Leaving or staying?

i think that Esperanza will decide to come back to mango street.  She has had a lot of changes in her life here and is quite connected.  She also feels attached because of the people around her.  She also had a lot of influence to stay. For example, the three girls, The Fates, state that she should make a wish.  they were completely confident about the weather the next day. They were also confident that they would make the wish come true. Also, they were sure about what she wished for.  This shows that they are very magical or talented(in the book).  they could make the wish come true, but they warn her.  The girl with the pale, porcelain skin states that

"When you leave, you must remember to come back for the others.  A circle, understand? You will always be esperanza.  You will always be mango street. You can't erase what you know.  You cant forget who you are."

 She is taken back about how they knew what she had wished for.  But then she actually felt ashamed to wish for that:

 "I didn't know what to say.  it was as if she could read my mind, as if she knew what i had wished for, and i felt ashamed for having made such a selfish wish."

This will inspire her to actually come back and help out her family and friend who are stuck here. i think this changed her.  At this moment, she thought back to all that happened at mango and felt connected.  She was Mango. She feels as if she owes something and will come back after she becomes financially stable to help them out.

in the future i think that she will move away and go to school. She will get a job and buy her dream  house.  then she will start to feel guilty and sad and lonely and move back to mango and help them financially.  She will come back and help out.  this is all because of the Fates. she will feel as if she owes something and will come back and help out.  this will bring her happiness when she comes back and helps them out.  And her life will be fulfilled and she will live happily ever after. 

Cisnero's view on Gender

Cisneros thinks that children should be raised differently> she usually displays this through writing about reality and how messed up it is.  She uses a light sarcasm and it is hard to find, but it is there.  For example, She portrays esperanza as a child who needs a friend regardless of gender.  She shows that esperanza needs friends and her brothers are kinda to her inside the house, but outside, they cannot be seen with her:

"My brothers for example. They've got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the whouse. But outside they can't be seen talking to girls"

Cisneros includes this situation in order to comment on how in real life, parents raise their children differently. and because of this, they feel like separate people.  They feel different and separated so they think it is wrong to interact with each other.  Cisneros actually believes that children should be raised that same in which they would be able to interact with each other outside the house without feeling sad. They shouldn't feel ashamed to help each other out.  this is what Cisneros actually believe and shows this through the sadness of Esperanza.  She plays that sadness of reality to teach readers that it is wrong.

Also, Cisneros says that womens' purpose is to get married and moved on: “What matters, Marin says, is for the boys to see us and for us to see them.” (27)  It may seem like she is stating that this is right but she says it is wrong.  She thinks that women have more things worth while and more things to live for than just marriage. she shows this though implication.  Marin, who stated that quote, is portrayed as lifeless. She is sad, and focused only on marriage.  Cisneros shows that she is wasting away her life.

I personally think that they should be raised witth he same basic rules, but raised differently emotionally based on their personality and the situation.For example, i think that parents should allow and encourage their children, boy and girl, to play sports.  Also, they should have the same bedtime or anything like that.  They should have the basic rules the same.  But on the other hand, each child is different and should be raised differently by their personality and situation because of this and only this. NOT gender. 

Vignettes

My Name

My name Is Yen.  My brother’s name is Duc. My other brother’s name is Liem.  And my parents’ names are Minh and Hanh.  These are all Vietnamese names, but my brother’s and my names are all America sounding.  My name sounds like Ian, my brother’s Duke, and Liam.  My parents picked this because they thought that it would be easier to fit in to the community, but I have always found it more difficult because I always want to correct people, but they think that they have already pronounced it correctly.  You see, when someone has a really Asian name, the teacher or anyone new would ask if they pronounced it correctly, but with yen, they pronounce it like the Japanese currency and move on.  Because of this, I do not feel comfortable correcting them because they didn’t ask.  They don’t, so I don’t correct them.  Sometimes I ask my parents why they named me such a weird name.  They told me that Yen and Ian sounds alike, and that it would make me fit in better.  Then I ask why they didn't just name me Bob or something.  Then I regret it.  My name represents who I am.  I can’t give up who I am.  My name is mine.  

