller? A. Esperanza wants to know if Sire will ever notice her. B. The fortuneteller is just learning and offers to give Esperanza a free reading. C. Esperanza wants to learn about fortunetelling for a story she is writing. D. Esperanza wants to know if she will ever get the house she is dreaming of. 29. Who is “Geraldo No Last Name”? A. He used to work with Esperanza until he was deported to Cuba. B. He is the chef at the Cordero’s favorite Mexican restaurant. C. He was a man Marin danced with one night, just before he was killed. D. He was the janitor at the kids’ school, but he suffered a heart attack and died. 30. Why doesn’t Esperanza talk to Sire about her feelings for him? A. He has three jobs and goes to school, so he says he has no time for girlfriends. B. He already has a girlfriend, and Esperanza is too shy to mention her feelings. C. He does not know Esperanza even exists, and she does not know what to do. D. Sire was recently dumped by his girlfriend, and he is too heartbroken to get into another relationship right away. 31. Why is Esperanza interested in Sally? A. Sally is a girl who appears to act differently at school and at home. B. Sally is the first Mexican student to win the regional spelling bee. C. Sally is a better writer than Esperanza, so Esperanza wants to get Sally’s input on her poems and stories. D. Sally has a reputation for being self-centered and close-minded, but Esperanza thinks she can change that. 32. What do Mamacita, Minerva, Rafaela, and Sally have in common? A. They all have beautiful babies to take care of. B. They all love papaya juice and cumbias. C. They all have men who control and mistreat the women. D. They all attend the college, so they can improve their lives and move away. 33. Why does Esperanza plan to welcome bums into the attic of her adult home? A. She wants to be kind to others who know what it is like to be without a house. B. She heard that bums keep old houses warm by blocking the drafts in the roof. C. Her Catholic faith dictates that she should help the poor and suffering. D. She wants to scare the people who come to visit. 34. What advice does Mama give Esperanza? A. Devote your life to your man, and he will take care of you. B. Avoid feeling shame because it can keep you down. C. Learning to speak two languages will be useful in all aspects of life. D. Once we stop experiencing culture – like operas and ballets – we will die. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 80 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 35. What does Sally do in the Monkey Garden? A. She climbs an old pick-up truck and hides for over an hour, making everyone worry. B. She discovers a buried wallet, and the police give her a reward for the find. C. She agrees to exchange kisses with some boys in return for her house keys. D. She embarrasses Esperanza by telling her secrets to everyone, and they all laugh. 36. How does Esperanza react to the incident with Sally? A. She attacks Sally and punches her in the eye. B. She retaliates by revealing to everyone that Sally’s dad beats her. C. She wants to die and never returns to the Monkey Garden again. D. She laughs loudly and buries her necklace under the pick-up truck. 37. What happens to Esperanza at the carnival? A. She is raped by several men she does not know. B. A woman dressed in a clown suit mistakenly stabs Esperanza in the stomach. C. Sally slips vodka into Esperanza’s drink, and she gets very drunk. D. Rachel steals money from Esperanza, and then she loses at the ring toss game. 38. Why does Esperanza appear to disapprove of Sally’s marriage to an older man? A. Sally is taking advantage of her new husband’s wealth and reputation to get everything she has always wanted. B. The man is already sickly, and Esperanza does not think he will live long. C. Esperanza is jealous because Sally is living in the kind of house Esperanza always wished she could have. D. Sally’s husband is controlling, and Esperanza does not think Sally loves her husband. 39. What do the three mysterious sisters see in Esperanza’s future? A. They see Esperanza as a successful writer, but a terribly lonely woman. B. They see Esperanza as a beautiful woman, cruel to the men she meets. C. They see Esperanza leaving Mango Street and going far away. D. They see Esperanza married with four children, and no husband to speak of. 40. What do the three sisters and Alicia convince Esperanza to do? A. They all convince her to keep writing and sending her manuscripts out for publication. B. They all convince her to return to Mango Street so she does not forget who she is. C. They all convince her to speak about her feelings with the people she loves. D. They all convince her to stay on Mango Street to make the neighborhood a better place. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 81 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Teacher Resources Sample Agenda Our Literature Guides are designed to be used in their sequential entirety or may be divided into separate parts. Not all activities must be used, but to achieve full comprehension and mastery of the skills involved, it is recommended that you utilize as much as you can in each Guide. Below is a sample unit plan integrating all aspects of the The House on Mango Street Literature Guide. This agenda assumes students have the time to read together as a class. It will need to be modified if you intend to have your students read at home or have them complete a combination of reading in class and at home. The following is a sample unit plan integrating all aspects of The House on Mango Street Literature Guide for at least a 45- 50 minute class. Week One Day One: Read "Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros" (pp. 7-8) and discuss how her life may have influenced her writing. Introduce "Historical Context: Mexican Chicago" (pp. 9-12). Day Two: Begin discussing the themes of the novel by having students complete the "Anticipation/Reaction Activities" (pp. 16-17) and one or more of the "Pre-Reading Ideas" (pp. 1415). Discuss responses as a class, ensuring the students have an opportunity to express their views in an individual but respectful way. Collect Anticipation/Reaction pages and save for PostReading responses. Day Three: Review the structure of the novella and vignettes by completing "Literary Style: Novellas and Vignettes" (pp. 12-13). Look over the "Allusions, Slang, and Spanish Words List" (pp. 18-22), as well as the "Vocabulary List" (p. 23), for reference. You may wish to give students the list to look up and define words from a dictionary, or you may choose to offer them the "Vocabulary List with Definitions" (p. 93). Encourage the students to use their vocabulary lists while reading, so they can better understand their reading. Structure discussion and writing, when possible, to compel the students to use these words. Day Four: Introduce and explain the use of the "Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart" (pp. 2426) or the "Journal Response" (pp. 27-28). Begin reading the first vignette, “The House on Mango Street,” stopping at the end to model how to react or take notes about their reading. Give students time to answer the "Comprehension Check" questions (p. 29) and/or respond to the "Journal Topics" (p. 30). Discuss their responses in class. Day Five: Read “Hairs,” “Boys & Girls,” and “My Name,” offering the students time at the end of each one to discuss their impression. Use the Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart, the Journal Response, the Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Week Two Day One: Complete "Language Focus: Sentence Structure" (pp. 32-33). Read “Cathy Queen of Cats,” discuss, and use the Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or the relevant Part 1 Journal Topics. Day Two: Read “Our Good Day” and “Laughter,” discuss, and use the Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Remind the students to review their note-taking or comprehension questions for the quiz tomorrow. Day Three: Have students complete "Literature Focus: Sequence" (p. 31). Give Quiz: Part One (p. 65). Day Four: Pass back and review the quiz, addressing any confusion the students had. Read “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” and “Meme Ortiz,” stopping to discuss each and complete the ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 82 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Five: Read “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin,” “Marin,” and “Those Who Don’t.” Discuss the reading, and then complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Week Three Day One: Read “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” and “Alicia Who Sees Mice.” Have the students complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Complete "Literature Focus: Figurative Language" (pp. 36-37). Remind the students to review their notes from Part 2 for a quiz tomorrow. Day Two: Give "Quiz: Part 2" (pp. 66-67). Complete "Language Focus: Parallel Structure" (pp. 38-39). Day Three: Pass back and review the quiz, addressing any confusion the students had. Read and discuss “Darius & the Clouds” and “And Some More.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Four: Read and discuss “The Family of Little Feet” and “A Rice Sandwich.” Complete NoteTaking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Have students work on "Assessment Preparation: Context Clues" (pp. 44-45). Day Five: Read and discuss “Chanclas,” “Hips,” and “The First Job.” Have students complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Week Four Day One: Review character relationships and have students work on "Literature Focus: Character Interaction" (pp. 42-43). Remind students to look over their notes to study for the quiz tomorrow. Day Two: Give "Quiz: Part 3" (pp. 68-69). Read and discuss “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” and “Born Bad.” Have students complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Three: Pass back and review the quiz, addressing any confusion the students had. Read and discuss “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” and “Geraldo No Last Name.” Have students complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Four: Read and discuss “Edna’s Ruthie,” “The Earl of Tennessee,” and “Sire.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Five: Offer a mini-lesson on allusions and give the students "Assessment Preparation: Allusions" (pp. 50-52). Have students begin working on Literature Focus: Setting and Theme (pp. 48-49). Remind the students to look over their notes in preparation for the quiz coming up. Week Five Day One: Give "Quiz: Part 4" (pp. 70-71). Read and discuss “Four Skinny Trees” and “No Speak English.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Two: Pass back and review the quiz, addressing any confusion the students had. Read and discuss “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Thursdays” and “Sally.” Have students complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 83 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Day Three: Read and discuss “Minerva Writes Poems,” “Bums in the Attic,” "Beautiful & Cruel,” and “A Smart Cookie.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Four: Complete "Literature Focus: Theme – Gender Roles" (pp. 55-56). Remind students to study for their quiz tomorrow. Day Five: Give "Quiz: Part 5" (pp. 72-73). Complete "Language Focus: Colons" (pp. 57-58). Week Six This week’s readings touch on difficult topics. You may want to remind students that you are available to discuss personal issues outside of class, but you are a mandatory reporter to Child Protective Services if you learn about situations they or their friends are dealing with. Some teachers also send home a note to warn parents about the nature of the readings. Day One: Pass back and review the quiz, correcting students’ confusion where necessary. Read and discuss “What Sally Said” and “The Monkey Garden.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Two: Complete "Literature Focus: Referential Texts—The Bible" (pp. 61-62). Day Three: Read and discuss “Red Clowns” and “Linoleum Roses.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Four: Read and discuss “The Three Sisters,” “Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Steps,” and “A House of My Own.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics. Day Five: Read and discuss “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes.” Complete Note-Taking and Summarizing, Journal Response, Comprehension and Analysis, or Journal Topics.Go back to "Literature Focus: Setting and Theme" (pp. 48-49) to complete the boxes for the homes that had not been encountered at that time. Remind students to study for their quiz coming up. Week Seven Day One: Give "Quiz: Part 6" (pp. 74-75). Complete "Assessment Preparation: Task, Audience, and Purpose" (pp. 63-64). Day Two: Pass back and review quiz, correcting students’ confusion where necessary. Review for Final Test, choosing your own method. You may choose to review for more than one day. Day Three: Give either version of the Final Test (pp. 76-77 or pp. 78-82). Some alternatives to these tests are the projects from "Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessments" (pp. 9496), an essay or in-class writing exam using the "Essay/Writing Ideas" (pp. 97-98), or any combination of these. Two different project rubrics are on pages 99-100; an essay rubric is on pages 101-102. Day Four and Five: If you intend to continue the study of the novel, "Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessment" ideas are on pages 94-96, and "Additional Writing Ideas" are on pages 97-98. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 84 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Notes for the Teacher Not all activities and worksheets in this Guide must be used. They are here to help you, so that you have some options to use with your students. Here are a few notes about this particular Guide: 1. The page numbers on the worksheets refer to the 25th anniversary edition of The House on Mango Street, a Vintage Contemporaries edition, 2009, ISBN 9780679734772. 2. Although some people use the terms Central American or Latin American, Latino/Latina, Chicano/Chicana, and Mexican-American interchangeably, others may take offense to one term or another because it is not correct or suitably representative. Research the way your community uses these terms, especially your students and their parents, and choose the appropriate words to use in the classroom. 3. Both the Note-Taking and Summarizing activities and the Comprehension and Analysis in each part are offered to help students get the most out of the novella. Depending on your students’ needs, you may choose to only assign notes, only comprehension questions, or alternate between the two. Some teachers may opt to rotate the Journal Topics within this model. 4. Post-reading activities, essay topics, and other writing ideas are located near the end of this Guide. These are suggestions only, and they can be used with a final culminating test or in place of one. Rubrics are provided. 5. An audiobook of The House on Mango Street is available from Random House Audio, read by Sandra Cisneros. It is also available as a downloadable file from Audible.com. 6. Consider introducing Cisneros’s writing style to the students through a short story or poem from Woman Hollering Creek or My Wicked, Wicked Ways. However, be selective when choosing from these collections, since some discuss or address material that may not be appropriate in your classroom. 7. Although The House on Mango Street is an excellent opportunity for students to share their personal stories of home, family, and culture, beware of making a select student or small group of students the representative for that culture or range of experience. