Defining one's identity is not an easy task. Many people spend much of their lives figuring out who they are and where they belong. There are many factors in society that could shape a person's identity, leading them to have an identity crisis. This circumstance will be clearly illustrated in the short vignettes of the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, 1984. In this story, Cisneros plays Esperanza, a young Mexican girl who lives in a traditional and poor Latino neighborhood. She struggles to find her true identity despite the gender expectations that come from her culture, the limitations of education, and the way other people look at her socioeconomic class. It inspires her to create a unique life that shapes just for her. According to the novel, the author conveys the message that observing and being distanced from society and culture will cause a person to have difficulty finding their identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In The House on Mango Street, the author suggests that to find the meaning of identity development, a person needs to perceive the suffering of his old culture. It will impact how a person decides to place their role in life. The first example occurs when Esperanza, the protagonist, once said that “She has been looking out the window her whole life, the way so many women rest their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best of what she got or if she was sad that she couldn't be everything she wanted to be. Esperanza. I inherited his name, but I don't want to inherit his place by the window” (11). Esperanza is named after her grandmother, the first woman in the novel who spends the rest of her life looking out the window and thinking about running away. Due to Esperanza culture, women after marriage have to bear the control of their husband. This powerfully highlights how painful it is when women are trapped in their lives. Esperanza understands from the beginning of her life that she doesn't want to be like her grandmother, making a bad decision but not being able to fight for her freedom. He is afraid of inheriting the sadness of life through his name. It sends a message to the reader that... Furthermore, the author highlights the weakness and helplessness of women in Hispanic culture by repeating the same thing with Sally and Rafaela, especially Minerva, a woman who remains locked in the house all her life and wonders about the world outside. After having suffered abuse for a long time, Minerva rebels against her husband with the aim of freeing herself. But then it ends with “Black and Blue” (85) anyway. Nothing changed in his life even though he fought against it all. This suggests that even when Minerva thinks about escaping the trap, her power isn't strong enough to do so. It brings her back to the cycle of marriage, being stuck at home and enduring her husband's oppression. Otherwise, Esperanza illustrates her depression with the words “There's nothing I can do” revealing that a woman's abuse must be old events and she feels guilty when she can't help her friend. This is the moment Esperanza realizes that she will reject her own culture. Therefore, Esperanza's identity is created through how she experienced gender roles in her culture. Esperanza wants to change her destiny just as many other women, who are still enduring marital difficulties, wish to escape from it all. Her point of view is made clear: she wants to be in control of her own life and be more powerful than the women who live around her. Emphasizing the painof women in Latin culture, the author conveys the message that how a person perceives gender norms in their culture influences how they view themselves and their future. Author Cisneros uses the protagonist's point of view to demonstrate that living in a high poverty family and community will leave a person feeling embarrassed. The first example occurs when Esperanza describes her house on Mango Street. The house isn't exactly what he always dreams of. He comments: “It is small and red, with narrow steps in front and windows so small they seem to hold your breath” (4). The window should not breathe at all. However, the author uses this personification to point out how everything in the house is so small that it makes people feel desperate about it. This shows that Esperanza could notice the signs of poverty by looking at her house. He feels like he doesn't belong in this house because it's not the house he really thinks about. By focusing on Esperanza's frustration with her home, the author conveys the message that how a person views the poverty around them seriously affects how they feel and think about themselves. Additionally, Cisneros portrays Esperanza's feelings about poverty more specifically when the nun judges her own home. He says “Do you live there? The way he said it made me feel nothing. There. I lived there” (5). This means that Esperanza notices how strange the nun looks when she looks at her house. The way Cisneros repeats the word "There" to let readers imagine what Esperanza's house is like, making it seem like nothing exists for the nun. And Esperanza knew it, of course. This highlights the importance of identity through how other people around see a person through their class, creating a deeper sense of self-awareness in them. Through the description of poverty, the author suggests that growing up in a community where society is low class in the United States leads to a person's desire to enhance themselves through education. Cisneros confirms how painful it is when a person lives their life with the limitation of education. Esperanza demonstrates this through Marin. She states that: “She is the one who told us how Davey the Baby's sister got pregnant and which cream is best for removing mustaches and if you count the white spots on your nails you can know how many guys think about you and many other things which I cannot remember now” (27). This means that without gaining more knowledge from education, a person will only gain information about their own society and culture. Marin knows all this information because it surrounds her life. He doesn't realize whether it's good or bad for his life later. This reinforces the idea that living in a poverty situation where poverty and gender are predominant will decrease women's knowledge about their own lives. Additionally, Esperanza depicts her admiration for education by showing Alicia, a strong woman who believes that education will get her out of the trap of her culture. Esperanza once states that “Alicia, who inherited the rolling pin and sleepiness from her mother, is young and intelligent and studying at university for the first time. Two trains and a bus, because he doesn't want to spend his whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin" (31,32). This suggests that Alicia is getting the same place as her mother and her neighbor's other women, a circle in which they sleep and prepare to take care of the family. However, she sacrificed herself to go to school because she wants her life to be different from others. By focusing on Alicia's desire to change her destiny, the author demonstrates how important a person's life is when they recognize the power of education. In the end,, 14(1), 7-16.