Hair

Everybody in my family has different hair. My father has stiff hair, combed over but sticking up a little. And me, my hair is stubborn, it never changes its way without a fight. Duc's hair is very short and style-able. He can always move it to look right. Liem's hair is long and dry- it stays in place after styled.

My mother. She has soft, silky, shiny hair. Hey hair is like clay. Every morning, she blow dries it into place. The rest of the day, it stays in place. Her hair smells like oranges, when you walk into her room, you instantly get a rush of a sweet tangy smell. The smell of oranges. You could almost just taste it out of the air. My mother's have smells like oranges

            My father does the same hairdo every morning, whether he is working in the garden or going to an important meeting. He does a comb over, but it still sticks up.  He blow dries it every morning into place, and it automatically stays.  I’ve tried this with my hair before; it never worked. Why is my hair so different?

Tennis

            I love tennis.  If I could, I would play all day and never stop.  I started when I was about 8 years old, and kept with it all the way until I was 13.  I don’t really know why I stopped.  Maybe it was my lack of time to play, or maybe it was just my lack of skill, maybe both.  I would work really hard to improve, but right when i did, i would stop for a few weeks and lose my touch.  Soon, all of my tennis friends surpassed me greatly, and i was left in the dust.  I stopped playing in 8th grade, but it was only until i started at ASTI, that i realized i had quit tennis.  I always tell myself that i want to go back and play, but I don't have anyone to play with.  All my friends are too good, and no one else plays tennis that i know of.  As a freshman, I wanted to join the Encinal High School team, but then i took on some college classes and was afraid that if I did join, I would be overwhelmed with work.  Basically, I love tennis, and I would start playing again, but I just don't have the time and will power to start up again.  Maybe in the summer, I tell myself. Maybe

PWR

            As a freshman, i attended a Interact retreat called the President’s Winter retreat or PWR(power).  In different workshops, i learned many things.  I learned how to lead a club, how to relieve stress, how to move on, and how to speech publicly.  All of these are important skills, but really, the two most important things i took from that retreat were confidence and motivation.  When i went there, I only knew a few people, a couple from my school, and my brother.  We played ice breaker games, and during that time, i was very timid, and didn't talk to anyone.  Finally, on ice breaker did it for me.  We went around in a circle and introduced ourselves to one another.  This was the one where i learned to be confident, and talk to strangers and peers.  Before that, i didn't know how to approach others and always kept to myself, but from that, i learned that people are nice.  I learned to approach and start a conversation with the other person as a peer.  I had the confidence to do so, and it helped out a lot in my life.
            Also, during that retreat, I saw many people that opened my eyes to reality.  I always thought that i was one of the most dedicated people to interact, but during that retreat, i looked around and saw that most people were even more motivated to do well in their club than me.  that opened my eyes to the reality that I wasn’t the greatest.  From that, I took that I should step up and become a leader.  I started planning events and speaking out my ideas to raise more money.  I would say that from the two days i spent at PWR, I learned more of how to be a good leader than I ever did in my whole life.

Architecture

            My dad is an architect, a very good one too.  He has and eye for details and the small things that most others don't have.  He redesigned our house and made it so user friendly, I feel as though the house is inside my head.  The house works for us, all the light switches were in the right places, light was bright but not blinding, the house was energy efficient, and the heating system is far superior than your average house.  Living in such a beautiful home and with the creator has opened up my eyes to how beautiful and useful good architecture and design could be.  Since about a year ago, i have decided I wanted to become an architect.
            Also, growing up, I always heard that we should recycle and be conscious of our waste and energy in order to save our planet.  I have really believed in this stuff since i was young, and I want to bring it into my professional life.  So therefore, I have decided to combine my two loves: the planet and buildings.  I want to major in Architecture and Minor in Environmental studies.  This way, I could combine the two and create beautiful houses while incorporating green technology.  This is what I know I will love doing my whole life.  I have my mind set on this goal, and I plan on making it happen