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 85 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Summary of the Novel “The House on Mango Street” The unnamed narrator explains that they live in a disappointing house of their own on Mango Street, but her family used to move around often. She lives there with both her parents and three siblings, but she dreams of moving into a better house. “Hairs” The narrator describes each of her family member’s hair types in brief sentences. When she gets to her mother’s hair, though, her word choice reveals her feelings for her mother as someone who is safe, warm, and loving. “Boys & Girls” The narrator observes that brothers and sisters can be friends indoors, but they do not spend time together outdoors. Her brothers leave her alone to take care of her little sister, but she longs to have her own friend. “My Name” The narrator finally names herself: Esperanza, but she does not like that name. She describes her namesake, her grandmother, who was a wild woman who had to be broken. Esperanza hopes that she does not turn out like her grandmother and expresses a desire to change her own name accordingly. “Cathy Queen of Cats” Esperanza begins by explaining some of the neighbors in her area, but eventually introduces the reader to Cathy, who has many cats. Cathy agrees to be friends with Esperanza, but just until Tuesday, when Cathy's family moves away because the neighborhood is getting bad. “Our Good Day” Esperanza meets two girls in the neighborhood, Rachel and Lucy, and puts five dollars into a collection to buy a bike that she, the two girls, and Esperanza’s little sister Nenny will share. This upsets Cathy, who walks away. Since Nenny is not at home, Esperanza and the girls buy the bike, and they all ride it together around the block, waving to neighbors as they zip past. “Laughter” Esperanza begins by explaining that she and Nenny do not look like sisters like Rachel and Lucy do. Then, one day, Rachel, Lucy, Nenny, and Esperanza are walking past a house in the neighborhood. It reminds Esperanza of houses in Mexico, so she says so, and Nenny agrees. “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” Nenny and Esperanza browse in a dusty, dark used furniture shop sometimes, which is owned by an old black man named Gil. Nenny asks him what something is, so he shows her it is a music box and winds it up to play music. Esperanza seems ashamed of how much she likes it, so she looks away, but Nenny asks how much it is, going for her money. Gil closes the lid of the box and tells the girls it is not for sale. “Meme Ortiz” Meme’s real name is Juan, and he moves into the house after Cathy moves away. Esperanza describes his house, his dog, and the tree in his yard. “Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin” Louie lives in the basement apartment below Meme, and Esperanza describes two of his cousins. One is named Marin, and she spends most of her time inside, babysitting Louie’s sisters. The other one remains nameless, but pulls up to the home in a yellow Cadillac with white leather interior. Everyone jumps into the car, and Louie’s cousin drives them around the block seven times before the cops find him. The cousin makes Louie, Marin, Esperanza, and everyone else get out of the car, and he tries to outrun the police, but ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 86 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide miscalculates a turn and runs the car into a lamppost. The police arrest him, and everyone waves goodbye to him as he’s driven to jail. “Marin” Marin is visiting from Puerto Rico, and she still gets letters from her boyfriend back there. She has glamorous dreams of meeting a man on the subway, marrying him, and living in a big house far away. Louie’s parents plan to send Marin back to Puerto Rico soon, and this disappoints Esperanza, because Marin tells the neighborhood girls about makeup, pregnancy, and superstitions. At night, when her aunt comes home and lets Marin out to spend time on the front steps, Marin smokes and boys flirt with her. “Those Who Don’t” Esperanza observes that when strangers come into their neighborhood, they are scared of the odd and potentially violent people who live there. She also mentions that when people from her neighborhood drive into neighborhoods that are not Latino, they roll up the windows and stare straight ahead in fear. “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” Rosa Vargas is a mother in the neighborhood, and she has too many children, in Esperanza’s opinion. They run wild and behave disrespectfully, and Rosa is too tired or too busy to deal with them. Even the adults in the area have stopped correcting the kids’ behavior, so it is no surprise when they get hurt and no one reacts. Efren chips a tooth, Refugia gets her head stuck between the slats of a gate, and Angel falls off a roof. “Alicia Who Sees Mice” Alicia, a friend of Esperanza, lost her mother, so she has to fulfill household responsibilities before going to university every day. In order to do this, she gets up very early in the morning and sees the mice that live in the kitchen, though her father denies they exist. “Darius & the Clouds” Esperanza believes that her life is too full of sadness and does not have enough sky, butterflies, or flowers. Darius, who doesn’t like school and chases girls with firecrackers, looks up at the sky and identifies one of the clouds as God. “And Some More” Rachel, Lucy, Nenny, and Esperanza are talking about all the different kinds of clouds. While Nenny gives each of them a name (“Phyllis, Ted, Alfredo, Julie…”), the rest of the girls start calling each other names. The tone crosses from playful to mean and back to playful, but it is unclear if Esperanza and Nenny will continue to be friends with Rachel and Lucy in the end. “The Family of Little Feet” A neighbor gives Rachel, Lucy, and Esperanza a bag of unwanted ladies’ high-heeled shoes. The girls are so excited they try on all of them, trading between. When they take off their socks, they realize they have long beautiful women’s legs now, and they walk around the neighborhood in the high-heeled shoes, strutting and flirting with the boys and men. Mr. Benny, the local grocer, warns the girls that they will get into trouble with shoes like that, but the girls giggle and run away. A “bum man” outside a tavern tells the girls they are beautiful and offers to pay Rachel for a kiss, but the girls become uncomfortable and run home the back way. They leave all three pairs of shoes on Lucy’s back porch, and her mother throws them away a few days later, but the girls do not complain about it. “A Rice Sandwich” Esperanza decides that she wants to stay at school and eat in the lunchroom instead of going home for lunch each day, so she begs her mother for three days to let her pack a lunch. Finally, her mother writes a note to the nun who serves as principal, explaining that Esperanza is too tired and lives too far away from school to come home for lunch. Esperanza takes the note and a rice sandwich to school. The Sister Superior reads the note and thinks it is silly, since she can see Esperanza’s home from her office window, and Esperanza begins to cry. The nun changes her mind and allows her to eat lunch at school just today. Esperanza goes to the lunchroom, but she feels out of place with the other kids and continues to cry. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 87 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide “Chanclas” Esperanza’s mother goes to the store to buy her a new dress, slip, and underclothes for her little cousin’s baptism party, but she forgets to buy new shoes. Esperanza has to wear her old saddle shoes to the party, and she is embarrassed, so she avoids dancing until her Uncle Nacho pulls her up. He tells her she is the prettiest girl at the party, and Esperanza feels better. She and her Uncle Nacho dance very well, and people clap for them, but Esperanza notices a young man who watches her dance. “Hips” Rachel, Lucy, Esperanza, and Nenny are talking about hips and how useful they are for carrying babies, dancing, and identifying women versus men. The older girls begin jumping double dutch and making sexually suggestive chants to go with the jumping and their hip-shaking, but Nenny continues to jump with the old, innocent rhymes. Esperanza thinks Nenny is being dumb, and she thinks Rachel and Lucy feel that way, too, but no one says anything to Nenny about it. “The First Job” Esperanza’s Aunt Lala gets her a job at Peter Pan Photo Finishers. She is responsible for matching negatives with prints and putting them in envelopes. She does not want to eat lunch alone, so she eats in the bathroom and returns to work early. At afternoon break, she sits on a bench in the coatroom, where she meets an older Asian man. He is nice to her and offers to eat lunch with her, and then mentions it is his birthday. He asks for a kiss, so Esperanza begins to kiss him on the cheek, but he grabs her face at the last second and kisses her on the mouth hard. “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” Esperanza’s father wakes her early one morning to explain that his father, Esperanza’s grandfather, has died. He begins to cry, and Esperanza is unsure of what to do because she has never seen him like this. She knows he will leave soon to fly to Mexico for the funeral, and she will be responsible for telling the other kids and ensuring they stay quiet for the day. “Born Bad” Lupe, Esperanza’s aunt, used to be a beautiful woman and an active swimmer, but now spends all her time in her apartment, unable to use her legs because of a disease. Esperanza questions how this wonderful woman, to whom she reads and with whom she shares her poetry, could have been stricken by such a terrible illness. Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza used to play a game like charades, imitating famous people or neighbors they knew and making the others guess. One day, though, they pretend to be Aunt Lupe, and they thought it was so funny; but that was also the day Aunt Lupe died. It leaves Esperanza and her friends feeling evil. “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” Elenita meets with Esperanza to tell her future. She reads tarot cards, looks at Esperanza’s palm, and tries to see a face in a glass of water. She tells Esperanza that she will go to a wedding soon and will eventually find “a home in the heart.” Esperanza is disappointed that Elenita does not say anything about a real house, but pays her five dollars anyway. “Geraldo No Last Name” Geraldo is a man Marin met at a dance hall, but he was the victim in a hit-and-run accident after he left that night. Marin is truly affected by the incident and stays at the hospital while they take care of him, but he dies there. Since he is an immigrant and no one knows where he lives or who his family is, he is basically a nameless death, and his family in Mexico will never know what happened to him. “Edna’s Ruthie” Edna is the landlord of the building next door. Ruthie is her daughter and a friend to the kids in the neighborhood. Ruthie is married and has a pretty house outside the city, but Esperanza cannot understand why she is living with her mother instead. Ruthie acts like a child: she likes candy, entertains others with her whistling, makes unrelated comments about clouds during a conversation, and always says she will go see a dentist or eye doctor about her problems, but never does. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 88 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide “The Earl of Tennessee” Earl lives in the basement of Edna’s building, which smells moldy and damp. Earl works nights as a jukebox repairman, and he has boxes of records in his apartment, which he sometimes gives to the kids. Edna says Earl is married, but Esperanza, her mother, and the boys across the street all describe very different looking women who have visited him and act like his wife. Whoever the women are, Earl always locks the door when they visit, and they do not stay in his apartment long. “Sire” Sire is a boy who lives in the neighborhood, and Esperanza knows that he watches her. She looks right into his eyes because she wants to appear brave, but it scares her a little, too. He has a girlfriend named Lois who is small and pretty, and Esperanza listens to them late into the night, laughing and drinking beer. She wishes she could stay up late with a boy and wonders what it would be like to be held and kissed by Sire. “Four Skinny Trees” There are four trees outside Esperanza’s bedroom window. They were planted by the city, so they do not really belong there, but they remind Esperanza of her physical features. She believes they have strength because of their roots underground, which continue to grow through dirt and hold on, and she feels they tell her to “keep keeping.” She draws strength from them when she is sad to inspire her to continue living and reaching. “No Speak English” Mamacita is the wife of a man who lives across the street from Esperanza. Her husband worked two jobs and saved money to pay for her and their baby son to come live with him. She is a large, beautiful, and fashionable woman, but she does not leave the apartment once she arrives. Some people think the reason is that she is too fat for the stairs, but Esperanza thinks it is because she is afraid to speak English. All day, she sits at the window and looks out while singing the sad songs on the Spanish radio show and dreaming of home. Sometimes her husband shouts at her, trying to explain that they are home. Her heart breaks, though, when her baby son starts singing along to a Pepsi commercial in English. She cries and begs him not to speak English. “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” Rafaela is a young and beautiful woman, but her husband locks her away in the apartment so she will not run away. Instead, she leans out the window and wishes she could leave. Eventually, she asks the kids to take her money to the corner store and buy her coconut or papaya juice while her husband is away playing dominoes. The kids do so and send it up on a clothesline, so she can drink the juice and imagine getting out and dancing to the music at the dance hall down the street. “Sally” Sally is a beautiful girl Esperanza looks up to because she knows how to use makeup and also dresses well. Sally does not have a friend anymore, though, because she fought with her friend Cheryl about something Cheryl said. Boys tell each other stories about Sally, but after school is out, Sally goes straight home, making her clothes less revealing and rubbing her makeup off on the way. Esperanza writes a monologue to Sally, asking whether she wishes she could run away to a house of her own, where there would be lots of sky, and she could dream and love all she wanted without worrying what other people would say about her. “Minerva Writes Poems” Minerva is a few years older than Esperanza, but she is already married with two children. She feels she is unlucky, but she writes poems on strips of paper after the kids go to sleep. She shares her poems with Esperanza, and Esperanza shares her poems with Minerva. Minerva’s husband keeps leaving her, so she finally throws him out, but he breaks in and says he is sorry, so she lets him back in. When Esperanza sees Minerva the following week, she has bruises and asks Esperanza for advice, but Esperanza does not feel that she can help. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 89 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide “Bums in the Attic” Esperanza returns to her wish to live in a big house on a hill, like the ones her father works in. He used to take the kids to visit the houses on the weekend, but Esperanza has stopped going because she is ashamed of how little her family has. Esperanza believes that people who live on hills have an idyllic life and do not have to worry about garbage or rats. She plans to own a house like that one day, but swears she will not forget her beginnings. She will welcome bums into her house to live in the attic, which will make her happy, too. “Beautiful & Cruel” Esperanza believes that she is an ugly daughter whom no one will ever be interested in, and that Nenny is the pretty one. Her mother assures her that she will grow into a beautiful woman. Esperanza seems to admire the gorgeous movie stars who appear powerful when they laugh at the men who are attracted to them. For now, Esperanza has begun her “own quiet war” by getting up from the table like a man, without clearing her place first. “A Smart Cookie” Esperanza itemizes her mother’s many talents: singing opera, drawing, speaking two languages, sewing. Her mother has lived in Chicago her whole life, and she wants to see a ballet or a play one day. Today, she is singing Madame Butterfly, but she talks to Esperanza about how foolish the opera character and her own personal friends are for giving up their lives for men. Then she tells Esperanza that although she was smart, she quit school because she was ashamed of her clothes. “What Sally Said” Sally says, “He never hits me hard,” but she comes to school with bruises and her skin is scarred. She lies and tells people she falls, but her father thinks Sally is going to run off like his sisters did and shame the family. Once, she was going to move in with Esperanza’s family for a bit, but Sally’s father appeared that night with red eyes from crying and apologized, so she returned home. Then, one day, her father sees Sally talking to a boy, and she doesn’t come to school for a few days. She explains that he snapped and insisted she was not his daughter and may have whipped her with his belt. “The Monkey Garden” There was a garden nearby where some people kept a monkey in a cage, but one day the people and the monkey left. Esperanza is glad, since the monkey made so much noise, and the garden area is taken over by flowers, insects, and an earthy smell. It also became a dumping ground for broken cars, and it took on a wild quality that the kids liked for playing hide-and-seek and building a clubhouse. On the last day Esperanza went there, she played with the other kids while Sally talked to Tito and his friends. When Esperanza met up with Sally again, the boys had stolen Sally’s keys, and she agreed to kiss them to get her keys back. Sally went into the garden with the boys to do just that, but this made Esperanza angry. She wanted to stop it, so she ran upstairs to tell Tito’s mother, but the woman was not concerned. Esperanza prepared to throw sticks at the boys, but Sally told her to go away and leave her alone. This made Esperanza feel ashamed, so she ran to the other end of the garden and huddled under a tree to cry. She wished she were dead, and when she calmed down and stood up, she did not feel like herself anymore. “Red Clowns” Esperanza goes to a carnival because she wants to spend time with Sally, but Sally goes off with an older boy and leaves Esperanza by the tilt-a-whirl and the red clowns. Some boys find her waiting there, and Esperanza calls Sally for help. They