Trees

The novel “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, a compilations of vignettes, is narrated by a young Esperanza who has to overcome adversity and finds comfort and support from trees. She does this through many symbols, and one of them is trees. Trees are constantly seen throughout the book as being forced to stay in one spot.  Trees symbolize the loneliness of Esperanza and outcast.  For example in “Skinny Trees” Esperanza compares herself to the trees. “They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong but are here... But Nenny just sleeps and doesn’t appreciate these things” (page 74).  This shows that she is very different, and looks at herself in a low esteem.  She dislikes the way she looks, even if it doesn’t affect the way others look at her.  She also shows her difference by mentioning that Nenny doesn’t look at these things, the things that she looks at.  Also, she says that the trees are the only ones who understand her, and she understands them. This mean they are alike and Cisneros plays with the fact that they are both outcasts.

Also, she proves her point with this quote on page 24:“The kids bend trees and bounce between cars and dangle upside down from knees and almost break like fancy museum vases u can’t replace. They think it’s funny. They are without respect for all things living, including themselves” she shows that she is a child, but she is different of how she sees them as disrespectful and observes the other children from afar. This shows her isolation from the others.

Also Cisneros writes, “And then I don’t know why but I had to run away. I had to hide myself at the other end of the garden, in the jungle part, under a tree that wouldn’t mind if I lay down and cried a long time” (Page 97).  She shows thsi relationship between Esperanza and trees again.  It portrays how they are tightly wound together and understand each other’s feelings.  Also, it shows up when she is feeling left out.  She is left out from the others, and finds comfort and support from her loving, much alike trees.

Windows

The symbol of windows in this story represents the barriers on women from their dreams put on by their husbands. For the first one, on page 10, it shows Esperanza who is limited by the window and her husband who forced her to marry him. Windows represent the want and need of a better like but the obligations they still have at home. They want to leave but they can’t. Also, on page 70, Cisneros talks about a woman stuck in her room/ house and who is afraid to go outside. She sits by the window all day, looking out to the world she yearned to be in but cant and feels sad. This is another symbol of broken dreams and want of something unattainable. This time, Cisneros talks about how men trap women even though sometimes when they are trying to help. This woman's husband brought her to h America to help her out and escape her old life in Mexico. But she is more miserable and trapped here in America, than before in Mexico. Also, Rafaela is limited by her husband. He doesn't let her outside because he is afraid that she will run away. She looks outside the window and at her dream, wishing she were outside and in the world, but she can’t because her husband limits her so much. The symbol of the window is how husbands and men limit women from their dreams, even sometimes, when they mean well. 

I agree with the idea that people can trap others even when they are not trying to, but I don’t necessarily agree that men are always on this side of the relation ship.  Women can limit men as well.  Also, I think this has something to do with the setting of the story.  I guess generally at that time period, in that specific area of Chicago, women were treated unfairly.  I disagree that men should have rule over women, but I also strongly disagree that women should rule over me.  A couple must have a compatibility where they are equals, work out their problems, and come to a fair, and equal solutions, together.  

Blood Similarities

In the epistolary novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker portrays a young Celie who lives her life suppressed but develops into a strong, influential woman. Celie has a sister, Nettie, who she is separated from early on in her life.  Celie’s abusive husband hid all of Nettie’s letters from Celie, leaving her wondering what had happened to her sister for many, many years.  Finally, after a long time, she finds all of Nettie’s past letters and finds that she had made a name for herself.  She developed her own views, based on her own life, while Celie developed her own.  Celie came to an idea that God was mostly a person to talk to in her time of need, when she was alone.  She had a shallow relation to god in a religious way.  On the other hand, Nettie preaches god’s words as a missionary.  Also, Celie faces a more direct downplay of women’s rights; she is physically and mentally abused, while Nettie faces a women’s suppression in Africa where girls were not allowed to go to school.  They each have very different views on religion and life but both go through a much similar lifeline.