say they love her and one boy kisses her. She wants them to stop, but they do not, and she does not want to remember everything they did. She repeatedly says that Sally lied, that her experience with the boys was not what Sally and all the books and movies say it will be. “Linoleum Roses” Sally gets married to a marshmallow salesman, and they have the ceremony in another state, “where it’s legal to get married before eighth grade.” Sally says she loves her husband and her domestic life, but Esperanza thinks Sally got married to escape. Sally says she likes to shop when her husband gives her money, but sometimes he gets angry and a little violent. He will not let Sally talk on the phone or look out ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 90 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide the window, and he does not like her friends, so they visit when he is at work. Sally stays at home all day and looks at the inside of her pretty house. “The Three Sisters” Rachel and Lucy’s baby sister dies. Esperanza visits her friends for the wake and sees the dead little girl. While she is there, she meets three mysterious women, all sisters. They say Esperanza will have a good future and urge her to make a wish. When she does silently, they tell her she will get her wish. Then, one of them, “the one with marble hands,” takes Esperanza aside and reminds her to return to Mango Street when she leaves. The old woman goes on to explain that Esperanza will always be Esperanza and that Mango Street is part of her, but she needs to come back for the people who cannot leave. Esperanza feels the woman knows how to read minds and agrees to return. She rejoins Rachel and Lucy outside, but the three mysterious sisters wave goodbye, and Esperanza never sees them again. “Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Steps” Alicia is from Guadalajara and looks forward to going back there one day. Esperanza tells Alicia she is lucky because she has a home, but Alicia reminds her that 4006 Mango is Esperanza’s home. Esperanza disagrees, saying she has another home that she dreams about. Alicia reminds her that Esperanza is from Mango Street, and she’ll have to return one day. Esperanza again disagrees because she will not come back until “someone makes it better.” Alicia asks who will make Mango Street better, and they laugh at the idea of the mayor visiting and improving the area. “A House of My Own” Esperanza describes the home she wants: a clean, quiet house with a porch and flowers. She wants to own it and live in it by herself. “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes” Esperanza writes directly to the reader now, reminding us that she likes to tell stories. Then she writes a sentence like one from the first vignette, “The House on Mango Street,” but changes the end. She feels that Mango is both holding her there and letting her leave. Esperanza looks to the future, when she will pack up and leave because she is too strong to stay there forever. However, she resolves to return to Mango Street for the people who are still there. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 91 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Vocabulary with Definitions Part 1 barrettes (6) - hair clips; a small plastic or metal object to hold hair in place rosettes (6) - small flat rose-looking flowers pincurls (6) - tiny curls that are held in place with bobby pins raggedy (12) - ragged or torn inherit (13) - to receive money or property from someone after he or she has died wobbly (16) - wobbling; moving unsteadily from side to side crumbly (16) - breaking easily into small pieces; broken down sassy (16) - outspoken and rude Part 2 lopsided (22) - crooked or uneven scrambling (22) - climbing quickly, sometimes with difficulty pleated (25) - having many flat, narrow folds dangle (29) - to hang or swing Part 3 doughy (39) - looking or feeling like dough; pale, soft, or fat velvety (39) - having the soft or smooth feeling of velvet fabric strutted (40) - walked proudly, with a long stride and head held high canteen (43) - a cafeteria anemic (44) - weak, like someone with anemia slip (46) - a type of underwear, like a thin dress, that women wear under a dress or skirt authority (50) - the power someone has because of age, position, or knowledge cue (51) - a signal or warning ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 92 - Part 4 imitate (59) - to copy the way someone acts, speaks, or moves capsules (60) - small plastic containers with something inside, usually to contain medicine limp (61) - not strong or firm intern (66) - someone who is in training, especially if learning to be a doctor notify (66) - to tell someone about something wedged (70) - forced or stuck into a narrow area Part 5 ferocious (74) - strong or violent droop (74) - to hang or bend down despite (75) - even though hysterical (78) - unable to control emotions, sometimes due to psychological troubles nylons (81) - women’s tights that are made of nylon fabric suede (82) - a soft leather material content (86) - pleased and satisfied Part 6 twangy (94) - having the sharp, vibrating voice of a plucked guitar string porcelain (94) - a hard, shiny white material used to make expensive plates and vases fringe (94) - a decoration of many threads hanging from a curtain or piece of clothing will (97) - to make something happen just by thinking about it bazaar (101) - a market marble (105) - a type of hard rock that is known to be cold and smooth trudged (109) - walked with slow steps, usually to show tiredness or difficulty The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessment After completing the novella, students may be interested in reading other texts with similar settings, experiences, or themes. Some other titles with Latin-American characters include: - Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya - Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and Yo! by Julia Alvarez - Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martinez - Famous All Over Town by Danny Santiago - Living Up the Street by Gary Soto - The Circuit and Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez Coming-of-age novels that focus on characters from other ethnicities include: - Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman - Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt - Donald Duk by Frank Chin - The Chosen and The Promise by Chaim Potok - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - Black Boy by Richard Wright - Zazoo by Robert Mosher - The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas - Born Confused by Tanja Desai Hidier Cross-Curricular Activities (Multiple Subjects) 1. Research immigration in your community, your city, or your state, or look into immigration from your birth country to the United States. What trends do you see? What brings immigrants to your area? What have individuals written about their experiences adjusting to your city or state when they move? Present your findings in a report, brochure, poster, speech, or multi-media presentation. 2. Write a neighborhood newsletter or newspaper for Mango Street, based on the important events in the book. Which events would be noteworthy for all the residents? What would be in the gossip column, the advice column, the classifieds, and the police blotter? 3. Research the organizations in your community, your county, or your state that are devoted to helping Latinos or immigrants. Create a brochure or display that could be used in your school or beyond. 4. Create a resume, profile page, or college application for one or more characters in the novella. What would he or she include on it? What would be his or her defining moments, and how would they be shared? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 93 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Psychology/Health 1. Create an informational poster or brochure about rape or domestic violence, including a clear definition, statistics about its prevalence, characteristics others may see in the victims, treatment, and related laws. Share it with your classmates, the school health office, or a local agency. 2. Take a personality test as if you were Esperanza, Sally, or another character. What do you discover about the character from your responses? 3. Write a series of “Dear Abby” letters. In the first letter, write as if you are one of the women in the book, specifying her problems at home. Write a second letter as an advice columnist, offering honest and clear suggestions for dealing with the problem. Finally, write a follow-up letter from the character, to explain what happened when the advice was taken. Use advice that is safe, healthy, and appropriate for the situation. Visual & Performing Arts 1. Create a quilt out of paper, felt, or another fabric. In each square, represent a different episode in The House on Mango Street that shaped Esperanza into the person she eventually becomes in the end. You may want to attach a brief explanation of each square and your reasons for choosing it. 2. Create a new book jacket for the novella. It must have a picture that represents the story on the front and a summary on the back. Many book jackets also include awards the book has earned, quotes and reviews from critics, and a brief author biography with a photo. 3. The House on Mango Street has never been made into a movie, but there have been several stage versions. Choose a few vignettes to transform into a script and stage them for the class or videotape the performance. Consider blocking, narration versus dialogue, props and scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound effects or music. 4. Create a playlist of songs that have themes that are similar to the incidents and concerns Esperanza shares in the novella. Explain each selection and provide a cover for the collection. 5. Design a board game or card game related to Esperanza’s search for her identity and her “home in the heart.” Include typed, clear directions about how to play, variations based on the number of people playing, and how to win. Have a few people “play-test” the game and offer their suggestions for revision before you present it to your classmates. 6. Illustrate a children’s book based on The House on Mango Street, telling the story of Esperanza and her search for her sense of identity and her home in the heart. Alternately, pick one child-appropriate vignette to illustrate from start to finish. (Hairs has already been done.) 7. Imagine that Esperanza kept a scrapbook about her life on Mango Street. Who would appear in it? What memories would she write about there? What other items might appear? Create and share her scrapbook. 8. Investigate the dances and musical styles mentioned in the novella. Learn one and teach others how to perform the dance steps. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 94 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Social Science/History 1. Reread the novella, looking closely for clues about where the characters live and where the nearby stores are. Create a map of Esperanza’s neighborhood based on those clues, with a clear legend and brief footnotes about where you found your information. 2. Research the cost of living in Chicago in comparison to your area or another major city for immigrants in the United States. Alternately, compare the cost of living in Chicago now with the costs in 1984, when The House on Mango Street was published. What does the average apartment cost to rent, or the average two-bedroom home cost to buy? How much are groceries, gas, or cleaning supplies? How much do people pay for entertainment, such as movies and concerts? Draw some conclusions from your research. 3. Collect statistics, stories, and facts related to the state of Latin-Americans in the United States. Then stage a debate, Socratic seminar, or fishbowl discussion about your findings. Are they being treated equally when it comes to employment, education, health care, civil rights, and political opportunities? 4. Sandra Cisneros’s success as a Mexican-American writer has allowed many other Mexican-Americans to feel comfortable sharing their stories and poems. Research other Chicana writers who have become successful since the 1980’s. Write a brief summary of each author and/or create a multi-media presentation to share this information and encourage others to read more from these authors. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 95 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Essay Ideas • Trace Esperanza’s development throughout the novella. Consider her role as daughter, sister, friend, student, employee, teenage girl, and dreamer. How does she change, and what motivates or forces her to do so? • Esperanza does not make it clear what social class the residents of Mango Street would be, but many readers have assumed they are in the lower class. How might the residents’ problems and concerns change if money were less of a problem? • The concept of personal goals is woven throughout the novel, as Esperanza and other women consider and shape their hopes for the future. Why is this a significant theme for a novella about a young Latina? What is the difference between goals and dreams? What do the women on Mango Street have? • Explore the event of Esperanza’s first sexual experience: the significance of the rape, the concept of friendship and trust, expectations, the end of innocence, and how the experience may have changed Esperanza’s personal goals. • This novella is commonly considered a circular text because the end twists back to the beginning. Write an essay explaining how this happens, and what its effect is on the reader and on the theme of the novella. • Explain the title of the novel. Imagine reasons why Cisneros named the novella after the house instead of the main character or a major event. Do you agree or disagree with the choice? • Although women are the main focus for Esperanza’s descriptions, we do learn about the men on Mango Street, too. Conduct a close reading for the men in the text. What do you learn about them? What do they have in common? What are the things in their lives that drive them and give them purpose? How do you know? • Some students believe this book is not an interesting read because the students are not able to speak Spanish and do not know much about the Mexican culture. Others think the struggle to find our place in the world is a universal struggle for all teenagers. How do you feel? Should only Latinos read The House on Mango Street? Should everyone, regardless of ethnic background, read it? Why? • Although it is never obviously addressed, religiousness and spirituality are motifs in the vignettes. Do a close survey of the instances and contexts in which religion or a faith in a higher power is mentioned in the text. What conclusions can you draw, or what patterns do you see? • Investigate and read several of Cisneros’s other poems or short stories. Compare and contrast those texts to The House on Mango Street. You may consider style, tone, theme, character, setting, or another aspect. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 96 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide The House on Mango Street Non-Essay Writing Ideas • Choose a vignette in which Esperanza is trying to understand or describe a resident of Mango Street. Imagine the thoughts that person may have and write a vignette from that person’s point of view about his or her life and daily struggles. • Use Cisneros’s writing as a mentor text to inspire you to write your own vignettes about your neighborhood. Describe interesting neighbors, eye-opening experiences, and personal concerns in your vignettes, as Esperanza does. • Write a vignette by Esperanza, but from either a previous house (the one on Loomis Street, for example), or from her house of the future. What would she say or describe then? • Conduct an imaginary interview with a character of your choice. Write five to ten questions you would like to ask that character to better understand his or her point of view. Then, gain insight into the character by answering the questions in persona, using details from the story to support your reasons. • Write a book review for a teen literary magazine or other publication. Use proper formatting, and address character, setting, theme, your opinion of the novella, and specific details to explain your opinion. • Choose one of the themes from The House on Mango Street and create a found poem related to the theme. To do so, select eight quotes from the text that address the theme. Of those eight, pick the most important one to repeat three times. Finally, arrange the ten total lines in an order that makes sense and sounds good and add a title. • If given an opportunity, what are ten questions you would ask Sandra Cisneros? Explain your reasons for those questions. • Is there any type of person you feel should be represented in the novella, but is not? Write a brief explanation of who that person would be, what he or she would bring to the story, and where in the story this character may be inserted for best effect. • Investigate the importance of setting in this text. Choose one novella and revise it so that it is obviously set in the present day in your neighborhood, but attempt to keep the same poetic tone that Cisneros adopted. • The style and tone of Cisneros’s writing is unlike most texts read in schools today. Revise a vignette to make it less formal, perhaps by making it a text or a tweet on Twitter. Alternately, rewrite the vignette to be more formal, with fewer literary devices and more traditional formatting. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 97 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Project Rubric A Category Score of 5 Score of 4 Score of 3 Score of 2 Score of 1 Required Elements Includes all of the required elements as stated in the directions. Includes all but one or two of the required elements as stated in the directions. Missing 3 or 4 of the required elements as stated in the directions. Missing 5 or 6 of the required elements as stated in the directions. Project does not follow the directions. Graphics, Pictures All pictures, drawings, or graphics are appropriate and add to the enjoyment of the project. Some pictures, drawings, or graphics are included, are appropriate, and add to the enjoyment of the project. A few pictures, drawings, or graphics are included and are appropriate to the project. A few pictures, drawings, or graphics are included, but may not be appropriate to the project, or may be distracting. Pictures or drawings are not used and/or are inappropriate or distracting to the project. Creativity Exceptionally clever and unique; design and presentation enhance the project. Clever at times; thoughtfully and uniquely presented. A few original or clever touches enhance the project. Little evidence of uniqueness, individuality, and/or effort. No evidence of creativity or effort. Project is not unique. Neatness, Appeal Exceptionally neat and attractive; typed or very neatly handwritten, appropriate use of color, particularly neat in design and layout. Neat and attractive; typed or neatly handwritten, good use of color, good design and layout. Generally neat and attractive; handwritten, some use of color, some problems in design and layout. Distractingly messy or disorganized; handwritten; little use of color; several problems in design and layout. Work shows no pride or effort. Project is incomplete, illegible, or particularly messy and unattractive. Grammar, Spelling, Mechanics Little to no problems with grammar, spelling, and mechanics. Project was clearly proofread. A few problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors are minor and do not distract from the project. Several errors in grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors can be slightly distracting at times. Several problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors are distracting. Many problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Mistakes clearly show project was not proofread. Score Comments: Final Score: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 98 - ________ out of 25 The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Project Rubric B Category Score of 5 Score of 4 Score of 3 Score of 2 Score of 1 Required Elements Includes all of the required elements as stated in the directions. Includes all but one or two of the required elements as stated in the directions. Missing 3 or 4 of the required elements as stated in the directions. Missing 5 or 6 of the required elements as stated in the directions. Project does not follow the directions. Creativity Exceptionally clever and unique; design and presentation enhance the project. Clever at times; thoughtfully and uniquely presented. A few original or clever touches enhance the project. Little evidence of uniqueness, individuality, and/or effort. No evidence of creativity or effort. Project is not unique. Neatness, Appeal Exceptionally neat and attractive; typed or very neatly handwritten, appropriate use of color, particularly neat in design and layout. Neat and attractive; typed or neatly handwritten, good use of color, good design and layout. Generally neat and attractive; handwritten, some use of color, some problems in design and layout. Distractingly messy or disorganized; handwritten; little use of color; several problems in design and layout. Work shows no pride or effort. Project is incomplete, illegible, or particularly messy and unattractive. Grammar, Spelling, Mechanics Little to no problems with grammar, spelling, and mechanics. Project was clearly proofread. A few problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors are minor and do not distract from the project. Several errors in grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors can be slightly distracting at times. Several problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Errors are distracting. Many problems with grammar, spelling, or mechanics. Mistakes clearly show project was not proofread. Citation of Sources All graphics, pictures, and written work are original, or if they have been obtained from an outside source, have been properly cited. All graphics, pictures, and written work that are not original or have been obtained from an outside source have been cited, with a few problems. All graphics, pictures, and written work that are not original or have been obtained from an outside source have been cited, with several problems. Some attempt has been made to give credit for unoriginal graphics, pictures, and written work. No attempt has been made to give credit for unoriginal graphics, pictures, and written work. Score Comments: Final Score: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 99 - ________ out of 25 The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Response to Literature Rubric Adapted from the California Writing Assessment Rubric California Department of Education, Standards and Assessment Division Score of 4 ¨ Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task. ¨ Provides a meaningful thesis and thoughtfully supports the thesis and main ideas with facts, details, and/or explanations. ¨ Maintains a consistent tone and focus and a clear sense of purpose and audience. ¨ Illustrates control in organization, including effective use of transitions. ¨ Provides a variety of sentence types and uses precise, descriptive language. ¨ Contains few, if any, errors in the conventions of the English language (grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling). These errors do not interfere with the reader’s understanding of the writing. ¨ Demonstrates a clear understanding of the ambiguities, nuances, and complexities of the text. ¨ Develops interpretations that demonstrate a thoughtful, comprehensive, insightful grasp of the text, and supports these judgments with specific references to various texts. ¨ Draws well-supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience. ¨ Provides specific textual examples and/or personal knowledge and details to support the interpretations and inferences. Score of 3 ¨ Addresses all parts of the writing task. ¨ Provides a thesis and supports the thesis and main ideas with mostly relevant facts, details, and/or explanations. ¨ Maintains a generally consistent tone and focus and a general sense of purpose and audience. ¨ Illustrates control in organization, including some use of transitions. ¨ Includes a variety of sentence types and some descriptive language. ¨ Contains some errors in the conventions of the English language. These errors do not interfere with the reader’s understanding of the writing. ¨ Develops interpretations that demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the text and supports these interpretations with references to various texts. ¨ Draws supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience. ¨ Supports judgments with some specific references to various texts and/or personal knowledge. ¨ Provides textual examples and details to support the interpretations. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 100 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Score of 2 ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Addresses only parts of the writing task. Suggests a central idea with limited facts, details, and/or explanation. Demonstrates little understanding of purpose and audience. Maintains an inconsistent point of view, focus, and/or organizational structure which may include ineffective or awkward transitions that do not unify important ideas. Contains several errors in the conventions of the English language. These errors may interfere with the reader’s understanding of the writing. Develops interpretations that demonstrate a limited grasp of the text. Includes interpretations that lack accuracy or coherence as related to ideas, premises, or images from the literary work. Draws few inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience. Supports judgments with few, if any, references to various text and/or personal knowledge. Score of 1 ¨ Addresses only one part of the writing task. ¨ Lacks a thesis or central idea but may contain marginally related facts, details, and/or explanations. ¨ Demonstrates no understanding of purpose and audience. ¨ Lacks a clear point of view, focus, organizational structure, and transitions that unify important ideas. ¨ Includes no sentence variety; sentences are simple. ¨ Contains serious errors in the conventions of the English language. These errors interfere with the reader’s understanding of the writing. ¨ Develops interpretations that demonstrate little grasp of the text. ¨ Lacks an interpretation or may be a simple retelling of the text. ¨ Lacks inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience. ¨ Fails to support judgments with references to various text and/or personal knowledge. ¨ Lacks textual examples and details. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 101 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Answer Key Note: Answers may not be given in complete sentences, as most student answers should be. Page 8: Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros Answers may vary. 1. Cisneros had trouble making friends when she was young. Her brothers did not include her in their games, and she moved schools so often that she couldn’t keep friends. She overcame her loneliness by reading and escaping into those stories. 2. Cisneros and I both have a great love of reading. She and I probably both enjoyed going to the library each week. 3. Sandra Cisneros was born in December 1954, one of seven kids, and the only daughter. She grew up lonely, since her family moved between Mexico City and Chicago annually, but she enjoyed reading and writing to help with the troubles. When she was eleven, her parents bought their own house, and she attended a high school where she was liked and encouraged to continue writing. After six years of college, Sandra Cisneros took a series of jobs in schools to help her pay the bills while she worked on writing in her spare time. When she was awarded a grant from the NEA, but traveled overseas and finished her first major publication, The House on Mango Street in 1984. She continued to write in her home in San Antonio, Texas, publishing a book of poems in 1987, a book of short stories in 1991, another book of poems in 1994, and a novel in 2002. Since making a name for herself in the writing world, she serves as a role model to young Latino writers, especially women. 4. One life lesson I learned from Sandra Cisneros’s life is that it is difficult to create a life for yourself, but that is what will make you happy. I see this in how hard her mother worked to help young Sandra and how difficult it was for Cisneros to find a meaningful topic, a voice, in her writing. 5. I believe that Sandra Cisneros is determined, shown by her willingness to strike out on her own, move away from Chicago, and invent a solitary life for herself. I think she is creative because she finds interesting stories in the people and places that most readers would assume are boring and average. I also think she is flexible because she has lived in many different places and taken on many different jobs, but she does not seem to suffer much from so much change. Page 11: Comprehension Check: The Mexican Population in Chicago 1. 1850 – 50 Mexicans; 1920 – 1,200 Mexicans; 1930 – 20,000 Mexicans; 1940 – 35,000 Mexicans; 1950 – 50,000 Mexicans; 1970 – 250,000 Mexicans; 2000 and 2010 – over 1,000,000 Mexicans 2. Answers may vary. Mexicans moved to the United States for several reasons. One of those reasons was to make more money to support their families back in Mexico. Another reason was to flee the political and religious persecution of the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero Revolts. Finally, Mexicans left their country to participate in the Bracero Program, in which the United States imported workers to help in the agriculture and railroad industries 3. Answers may vary. The social work and settlement houses in Chicago were responsible for helping Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans improve housing conditions, get medical care and education for their families, and decrease unemployment and discrimination in the workplace. 4. It is logical that two-thirds of the Mexican-American population in the United States lives in California, Arizona, and Texas because those are the three states closest to the border of Mexico. 5. Answers may vary. How did the mural movement begin in Chicago? What is the League of United Latin American Citizens and what do they do? What caused the Mexican Revolution? What are the Cristero Revolts? What is Hull House and does it still exist today? Pages 12-13: Standards Focus: Literary Style— Novellas and Vignettes All answers may vary. 1. One benefit I see to reading a novella made of vignettes is that the readings can be short. Then, as I complete the short readings, I feel like they are easier to read, and I’m willing to think more deeply when I’m done because I’m not tired from just reading. One disadvantage is that I’ll have ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 102 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide to read more carefully and maybe even take notes in order to see how the vignettes are connected to each other. 2. I do know people who don’t read in their spare time, like my dad. Of the reasons Cisneros mentions, I think my dad doesn’t read because he’s too tired or busy after work most days to read. She thinks that people should read because there is beauty in reading, and people need more beauty in their lives. 3. I think the lack of quotation marks will challenge me while I’m reading. Quotation marks are especially useful, because they help me notice a change in speaker, and sometimes I have trouble keeping track of the speaker even when there are quotation marks. 4. The description of a bildungsroman reminds me of several other books, like The Secret Life of Bees, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and the Harry Potter series. When I think of adult knowledge that Esperanza may learn, the first thing I think of is that she’s going to learn about money, maybe how hard it is to earn and pay for things, like her new house. Page 14: Pre-Reading Activity: Thematic Literary Elements Answers will vary widely. Pages 15-16: Anticipation/Reaction Activity Answers will vary widely. Page 28: Part One Comprehension and Analysis “House on Mango Street” 1. The narrator lives with her mama, her papa, her brothers Carlos and Kiki, and her little sister Nenny. 2. Answers may vary. The house on Mango Street is small and red with some crumbling bricks and tight steps out front. It has no front yard, but there are four elm trees near the street and a small back yard. There is one washroom, and everyone shares a bedroom. Alternately, the narrator’s dream house would be large and white with a big grassy yard full of trees, but with no fence. It would have stairs inside, which might lead to the basement, and there would be three washrooms whose plumbing would always work. 3. The narrator’s parents plan to live on Mango Street until they have enough money to move somewhere else. They rely on the lottery for that money, but the narrator does not believe they will ever move someplace new. “Hairs” 1. Her papa’s hair sticks up like a broom. Carlos’s hair is thick and so straight he doesn’t have to comb it. Kiki’s hair is like fur. Nenny’s hair is slippery, so it slides through the hand. The narrator’s hair is lazy and doesn’t stay in hair bands or clips. Her mother’s hair is tightly curled and smells like bread. 2. Answers may vary. The narrator feels secure and loved by her mother. She writes, “when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe.” She also uses positive words like candy, curly, pretty, sweet, and warm to describe her mother’s hair. Finally, she compares the smell of her mother’s hair to bread, which is commonly considered a comfort food. “Boys and Girls” 1. According to the narrator, no, boys cannot be friends with girls in public. She says that her brothers Carlos and Kiki like to talk to her and Nenny inside the house, but they don’t talk to girls outside the house. 2. The narrator feels that her sister Nenny is her responsibility, but she is not her friend. 3. The narrator wishes for a best friend who is not her sister. She wants someone to tell secrets to, and someone who will laugh at her jokes. “My Name” 1. The narrator’s name is Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish. 2. She is named after her great-grandmother, who was a wild and strong woman. She was forced into marrying, and she spent the rest of her life looking out the window. 3. According to the narrator, women in Mexican society should be weak and controlled, and it is expected that they will marry. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 103 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide “Cathy Queen of Cats” 4. Cathy is one of Esperanza’s neighbors, on one of the upper floors of a nearby apartment building, but she says she is the great-great-grand-cousin of the queen of France. She is the Queen of Cats because cats of every variety live in her home. 5. Cathy’s family has to move on Tuesday because the neighborhood is getting bad. 6. Answers may vary. Esperanza probably feels hurt, since her family just moved to the neighborhood, which may be part of the reason it’s getting bad. “Our Good Day” 1. For five dollars, Esperanza buys a share of a secondhand bike. 2. Cathy thinks that Rachel and Lucy are dirty because of how they smell and how they dress, and she probably thinks that Esperanza has made a bad decision. She reacts by leaving without saying goodbye. 3. On the first day, the girls all ride the bike together around the block and laugh. After that, they plan to share it by rotating who has it each day. 4. Answers may vary. Rachel and Lucy accept Esperanza for who she is and don’t make her choose between two things she wants, a friend and a bicycle. They also don’t put limits on their friendship with Esperanza, and they don’t insult her and suggest that she’s making the neighborhood worse. “Laughter” 1. Rachel and Lucy have the same lips and the same light laughter. Nenny and Esperanza don’t look alike but have a big laugh, and they sometimes think the same way. 2. The houses remind Esperanza of houses in Mexico, and Nenny agrees. 3. Answers may vary. The incident with the house suggests that Esperanza and Nenny see the world the same way. It also suggests that they have the same shared memories from traveling. Page 29: Part One Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Page 30: Part One Literature Focus: Sequence and Author’s Style Timeline order Esperanza’s great-grandmother was forced to get married. Esperanza’s family moves to the house on Mango Street. Cathy becomes Esperanza’s friend. Esperanza meets Rachel and Lucy and buys a bike with them. Cathy walks away and is not Esperanza’s friend anymore. Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy spend the day riding their bike together. Esperanza and Nenny notice a house that reminds them of Mexico. Character Development Esperanza loves the bread-like smell of her mother’s hair. Esperanza spends time with her little sister while her brothers play separately. Rachel and Lucy laugh in the same way. Esperanza dreams of a bigger house with a large yard and three washrooms. Esperanza’s name makes her feel uncomfortable, and she wants to change it. Esperanza does not want to grow up like her great-grandmother. Pages 31-32: Part One Language Focus: Sentence Structure Student answers may vary. They are not expected to have sentences exactly like those in the novella. 1. Cisneros: We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick. 2. Cisneros: The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them because the house was too old. 3. Cisneros: That’s why Mama and Papa looked for a house, and that’s why we moved into the house on Mango Street, far away, on the other side of town. 4. Cisneros: This is the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 104 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 5. Cisneros: The Laundromat downstairs had been boarded up because it had been robbed two days before and the owner had painted on the wood YES WE’RE OPEN so as not to lose business. Page 33: Part Two Comprehension and Analysis “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” 1. Answers may vary. Esperanza is fascinated with a wooden music box. It has a brass record that has holes in it, and it plays high-pitched notes. 2. Esperanza pretends she does not want the music box because she is afraid Nenny will think she is stupid. 3. Nenny likes the music box, too, and asks how much it costs while reaching into her pocket for quarters. “Meme Ortiz” 1. Both Meme and his dog have two names, and they both run awkwardly and wildly. 2. Meme’s house was not built well because the floors inside slant, and the stairs out front are crooked. The house also lacks closets, but storage areas are important to most people who are looking for a house. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza remembers the tree in the backyard because it is so tall, even taller than her house down the block. She might also remember it because the kids have a Tarzan Jumping Contest using the tree, even though Meme broke both his arms then. “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin” Answers may vary. 1. One of Louie’s cousins is a girl from Puerto Rico, who babysits Louie’s little sisters and sells Avon makeup. Esperanza thinks her name is Maris or Marin. Louie’s other cousin is not described much, but he is caught by the police and arrested because he stole a car. 2. Cadillacs are usually expensive, but white-wall tires have to be specially ordered. The white leather seats and carpets are also upgrades in most cars. 3. Louie’s other cousin probably stole the car because the police begin chasing him when they see the car. Additionally, when the kids ask where he got the car, he does not answer them. “Marin” 1. Marin plans to get married to her boyfriend when she goes back to Puerto Rico. If she cannot go back right away, she expects to get a job downtown, where she can wear formal clothes and maybe meet a man on the subway. Then she can marry him and live with him in a big house. 2. Marin’s nightly ritual begins when her aunt goes to sleep. Marin sits on the front porch steps and listens to the radio while ignoring the flirty things the boys say to her. 3. Answers may vary. Marin is mature, flirtatious, and hopeful. “Those Who Don’t” 1. When strangers enter Esperanza’s neighborhood, they think the residents are dangerous and might attack them. Esperanza and her neighbors do not think it is dangerous, though, because they know the people that strangers are afraid of. 2. Esperanza and her neighbors feel the same way when they go into a new area. When they are the strangers, their knees shake, they roll up their car windows, and avoid eye contact. “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” 1. Answers may vary. Rosa Vargas is a single mother who lives in Esperanza’s neighborhood. She has so many children that she is too tired to really deal with their bad behavior, and her husband left her a while ago without leaving her any money or a reason for his absence. 2. Esperanza thinks the Vargas children do not have respect for living things or self-respect. 3. At first, other people used to tell the children how to behave. But when the kids clearly didn’t listen, the neighbors stopped watching or protecting the kids. “Alicia Who Sees Mice” 1. Alicia has to wake up early to make tortillas and pack lunches because her mother died. 2. Alicia is afraid of the mice that scurry away from her when she wakes up early each morning. She is also afraid of her father, but it unclear why. 3. Alicia’s father does not care about Alicia’s fears, so he says she should close her eyes or that the mice are just imagined. He believes women should hold traditional roles, like cooking for the family. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 105 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Page 34: Part Two Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Pages 35-36: Part Two Literature Focus: Figurative Language Part I 1. simile – The whole sentence is the simile. 2. alliteration – several, scaly, snakes, slithered, street 3. allusion – Michael Phelps, Olympics 4. symbolism – falling maple leaves, childhood is over 5. personification – the moon was following her 6. synesthesia – sweet notes, bitter cold 7. metaphor – The whole sentence is the metaphor. 8. onomatopoeia – clicked Part II Explanations may vary. 1. personification – When Esperanza tries to put her hair up in bands or barrettes, it just falls down, as if it were lazy. It does not stay in place or obey her. 2. metaphor – Esperanza feels as if she wants to leave Nenny and her family, like a balloon floats away, but her responsibility to Nenny is making her stay there, just like an anchor keeps a boat in place. 3. alliteration – The s and sh sounds together are hard to say, so we have to slow down and take notice of the sounds when we say them aloud. This might be how Esperanza feels when she sees Rachel and Lucy, that she slows down and really pays attention to them instead of accepting Cathy’s opinion of them. 4. allusion – The Statue of Liberty is a statue some immigrants see when they arrive in the United States. Esperanza did not really buy the Statue of Liberty, but she probably bought a small replica. – OR – symbolism – The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom in many parts of the United States, which suggests that Esperanza has to give up something valuable if she wants her freedom. 5. synesthesia – When the music starts, Esperanza is so surprised by the way the sounds bounce around that she compares them to the irregular fluttering and bouncing movements of moths. 6. onomatopoeia – Shakity-shake is the sound that knees or legs make when someone is scared, so Esperanza is showing us how she feels without naming the feeling. 7. simile – Both sugar donuts and falling stars plummet straight down without stopping when gravity works on them. Angel probably did the same thing when he fell off the roof. 8. symbolism – When Alicia inherited her mother’s rolling pin, it was because she was also being given the responsibility of making the tortillas in the morning. However, it also symbolizes the traditional role of women as wives and daughters who work in the kitchen to serve their husbands and fathers, with no other thought for their futures. Alicia continues to go to university, though, which symbolizes her refusal of that subservient role. Pages 37-38: Part Two Language Focus: Parallel Structure Answers will vary. 1. Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold sells old refrigerators, dusty couches, and televisions that probably don’t work. 2. Meme Ortiz’s sheepdog has grey eyes, two names, and a clumsy, floppy run. 3. Louie, his mom, his sisters, and Marin all live in the basement of Meme’s house, but Louie’s other cousin lives in a jail cell. 4. Marin wears short skirts, shows off her pretty green eyes, and brags about her boyfriend back in Puerto Rico. 5. In a neighborhood of another color, Esperanza begins to shake at the knees, to roll up her window, and to look straight ahead. 6. Efren Vargas chipped his tooth on a parking meter, Refugia got her head stuck between two slats in the gate, and Angel fell to his death. 7. Alicia likes staying up late and studying for university better than staying in the kitchen all her life. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 106 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Page 39: Part Three Comprehension and Analysis “Darius & the Clouds” 1. Esperanza thinks there is a shortage of sky, butterflies, and flowers. 2. Darius sees God in a fat fluffy cloud that looks like popcorn. 3. Answers may vary. It is surprising that Darius talks about clouds and God, which is such a quiet activity, when he chases girls around with firecrackers, an activity that would be quite loud. It is surprising that Darius talks about God when Esperanza thinks he is so stupid and foolish. “And Some More” 1. The argument starts when either Rachel or Lucy says that one of the clouds looks like Esperanza’s fat face. 2. Answers may vary. I think they are serious at first, since breaking up the friendship is threatened, but then it turns into silliness because the girls talk about chicken lips, cockroach jelly, and foot fleas. 3. Nenny’s behavior is different because she does not get involved in the name-calling and threats. Instead, she is engaged in her own game, listing all the names she can think of to label the clouds she sees in the sky. “The Family of Little Feet” 1. The girls get three pairs of used high-heeled shoes: one yellow pair, one red pair, and one pale blue pair. The girls are so excited to get the shoes that they trade them around and feel like Cinderella when they wear them. 2. Answers may vary. The girls discover that they have legs just like women do when they put on the shoes. They probably did not discover this until now because their tennis shoes and socks were disguising their legs and making them look like little girls’ legs. 3. Answers may vary. The men and boys start looking at the girls differently as they walk around. Mr. Benny tells the girls the shoes are dangerous and threatens to call the cops, and a little boy on a bike calls something flirty to them. A drunken homeless man in front of the tavern compliments them and offers a dollar in exchange for a kiss, which bothers Esperanza and Lucy, but not Rachel. “A Rice Sandwich” 1. Esperanza wants to eat in the canteen because she thinks the kids are special for eating there. She also feels a bit lonely at lunch and too lazy to walk home. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza convinces her mother to write her a note by pointing out that her siblings do not come home for lunch. She offers to make her own sandwiches, and she points out that eating at the canteen would yield fewer dishes for Esperanza’s mother to wash. She mentions how sickly she is, so walking home for lunch is too much work for her. Finally, she suggests that if her mother saw her less, she would miss her and love her more. 3. Esperanza does not think the canteen is very special, the boys and girls are unfriendly to her, and she cries while she eats her cold, greasy sandwich. “Chanclas” 1. Esperanza’s mother forgets to bring new dress shoes. Esperanza is very embarrassed that she has to wear her old school shoes, and it makes her feel ugly. 2. At first, Esperanza did not want to dance with her uncle because she was aware of her ugly shoes, so he had to pull her onto the dance floor. However, he compliments her beauty, and then others compliment her dancing, and finally she is comfortable enough to bow at the end of the dance. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza’s cousin by marriage is interested in dancing with her, but she is too embarrassed at the beginning, and she turns him down. After dancing with Uncle Nacho, Esperanza is more confident of her beauty and appeal, and then she is flattered to be watched by a boy how is not strictly related to her. “Hips” 1. The girls are chanting and jumping rope double dutch while they talk about hips. 2. They say hips are needed for holding a baby when cooking, dancing, having babies, and identifying the bone structure of women in contrast to men. 3. Nenny’s comments are more innocent. She is not thinking about the sexual or sensual aspect of hips, but only their practical uses. When Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy are all jumping rope to ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 107 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide new improvised songs that are sexually suggestive, Nenny is choosing standard, more innocent chants for her turn jumping. “The First Job” 1. Esperanza needs to get a job to help the pay the tuition for her Catholic high school. 2. Esperanza works at a photo-finishing store, matching up the negatives with the prints, and then putting the matches in an envelope together. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza has a very awkward first day on the job. First, she has to lie about her age to be hired. Then, she gets tired enough while working that she wants to sit, but she does not know if she is permitted. When she finally does sit, the other ladies working there laugh at her for waiting so long. At lunch, she does not know anyone else, so she eats alone in one of the bathroom stalls. On her break, she hides in the coatroom to avoid others. Finally, an older man comes in and asks her for a kiss as a birthday present, but as Esperanza begins to kiss him on the cheek, he forces her to kiss him on the lips, and he holds her face there for some time. Page 40: Part Three Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Pages 41-42: Literature Focus: Character Interaction Answers may vary. One interpretation of the character map follows. Notes for the teacher: - Because character maps should be different, focus your evaluation of the students’ maps on completion, accuracy, and analysis. - Some students find it easier to use small pieces of paper or sticky notes with the names on them, so they can move things around. Then, when the arrangements are to their liking, students can switch to one piece of paper. - This is also an excellent cooperative activity for small groups of 2-4 students. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 108 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Pages 43-44: Part Three Assessment Preparation: Context Clues Answers may vary. Multifarious: different; consisting of different or varied things; Video Gamers Anonymous to the volunteer-driven Key Club, from Young Entrepreneurs to Club Français Part a and c of each answer may vary. Part b may vary between students if different dictionaries are being used. 1. b) unstable, shaking from side to side; c) as if the wheels are spaghetti 2. b) having many flat, narrow folds; c) car crashed into a lamppost; like an alligator’s 3. b) looking or feeling like dough; c) fat; like tamales 4. b) walked with arched back and head high; c) walk; magic high heels 5. b) a bar or pub; c) bum man; talking to drunks 6. b) a cafeteria; c) to eat; at lunch time go there 7. b) weak; c) I’m no Spartan; without getting dizzy 8. b) reliability, experience; c) Alicia already told me; I have science on my side 9. Answers may vary. Students should have written an original sentence with a challenging word in it, and a partner should infer and look up the definition of the challenging word. Page 45: Part Four Comprehension and Analysis “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” 1. Papa tells Esperanza that his father has died. 2. Answers may vary. Papa cries about his father dying, which is surprising to Esperanza because she has never seen her father cry. However, she also feels responsible because she’ll have to keep her siblings under control during the day, and she feels sad because she is reminded of her father’s eventual death. 3. Esperanza will be responsible for telling her siblings of their grandfather’s death and keeping them quiet and somber during the day. Her father will travel to Mexico and gather with his siblings for a photo at the gravesite. “Born Bad” 1. Answers may vary. Aunt Lupe is Esperanza’s mother’s relative, and she was dark and beautiful in her youth. She was married and had at least one child. She was a swimmer with a well-toned body, but now she is stricken with a terrible disease that cripples her and causes her to go blind. Despite this, she looks forward to Esperanza’s visits, enjoys being read to, and listens to Esperanza’s poetry while encouraging her to continue writing. 2. Esperanza talks about how she was born bad because she played the mimicking game with Aunt Lupe in mind. Esperanza thinks that might have caused her death. 3. Answers may vary. Aunt Lupe tells Esperanza to keep writing because “it will keep you free.” Aunt Lupe might have meant that as long as you can think and write down your own thoughts, you will be able to think for yourself. She might have meant that writing will give you options for your life. Aunt Lupe might have even been thinking about herself, knowing that imagining and writing can keep a person happy, even though she is confined to her second-floor apartment. “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” 1. Esperanza is hoping to have Elenita consult some tools and determine if Esperanza will ever have the house she dreams of. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza may want to watch cartoons because she is not comfortable in Elenita’s eclectic apartment, with all the mystical decorations. Esperanza may also want to watch cartoons because she is not as grown up and ready for her future as she thought she was. On the other hand, maybe she just wants to watch cartoons because she likes the episode Elenita’s kids are watching. 3. Elenita tells Esperanza that she will find a “home in the heart,” but Esperanza is not satisfied. She wants something more specific, and she is very disappointed. “Geraldo No Last Name” 1. Marin knows Geraldo from a dance that night. She danced with him, and she was the last person who saw him before he was hit by a car. 2. No one knows Geraldo’s last name because he is not well known in the area. He works at a restaurant, but Marin cannot remember which one, and she does not know where he lives. He does not have any identification in his pockets, maybe because he is living and working in the United States illegally. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 109 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 3. Answers may vary. When the police question Marin, their comments make it seem like his life does not matter because he is “just another wetback.” That is probably why, at the hospital, the surgeon is not called to operate on Geraldo’s injuries. “Edna’s Ruthie” 1. Edna is the owner and landlady for the three-story apartment building next door to Esperanza’s house. Ruthie is her adult daughter, who lives with her, although she has a husband and a home elsewhere. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza likes that Edna likes to play and that she laughs to herself, even when no one else is around. She and Esperanza both enjoy eating candy, and Ruthie can whistle beautifully, not to mention sing and dance. Edna also takes joy in the little things around her, like the clouds and moon overhead and library books. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza does not understand that Ruthie is mentally disabled, possibly from a head injury, since she gets headaches when she reads now. She acts nervous and worried in big crowds at the store, makes plans for the future that she never follows through on, and relies on her mother to make decisions for her. “Earl of Tennessee” 1. Earl is a single man who lives in the basement of Edna’s apartment. He works nights as a jukebox repairman, a skill he learned when he lived in the South. 2. Earl gets upset and yells at the kids when they are loud and he is trying to sleep during the day. However, Earl can be kind when he gives the kids the 45 records that he does not want. 3. Answers may vary. The gossip about Earl is that he is married, but his wife lives somewhere else. Many of the neighbors say they have seen his wife, but their descriptions do not match, suggesting that he brings many different women to his apartment. Esperanza is still too naïve to realize that Earl is probably sleeping with the women, but does not have long-term relationships with them. “Sire” 1. Esperanza is afraid of Sire because Sire stares at her often, and it makes her self-conscious. She is also excited by his attention, but she does not want him to know. 2. Answers may vary. Lois is Sire’s girlfriend. Esperanza notices much of Lois’s physical appearance, as if she were comparing herself to Lois, and she feels jealous that Lois and Sire can do things together at night that Esperanza cannot do. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza seems to be growing up and becoming more sexual. She says she feels like “everything is waiting to explode” inside of her. She also asks Sire rhetorical questions about how he holds Lois and how he kisses her. Page 46: Part Four Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Pages 47-48: Literature Focus: Setting and Theme Answers may vary. I think she wants us to know that where we come from has an enormous effect on our character and our future, as it does for Esperanza. Answers may vary. A house is a building where people can live, with walls, a roof, a bathroom, a sleeping area, and a kitchen. However, a home can be any type of residence, like an apartment, a tent, or a recreation vehicle (RV). In a home, we also feel love, comfort, security, and acceptance. Maybe it is called The House on Mango Street because Esperanza does not feel comfortable there. Homes Details from the Text Impressions broken water pipes, third floor, above a Esperanza's apartment on embarrassing, hostile, runboarded-up laundromat, peeling paint, bars Loomis (p. 4-5) down, poor, dangerous over the windows 4006 Mango Street, small and red, small the house on Mango Street wooden steps, small windows, no front yard but disappointment, rejection, (p. 4, 106-107, 109-110) a few trees, small backyard, 1 bathroom, 3 weakness bedrooms Cathy's house, which Meme ©2013 Secondary Solutions built by Cathy's dad, wooden floors slant - 110 - disorganization, amateur, The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Ortiz's family moves into (p. different ways, no closets, 21 crooked steps in neglect 21-22) front, dirt backyard, fallen garage, big tree swollen floorboard (front plumbing leaking?), disgust, neglect, lack of Alicia's home (p. 31-32) mouse-infested, far from the university progress smells of medicine, back apartment, no sun, Aunt Lupe's apartment (p. abandonment, the high ceilings with bare light bulbs, flies, dirty 58-61) forgotten, death, darkness dishes in the sink, maroon walls big color TV, plastic over red synthetic fur on the furniture, candles and a cross and a clutter, confusion, Elenita's home (p. 62-64) voodoo hand on the refrigerator, dirty dishes in eclecticism, kitsch the sink Edna's basement, flower boxes and steps out front, cockroaches, blinds closed during the decay, filth, secrets, old Earl's apartment (p. 70-71) day, smells of mold and damp, little wooden age that moans, full of records third floor front, across from Esperanza's disappointment, Mamacita's apartment (p.76house, window facing the street, Spanish radio homesickness, unwelcome 78) coming from inside, pink walls, loud fights feeling, rejection Rafaela's apartment (p. 79upstairs, window facing the street, lock from boredom, distrust, longing 80) the outside, nearby bar with music, clothesline pillowcases, plates, towels, toaster, alarm shallowness, unhappiness, Sally's home after her clock, drapes, neat corners, linoleum roses on loneliness, control, marriage (p. 101-102) the floor, smooth ceilings, broken door, no imprisonment phone calls, no visitors, closed window ownership, running water, working plumbing, white, big yard with grass and trees, a fence, a porch, pillow, purple petunias, books and freedom, happiness, selfEsperanza's dream home (p. writing, clean, live alone but have visitors, acceptance, the American 4, 82-83, 86-87, 108) quiet, on a hill, attic with bums living there, big Dream windows, inside stairs, lots of sky, no nearby neighbors Answers may vary. Cisneros may have included so much detail to serve as a metaphor for the residents’ lives. Therefore, Esperanza’s dream home is the only one that has favorable characteristics. Answers may vary. “Her place in the world” means a purpose for life that is all her own. Esperanza feels that her home is part of that purpose and, without it, she will not realize her dreams. Answers may vary. One of The House on Mango Street’s themes is that the struggle to find a place we belong is part of growing up, and we cannot reach our full potential without finding that place. Another theme is that despite our expectations for our future, we cannot ignore the places we used to call home, and how they have made us the people we become. Pages 49-51: Part Four Assessment Preparation: Allusions The inferences for each exercise (a.) will vary by student. th 1. b. a beautiful and stylish actress and dancer from the early half of the 20 century c. Answers may vary. A Joan Crawford dress would probably be expensive and fancy, curvy and long, maybe with sequins or frills on it. 2. b. a superheroine from DC comic books who has superhuman strength, speed and agility, as well as a Lasso of Truth and a pair of indestructible bracelets c. Answers may vary. The children may mimic Wonder Woman by leaping as if they were flying, using an imaginary lasso, or fighting while obviously blocking with the invisible bracelets on their wrists. 3. b. a children’s novel published in 1863, about a boy named Tom who drowns but becomes a waterbaby. Underwater, he learns how to become a well-behaved person. c. Answers may vary. Aunt Lupe was a natural swimmer, so she probably likes The Waterbabies because it follows a boy who lives underwater for a while. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 111 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 4. b. the pictures described are similar to tarot cards, which some people use to learn about someone’s past, present, or future, and sometimes all three at once c. Elenita is using tarot cards to tell Esperanza’s fortune. 5. b. related to astrology, the belief that the placement of celestial objects like planets and stars can affect human events and decisions c. Answers may vary. Elenita believes that if the stars are stronger, they might be able to give Elenita more information about the concerns Esperanza has. 6. b. styles of music and partner dance which originated in Latin countries and tend to be flirtatious, sensual, and related to courtship in attitude c. Answers may vary. These dances are known to be sexy and sensual, and their history is related to courtship rituals, so if Marin and Geraldo are dancing to them, observers may get the wrong idea about their relationship. 7. b. a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson about a nightingale who sings beautifully and is stolen from a garden by the Chinese emperor’s servant. The bird becomes sick while caged, but recovers after it is set free again. They make peace and the emperor learns a lesson about the important relationship between beauty and freedom. c. Answers may vary. Ruthie and the nightingale both have two homes: the place they feel comfortable in and somewhere they were taken against their wills. 8. b. a poem from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, about a walrus and a human carpenter who persuade oysters away from their mother so the pair can have a hearty lunch c. Answers may vary. Ruthie may get sad and tear up because the oysters leave their mother despite her warnings, so walrus and the carpenter eat the little oysters. Personal Evaluation – Answers may vary. I needed the outside resource often because I did not know what many of these allusions were about. My cultural literary is not very strong, and that is affecting my comprehension. Page 52: Part Five Comprehension and Analysis “Four Skinny Trees” 1. Answers may vary. Esperanza feels that the trees are the only ones who understand her, just as she’s the only one who understands the trees. Both the trees and Esperanza have skinny necks and pointy elbows, and they both belong but don’t belong on Mango Street. They both strive for growth in a place that does not encourage it. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza dismisses the trees in the first vignette, since she is obviously disappointed about the house on Mango Street and its environs. However, in this vignette, although she still admits they are “raggedy excuses” for trees, she also sees their determination and strength. She appears to admire the trees in this vignette. 3. The trees teach Esperanza to keep reaching for what she wants, and they show her it is possible to grow, even in adverse situations. “No Speak English” 1. Mamacita moves to Mango Street against her will because her husband works and saves money to bring her and their son to live there. She does not adjust well because she never leaves the apartment, and she only sits at the window and listens to the Spanish songs that make her homesick. She cries, sighs, and argues with her husband about going back to her home. 2. Answers may vary. Mamacita knows how to say “he is not here,” “no speak English” and “holy smokes.” If someone comes to her apartment, she can use the first two to end the conversation and avoid learning English or taking care of the home she does not like. She can use “holy smokes” to pretend she is reacting to someone’s long story, since she does not understand English. 3. Mamacita feels like her heart is breaking when her toddler son starts singing along in English to a Pepsi commercial on television. She has resisted adjusting to living in the United States partially by not learning English, and she probably feels like her son will leave her behind if he learns to speak English. “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” 1. Rafaela is one of Esperanza’s neighbors. She is beautiful, so her husband locks her in the apartment when he goes to play dominos with friends on Tuesday night. So, she throws money ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 112 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide down for the kids to buy her coconut or papaya juice while she listens to the music down the street and thinks of dancing in her tropical homeland. 2. Answers may vary. Rafaela and Mamacita are both prisoners in their home, listening to music and looking out the window. They both have husbands who are controlling, and they both wish they could move back to their old homes. However, Mamacita could leave the apartment if she wanted, but she does not seem to want to talk with anyone. In contrast, Rafaela cannot leave because she is locked in, but she shouts down to the kids in the street, who help her. Another difference is that Mamacita has company in the apartment in the form of her child, but it seems that Rafaela is all alone. 3. Rafaela dreams of joining the people dancing in the bar on the corner, and maybe having a good time by flirting with some of the men before she gets too old. She also dreams of being Rapunzel, so she can climb down her own hair and escape the apartment. “Sally” 1. Sally is a girl at school that the boys like to talk about because she may be promiscuous. Esperanza observes her, but they do not appear to be good friends, and Esperanza notices that she does not have any friends at the moment. If anything, Esperanza envies Sally for her beauty, her experience with boys, and her sense of fashion. 2. Sally’s father controls her. His sisters had some wild times, and he does not want that to happen to Sally, so he expects her to be a good religious girl who dresses modestly, does not dance, and comes right home from school. He will not let Sally go out after school. 3. When Sally walks home from school, she moves faster and becomes more serious. She pulls her skirt down, takes her makeup off, and begins looking down at her feet, thus showing she is demure rather than bold. 4. Esperanza thinks Sally wants her own house full of her own things, where she can be the person she believes she is and not worry about others’ opinions of her. In that nice house, she would only feel comfort and love, which is what Esperanza longs for, too. “Minerva Writes Poems” 1. Minerva is sad because she is a single mother raising two kids, she feels she is unlucky, and she has a terrible relationship with her husband. 