As a child, Celie was molested by her stepfather.  When he does so, he tells her. “You better not tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.” (Page 1) and this is what sparks her writings to god.  She writes to god out of a lack of anyone else to talk to. She just got into the habit of doing so, in order to express her feelings.  She rarely ever asks for anything from god, unlike what people usually do when they pray.  Also, she finds that Nettie is still alive, she stops writing to god and to Nellie instead.  Anyway, her “religious” views helped her move on and survive life.

Celie faces a lifetime of abuses.  She is raped by her stepfather, and then married off to a man that she didn’t even like, who beat her all the time, just out of a lack of things to do.  For a while, she accepts this concept as a way of life, and doesn’t retaliate.  She also tells her step son to hit his own wife.  She then meets Shug Avery.  She helps shape Celie’s ideas, and refines her as a woman.  She gave Celie strength and guided her to breaking free from the bonds her husband had on her.  She had an influential hero that led her to success and power within herself.

Nettie, on the other hand, is a missionary and believes greatly in god’s power.  She states that god sent Olivia and Adam to Corrine and Samuel, and that she was sent to them by god .  

And then, they say, “God” sent thim Olivia and Adam.. I wanted to say, “God” has sent you their sister and aunt, but I didn’t. Yes, their children, sent by “God” are your children…(page 133)

She has a heavy belief that God will always be there and help her through out her life. This is greatly different from Celie's view because Celie rarely asks for anything and says that god gave her a really messed up family.  Also, Nettie proves her devotion by going on a trip to Africa, and making a difference in the community teaching at schools. This shows that she is willing to work, and contribute to the community. 

There, Nettie faces many gender discriminations. First of all, men had many wives.  Also, women and girls are not allowed to go to school.  This was part of their culture, and the missionaries didn’t press too hard on changing it.  But with the help of Samuel, Nettie enhanced the system, to which girls were allowed to attend school.

Both Nettie and Celie faced inequalities of gender, and they both used their religion to push on through life when it got hard.  Also, they both had someone in their lives that helped them develop and make a name for themselves.  Nettie had Samuel, and Celie had Shug.  All of these differences and similarities were sparked by the difference in community and environment, but the similarities were based on their blood relation.  These sisters had so much in common even though they were separated and put into completely different environments. 

Responce to Troy's Opening Statement

i was read Troy's interesting paragragh about how Parents should be able to modify their children's DNA, and i feel like i agree.  I especially like the idea that parents should have a lisense saying that they are sane, because pepole may be unfit to make the correct decision.  "I say that it is the parent’s choice, but they need to have some sort of license that signifies that they are capable to make the right decision."  To add on, i think taht people should go through a  series of drug tests, to make sure they are not on drugs.  They should also check the parent's alcohol level to make sure that they aren't drunk and making a spur of the moment decision that might be wrong for them in the future. I really liked how troy made the paragraph more personal, with out so many sources.  this made me feel as though i have a connection with those parents.  Also, the informal writing style made me feel as though i was talking to him directly.  it enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of reading this piece.My favorite part of the essay was the beginning. He said: 

I was reading the news when I came across a couple from Australia who had a miscarriage. They saw the baby’s face and instantly fell in love. They wanted to have another girl who looked just like her, so they tried again. This time they got twin boys. Since they wanted a girl the aborted the twins. I am against abortion, but I understand their view point.

This part was a perfect hook of the essay.  It made me feel connected to the piece on a level that just concrete details couldn't give me.  It was a wonderful aspect of DNA mutation.


One thing that i would point out to troy, is that he should put the sources and urls  and link the resources in the actual paragraph because it is more convenient for the reader.  Also, the paragraph should include more concrete ideas, because although i liked the personal level, i don't feel like it is strong enough by itself.  It would be a flawless essay if he was able to incorporate both parts.  Other than that, this paragraph was almost perfect.