2. Minerva’s husband is not loving at all. He leaves her alone with the kids, so she thinks she is a single mom, but sometimes he comes back. She has thrown him and his belongings out of the house and locked him out, but she lets him in if he apologizes. He beats her, and Esperanza sees the bruises. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza feels helpless to assist Minerva because Minerva does not feel that she can stand up to the man and permanently leave him. Also, Minerva is only a little older than Esperanza, and Esperanza may feel that she is not experienced enough to deal with such an adult situation. “Bums in the Attic” 1. Esperanza’s father is a gardener for rich people who live on the hill. 2. On Sunday, her family goes to the homes he works at to look inside the windows and see the way the rich people live. Esperanza stops going with them because she is uncomfortable with how much it reminds her of the things her family does not have. 3. Esperanza hopes to have a big house she can live in by herself when she gets older. She will ask bums to come in and live in the attic, so she can show that she remembers the life she came from. She also wants to be able to help them and get them a place to live, since she remembers not feeling like she had a true home. “Beautiful & Cruel” 1. Esperanza believes she is ugly and undesirable, but her mother tells her she will grow to be beautiful. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza has decided, after looking at all the other women, that she will not be tame and give up her life for men. Instead, she will be fierce and fight the expectations people have for women in her neighborhood. 3. The quiet war she talks about is battling expectations for behavior, especially behavior related to gender. She begins this war by leaving her place at the table messy. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 113 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide “A Smart Cookie” 1. Esperanza’s mother can speak two languages, sing an opera beautifully, fix a television, draw, and do beautiful needlework. She hopes to leave the neighborhood to see a ballet or an opera. 2. Esperanza’s mother tells her to go to school and study hard, and then she suggests that marrying a man will not solve her problems. Instead, Esperanza’s mother says, you have to do things for yourself. She also warns Esperanza against shame because it kept her from being the best she could be. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza’s mother says she quit school because she was ashamed of the clothes she wore, which were not as nice as the other kids’ clothes. I think she could go back to school now, if she wanted, but she talks as if her chance is gone. Page 53: Part Five Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Pages 54-55: Literature Focus: Theme and Character – Gender Roles Answers may vary. Esperanza may be looking more closely at women in her neighborhood because she is a young girl, right on the edge of puberty and adolescence. She wants to know what her life might be like when she gets older, so she is naturally looking at the women in her life as role models for her own. 1. Esperanza’s great-grandmother was wild and forced to get married. According to Esperanza, she wasted the rest of her life looking out the window, looking bored or disappointed. 2. Marin cannot decide what her future holds: either she wants to get married to her boyfriend in Puerto Rico when she returns home, or she wants to stay in the United States and get married to a man she meets while working in the city. Right now, she just seems to be waiting, though, since her aunt is keeping her locked up inside most days, already tending to young children. 3. Rosa Vargas is married, but her husband ran away and left her poor, with too many children to take care of and no source of income. She has lost control of her life and her children. 4. Alicia has dreams of graduating and getting a good job away from her home on Mango Street, but her father tries to keep her there by forcing her to replace her dead mother in the kitchen. The fact that Alicia is afraid of her father suggests that he may also be abusive toward Alicia. 5. Aunt Lupe had the potential to be a beautiful woman in a happy marriage, but her illness has stolen that away from her. Before she died, she was bed-ridden, while neglecting her chores around the house, her husband, and her child. 6. Elenita does not appear to have a husband in the picture, but she has two young children who watch television while she does fortunetelling to earn some money on the side. When the children misbehave, she hits them, and then she hugs them, showing both discipline and love. 7. Ruthie appeared to have the ideal marriage, with a beautiful house outside the city and a nice husband, but she either left it or was forced to leave. She believes she will return to her home and her husband soon, but Esperanza sees that those are just words and not reality. 8. Mamacita’s husband works hard to bring her and her son to a new home, but she is lonely and terribly unhappy there. Her husband tries several things to make their new home feel more comfortable, but she is unsatisfied and isolates herself instead of giving it a chance. 9. Rafaela spends her Tuesday evenings locked in her own home because her husband does not trust her while he plays dominoes. While he is gone, she looks out the window, listens to the music from the bar down the street, and dreams of dancing, flirting, and having fun with other men. 10. Minerva is a poetess who is in an abusive marriage, but she finds the resolve to kick her husband out of the house and even throw his things out on the front lawn. However, when he returns, she takes him in again, only to suffer more beatings. 11. Esperanza’s mother is full of regret for quitting school because of the shame she felt at her poverty. Although Esperanza admires her artistic skills and her beautiful voice, her mother is aware of how much potential she had when she was younger, and how it is wasted on her domestic life. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 114 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Answers may vary. Most of the women are stuck in a situation they cannot escape from, either literally or figuratively, because of either illness or the men in their lives. They feel they have made decisions that they cannot take back, and that their lives are written without a possibility of change. Answers may vary. Women need to focus on their own dreams instead of allowing men to determine their futures. Example paragraph In The House on Mango Street, author Sandra Cisneros’s central theme is that women need to focus on their own dreams instead of allowing men to determine their futures. Esperanza chronicles her neighbors’ lives, one by one, and depicts the married women as unhappy, unsafe, or unable to provide for themselves and their families because of their husbands. For example, Esperanza’s mother regrets not continuing her schooling and pursuing her talents, but she urges Esperanza to stay in school and take care of herself. Rafaela, Mamacita, and Rosa Vargas are stuck in marriages where their husbands make decisions for them, and Minerva suffers through her husband’s beatings because she cannot fully leave the marriage. Even the unmarried women in Esperanza’s neighborhood are in controlling relationships with their fathers, like Alicia and Sally, despite their hopes for escape and self-determination. Overall, through careful observation, Esperanza is learning from the women around her that if she wants to rise to her full potential, she cannot allow others – especially men – to make decisions for her. Pages 56-57: Part Five Language Focus: Colons Answers may vary. 1. The House on Mango Street is difficult to categorize: It is somewhere between fictional prose and poetry. 2. In the novella, Cisneros wrote about things that are important to her: love, oppression, feminism, and growth. 3. No one expected Mango Street to be popular: Latina characters were not common at the time. 4. After its publication, book reviews were very positive: The New York Times called Cisneros a gifted writer. 5. Cisneros’s colleagues also admired her work: A committee of writers chose The House on Mango Street as a recipient of the American Book Award in 1985. 6. Today, The House on Mango Street has been read by millions of people in varied settings: middle and high school classrooms as well as adult book clubs. 7. College students have also read it for their coursework in different departments: poetry, composition, creative writing, women’s studies, ethnic studies, and education courses. 8. Sandra Cisneros continues to write about the Chicana experience in the United States: She has published four more books since The House on Mango Street. Page 58: Part Six Comprehension and Analysis “What Sally Said” 1. Sally says that her father never hits her hard, and she lies when she says her bruises come from falling down the stairs. Esperanza knows that Sally’s father beats her. 2. Sally’s father is afraid that Sally will run away like his sisters did and bring more shame to the family. He also may be afraid that she will get involved with a boy. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza feels protective of Sally because she asks Sally to stay with her for a few days. However, when Sally’s father comes for her and takes her home, Esperanza may feel powerless to help. “The Monkey Garden” 1. Answers may vary. Originally, when the first family moved, the garden was colorful and natural, with big sunflowers and sweet peach trees, bees and fruit flies pollinating, and a welcome smell of wood and dampness. However, it became too wild and overgrown, and people started dumping their garbage and their broken-down vehicles there. 2. The kids play chasing, jumping, and hiding games in the monkey garden. They like to pretend it was the original garden or that pirates and dinosaurs were buried there. However, Sally thought those games were too childish and dirty. In the game Sally plays, she agrees to kiss Tito and several other boys behind the pickup truck in the garden in return for the keys Tito stole from Sally. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 115 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 3. Esperanza thinks Sally is in a dangerous situation with Tito and his friends, so she runs up three flights of stairs to tell Tito’s mother about it. However, Tito’s mother does nothing about it, so Esperanza gathers a brick and some sticks to throw at the boys. It does not matter, though, because Sally tells Esperanza to go away. 4. Answers may vary. Esperanza feels ashamed after trying to help Sally, but she does not know why. Going to the garden would remind her of those feelings, so she never returns. “Red Clowns” 1. Esperanza was raped by one or more boys at the carnival. She does not seem to know who they were. 2. Sally did not help Esperanza because she had gone somewhere else and did not hear Esperanza screaming. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza says that Sally and the others lied about sex. They probably said sex would be wonderful and romantic, but Esperanza can only remember the pain and dirtiness of this experience. “Linoleum Roses” 1. Sally escapes her father’s home by marrying a marshmallow salesman she met at the school carnival. Even though she is still in seventh grade, they get married in another state where it is legal for an adult to marry someone so young. 2. Answers may vary. Sally appears happy in her home, surrounded by all the material things that a housewife would want. Sally says she is in love. 3. Answers may vary. Esperanza does not think Sally’s new life is very good. Although Sally used to be very energetic, strong, and outgoing, now she is required to stay away from the window and cannot talk to her friends from her pre-marriage life. Sally has exchanged the control of her father for the control of her husband. “The Three Sisters” 1. Esperanza meets the three sisters at Lucy and Rachel’s baby sister’s funeral, which is held in their home. 2. Answers may vary. The sisters appear mysterious because their arrival is described as being related to the wind and the moon. They also speak in riddles and incomplete statements, which they finish for each other. Additionally, the sister with the marble hands guesses that Esperanza wants to leave Mango Street, which Esperanza never says aloud to her. Finally, they wave when Esperanza looks back, but she never sees them again. 3. The three sisters predict that Esperanza will go far, but they urge her to come back to Mango Street for the people who cannot leave as easily as she can. “Alicia & I Talking on Edna’s Steps” 1. Alicia believes that Esperanza will always have Mango Street inside her because this is her home, but Esperanza does not feel that she belongs on Mango Street and doubts she will ever return. 2. Alicia predicts that Esperanza will come back to Mango Street. 3. Answers may vary. The girls talk about the mayor because they do not believe the mayor will ever try to make Mango Street a better place to live. This suggests that Mango Street is in a poor area that has been forgotten by the people in charge of the city. The neighborhood will only improve if the people who live there make the changes themselves. “A House of My Own” 1. Answers may vary. Esperanza says her future home will not be a small apartment or a flat. She will own her nice big house herself, and this shows that Esperanza plans to retain control of her life and not let a man into it. 2. Answers may vary. Esperanza seems to be an introvert because she wants to live by herself, with her own things around, no one to clean up after, and the quiet she needs to write. However, she makes friends easily and plans to allow strangers (bums) to live in the attic of her home, too, so she may be slightly extroverted. “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes” 1. Esperanza makes up stories in her head to get through the day, and she feels better when she writes them down. 2. One day, Esperanza plans to pack up her books and her papers and move away from Mango Street. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 116 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 3. Answers may vary. This vignette comes full circle from the first one because it has some of the same wording as the first vignette does related to Esperanza’s homes in the past. However, Esperanza is not the same person as she was at the beginning because she has a better idea of her future, plus she is more aware of how important her roots on Mango Street are. Page 59: Part Six Journal Topics Journal entries/written responses are personal and will vary widely. Pages 60-61 Part Six: Literature Focus: Referential Texts – The Bible All answers may vary. 1. Both the Garden of Eden and the monkey garden are wild, and they grew up without anyone truly tending to their needs. Both also hide things: the monkey garden hides the kids and other treasures, while the Garden of Eden hides Adam and Eve when they need to. 2. Tito is the character in “The Monkey Garden” who begins the chain of events there. He steals Sally’s keys and proposes she kiss him or his friends for every key she wants returned. Sally agrees to the game. 3. Eve’s goal when she eats from the fruit is to gain wisdom and knowledge about the difference between good and evil. The serpent convinces Eve that eating from the fruit could make her like a god. On the other hand, Sally is initially just trying to get her keys back. However, the ease with which she accepts the game hints that she welcomes the experience of kissing all the boys, either because she actually enjoys it or because she wants to rebel against an expectation. 4. Adam and Eve realize, after they eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that they are naked. They are embarrassed and ashamed by this, and they feel the need to put on clothes and hide from God. 5. Like Eve, Esperanza feels ashamed by the events in the garden. She begins to feel this way when it is clear that Sally does not need saving, when she looks at Esperanza and tells her to go away. Then, Esperanza may realize that although the situation Sally is in could be dangerous, it may also be welcomed. She may also realize at this moment that Sally and she are not alike at all, and that Esperanza is not ready for these kinds of sexual experiences like Sally is. 6. Both stories end with people leaving the garden and never returning. In the Bible story, God forces Adam and Eve out of the garden because they betrayed him by eating the forbidden fruit. In “The Monkey Garden,” Esperanza leaves the garden, even though she is being a true friend to Sally, and decides she will not return. 7. “The Monkey Garden” is less formal and less structured, and it relies more heavily on figurative language. Since shame and betrayal are such difficult emotions to write about sincerely and clearly, I prefer Cisneros’s style over the Bible version. Pages 62-63: Part Six Assessment Preparation: Task, Audience, and Purpose All answers may vary. 1. This book is about a girl named Esperanza who really wants to have a nice home and write for a living. She gets to know her neighbors and some of them become her friends. 2. Mango Street is about this girl named Esperanza who watches her friends and neighbors get beaten and left behind by their parents, but they continue living and fighting for a good life. Esperanza gets raped in this creepy scene at the carnival, but she keeps looking forward to a better day when she is older and in more control of her life. 3. The House on Mango Street is a quick read, with simple vocabulary and sentence structure. Esperanza is a likeable character because she cares about the people behind her, and she notices their troubles more than others do. She is looking for her place in the world, which many teenagers today can relate to. 4. The House on Mango Street is about a girl named Esperanza, who is the narrator. She writes about her life on Mango Street, where she lives with her family, and she gets to know her neighbors. At first, she’s confused about what kind of person she wants to be when she grows up, but she figures it out by the end. 5. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a modern book that speaks to the growing Latina population in this area, since the narrator is a young Mexican girl named Esperanza. Her experience is like the experience of the teens who come in to the library to do their homework ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 117 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide every day, and it forces readers to think about their goals and their limitations and to challenge them. Although the sentences are short and the words are fairly simple, the figurative language and allusions in the text make this book a rewarding challenge for young people to read. 6. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is more than the sum of its parts. Esperanza is an honest, bold, and strong female Latina, when there are not many of those depicted in books today. Esperanza’s overall conflict is with herself, between being from a poor neighborhood and dreaming of moving on to a more prosperous life elsewhere, and her sexual awakening is only one very small part of that maturation process. Its short vignettes, simple vocabulary, and short sentences draw reluctant readers in, but its complex thoughts about gender roles, personal goals, and origins can fuel deep discussions between students in the classroom. Page 64: Part One Quiz 1. C. longs for a friend she can tell secrets to K. dreams of a home with a yard and three washrooms. 2. B. is Esperanza’s responsibility H. has an explosive laugh like Esperanza 3. D. does not play with girls outside the house N. shares a bedroom with his brother 4. D. does not play with girls outside the house N. shares a bedroom with his brother 5. F. offers to be Esperanza’s friend until Tuesday J. tells Esperanza that the neighborhood is getting bad 6. G. have bell-like laughs and similarly full lips L. shares their bike with Esperanza and Nenny 7. G. have bell-like laughs and similarly full lips L. shares their bike with Esperanza and Nenny 8. E. has tightly-curled hair that smells like bread M. helps Esperanza feel safe and loved 9. A. was a wild woman who was forced to get married I. spent her life looking out the window 10. Esperanza feels close to her great-grandmother because they have the same name and the same personality, according to the Chinese zodiac, but she does not want to grow up to be like her great-grandmother. The woman seemed forced into a boring life of marriage and spent too much time looking out the window. Esperanza loves her mother, and her mother makes her feel loved when she hugs Esperanza and when they sleep together on rainy nights. Esperanza feels responsible for her little sister, Nenny, but she does not think of Nenny as a friend. 11. I would choose Rachel and Lucy as my friends because they do not insult Esperanza and know how to share a bike. They like to have fun together and avoid drama. Cathy seems like she is a snob when she brags about being related to the Queen of France, and she insults Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy, whether or not she meant to. Pages 65-66: Part Two Quiz 1. C. a music box 2. A. a large tree 3. B. takes his cousins for a ride 4. C. He is arrested. 5. B. She babysits Louie’s sisters. 6. D. marry her boyfriend 7. C. She tells Esperanza adult things. 8. A. stand out front of her house 9. A. Strangers feel scared and unsafe in new areas. 10. D. tiring – she cries because she has too many kids to take care of alone 11. C. ignore the kids’ behavior 12. A. Her father expects her to since her mother died. 13. B. She is studying for her classes at the college across town. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 118 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Pages 67-68: Part Three Quiz 1. N – notices the boy looking at her at the party 2. G – is a troublemaker, but also thinks about God 3. L – likes to flaunt her womanly legs and hips 4. A – allows Esperanza to eat lunch at school 5. D – buys Esperanza’s special dress for the baptism party 6. I – dances beautifully with Esperanza 7. C - seems more innocent than Esperanza 8. E – arranges for a job for Esperanza 9. H – forces Esperanza into a kiss on the lips 10. F – wants to kiss Rachel Answers may vary. 11. Esperanza discovers that she is growing into a young woman physically, when she tries on the high-heeled shoes from the family with little feet. Standing in the heels shows off her long legs and forces her to walk around the block with a sexy swing in her hips. Sexually, Esperanza admits to liking it when a boy pushes her into the open fire hydrant and enjoys the attention of the boy at the baptism party, who watches her on the dance floor. 12. Esperanza is really young to have a job outside of her home, but she might need to get one to help pay for her Catholic school tuition, since her parents have four kids and only one income. She may also need to get a job because her parents hope she will grow up to be responsible and support herself without relying on them. Pages 69-70: Part Four Quiz 1. false – Esperanza’s father wakes her to say his father has died. 2. false – Aunt Lupe is ill with something more serious than chicken pox, and she dies. 3. true 4. false – Esperanza consults Elenita because she wants to know if she will have a house. 5. true 6. true 7. false – The hospital staff who care for Geraldo do not try very hard to save him. 8. true 9. true 10. false - Another neighbor of Esperanza’s, Earl, sleeps during the days and works as a jukebox repairman at night. 11. false – Esperanza is attracted to Sire, and he stares at her often. 12. True Short Answer: Answers may vary. In this section of the novella, Esperanza shows that she is both still innocent and beginning to grow up and mature. One instance that shows her innocence is her confusion about Earl’s wife. Several people claim to have seen his wife, but the descriptions of her appearance differ, suggesting that Earl likes to take many different women to his home, but Esperanza does not understand this. In contrast, when Esperanza is told that her grandfather has died, she immediately realizes that her father is both vulnerable to heartache and mortal. She also understands that it is her very adult responsibility to inform her siblings of the death and to keep them reverently quiet for the day. It appears that Esperanza is in a period of transition in this section of the novella, and she is making changes that will force her to grow into adulthood. Pages 71-72: Part Five Quiz 1. c. trees 2. a. sing along to American commercials 3. a. locks her in her home 4. d. buy her coconut and papaya juice 5. b. modest and age-appropriate 6. b. abusive 7. a. homeless men 8. a. keep her personal power 9. d. school ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 119 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 10. c. avoid relying on men to take care of her Short Answer - Answers may vary 11. Esperanza wants to live on her own and make her own decisions, so her mother can teach Esperanza to be self-sufficient and learn to do everything for herself. Her mother can also teach her to use her talents, instead of giving them up, since it appears Esperanza’s mother had to give up her artistic gifts of singing and drawing when she had her family. 12. I do not think Esperanza can ever grow up to be a woman who is beautiful and cruel. She may be beautiful and retain power over herself and men, but she will never be as cruel as the women she idolizes in the movies. Esperanza has already shown that she is observant and sympathetic to others, which are skills that most cruel people do not possess. 13. I do not think Sally will be a good friend for Esperanza, and Sally will only get Esperanza into trouble. Sally pretends like she is one person at school while she is another person at home, but Esperanza seems intent on only being her true self. Additionally, the boys at school talk about Sally as if she has a lot of sexual experience, but Esperanza is very innocent and inexperienced in that respect. 14. Rafaela’s life would not be appealing to Esperanza. Rafaela’s husband locks her inside so she cannot escape, and she responds by sitting at the window. However, Esperanza said earlier in the book that she does not want to waste her life away at the window like her great-grandmother did. Pages 73-74: Part Six Quiz Answers may vary. 1. Esperanza wants to help Sally with her situation at home, but Sally keeps lying about the abuse and going back to her father. 2. In the Monkey Garden, Esperanza realizes that Sally does not want Esperanza to save her from the advances of the group of boys. 3. Esperanza’s first sexual experience with occurs when some boys rape her near the tilt-a-whirl at a carnival. 4. Sally’s dad and Sally’s husband are similar because they both control Sally’s behavior and freedom, but she loves them anyway. 5. The three mysterious sisters tell Esperanza that she is special, but she must return to Mango Street to help others who cannot leave. 6. Alicia helps Esperanza see that Mango Street is part of who Esperanza is. 7. In the end, Esperanza understands that Mango Street is not where she wanted to belong, but it is her home all the same. 8. The last vignette, “Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes,” has a hopeful mood because Esperanza is sure that she will return to her home on Mango Street, even though she has to leave first. Pages 75-77: Final Test 1. C. wants to escape, but knows she’ll return 2. G. loving, safe, but living with regrets 3. H. obedient daughter and university student 4. B. kissed boys in the Monkey Garden 5. E. wakes up Esperanza’s sexual feelings 6. D. died just after Esperanza mimicked her 7. J. explored the neighborhood on a bike and in high heels 8. A. a fortuneteller 9. F. mysterious but wise 10. I. died at the hospital without surgical attention 11. C. novella 12. D. home 13. A. friends 14. C. women 15. A. girls’ and boys’ lives 16. B. men cannot be relied upon to take care of their wives. 17. C. four skinny trees 18. D. “Red Clowns” because the experience changes Esperanza’s goals for her future. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 120 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 19. B. the three sisters 20. A. return eventually, for those who cannot leave 21. Esperanza is looking forward to two important things in her future. First, she wants a home that she owns. She wants to live there alone, and she wants it to be quiet, well-kept, and clean. Second, she wants to leave Mango Street to enter the world outside. She feels that is the only way she will be able to be the person she wants to be, most likely a writer. If she stays, Esperanza may fall into the same cycles of marriage and unhappiness that the women around her are caught up in. 22. I think Cisneros wrote The House on Mango Street in a way that is simple and poetic because she wanted all people to able to read it, not just the adults who attend university courses or elect to take Advanced Placement classes. She wanted to write a book that anyone, even a character from her novella, could be invited to read and enjoy. Consequently, Cisneros’s novella reads very easily, with very few challenging words, but a great deal of meaning behind each sentence. I think she succeeded in making the text an enjoyable read for anyone. 23. Esperanza wrote about over a dozen women and girls who live in her neighborhood, and very few are happy with their situations. Ruthie is married with a nice house outside of the area, but she is living with her mother, and it is unclear if Ruthie will ever be reunited with her husband and why they are separated. Sally has an unhealthy relationship with her father, who is physically and possibly sexually abusing her, so she rushes into a marriage before she is an eighth grader, and her new husband controls her just as much as her father did. Rafaela is a beautiful woman who may be happily married, except that her husband locks her in her apartment once per week so he can go have fun with his friends. None of these women have freedom, happiness, safety, or a job or responsibility outside their marriages. On the contrary, freedom, happiness, safety, and the ability to practice her writing craft are all things that Esperanza hopes for her life, so she rejects these three women as role models. 24. The first vignette in The House on Mango Street is about the house that Esperanza lives in, which she does not like because it does not meet her expectations or needs. The last vignette has several lines in it that are quotes from the first vignette, with slight changes to reflect her change in attitude. This return to the first vignette is related to the reminder Esperanza receives, from both the three sisters and Alicia. They tell her that she will need to return to Mango Street eventually because that is where she is from, and she eventually accepts this as an imperative for her life, so she can help those who cannot leave. 25. The House on Mango Street is a good title for the novella because Esperanza discovers how important where she comes from is. She cannot escape it, no matter how hard she tries; she'll always need to return to it. But she also learns how to help herself while she lives in the house on Mango Street, which will hopefully lead to Esperanza achieving all her life goals. -- OR -- No, The House on Mango Street is not a good title for the novella. Although Esperanza is from Mango Street, it is not all she wants to be, and she realizes this during the novella. She writes about all the different women in her neighborhood, potential role models, and discovers that none of them are living a life she wants to lead. The house on Mango Street is the opposite of what she wants to become. Pages 77-81: Final Test - Multiple Choice 1. B. Esperanza 2. C. It is a small red house with a few trees out front and a small garage. 3. D. Esperanza’s mother makes her feel safe, loved, and comfortable. 4. A. She feels Nenny is a responsibility, not a true friend. 5. A. hope 6. B. her grandmother, a wild woman who regretted her married life 7. C. She contributes money to buy and share a used bike with the sisters. 8. A. a neighbor who insults Esperanza 9. D. He was arrested for stealing a car. 10. D. Marin babysits Louie’s little sisters while his mother works. 11. B. They are wild, out of control, and disrespectful to themselves and others. 12. D. The neighbors ignore the kids, since the children do not listen to their warnings. 13. A. She hopes to graduate from university and move away from home. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 121 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. A. cook for him C. three pairs of high-heeled shoes A. They play dress-up and walk around the block. D. The girls realize that their bodies are maturing into the bodies of women. B. He offers to trade a dollar for a kiss. D. She wants to eat in the cafeteria. C. Mama did not buy new dress shoes, so Esperanza had to wear her school shoes. A. Uncle Nacho B. hips B. She matches negatives to prints at a photo-finishing store. B. A male co-worker forces Esperanza to give him a long kiss on the lips. C. Papa cries, and Esperanza has never seen him cry before. A. She is sick with an incurable disease. C. Aunt Lupe listens to Esperanza’s poems and urges her to keep writing. D. Esperanza wants to know if she will ever get the house she is dreaming of. C. He was a man Marin danced with one night, just before he was killed. B. He already has a girlfriend, and Esperanza is too shy to mention her feelings. A. Sally is a girl who appears to act different at school and home. C. They all have men who control and mistreat women. A. She wants to be kind to others who know what it is like to be without a house. B. Avoid feeling shame because it can keep you down. C. She agrees to exchange kisses with some boys in return for her house keys. C. She wants to die and never returns to the Monkey Garden again. A. She is raped by several men she does not know. D. Sally’s husband is controlling, and Esperanza does not think Sally loves her husband. C. They see Esperanza leaving Mango Street and going far away. B. They all convince her to return to Mango Street so she does not forget who she is. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 122 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide |
The House on Mango Street part two Literature Focus figurative language answers
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