In “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, one thematic motif of the story is racism. This theme is presented through Esperanza and the people she encounters on Mango Street and in her neighborhood. Through this thematic motif, the development of different groups and people’s identity is formed by providing examples of racism and the various aspects that tie in with it.
In this novel, racism ultimately shows the negative effects it has on Esperanza and her neighbor’s lives. In the vignette “Those Who Don’t,” Cisneros directly refers to the racism in Esperanza’s neighborhood by describing how the outsiders see the Hispanic residents. The outsiders that have moved in or just happen to drive down the streets “come into [the] neighborhood scared. They think we’re dangerous… [and] will attack them with shiny knives” (Cisneros 28). Before even meeting the people, the outsiders assume the residents are bad people trying to hurt them because that’s what they have heard from others. Without even introducing themselves, they just drive by in their cars judging the “criminals” that line the streets. The residents are judged based on their ethnicity, clothing, general observations, and the beliefs of other outsiders; they don’t even get a chance to meet and talk to the outsiders face-to-face. Rather, the cowardly outsiders judge others in order to avoid detection of their own flaws without even getting to know the people they’re judging. Through this predetermined racism, the residents of Mango Street’s identity comes from the judgment of others. They are judged by their appearance- clothing, physical, race- and for that assumption, the Hispanics are defined as “dangerous criminals,” and will be until the outsiders make an effort to change. Racism is also introduced in “Red Clowns” when Esperanza is sexually abused by a random man at the carnival. The man taunts her, saying “I love you, I love you little Spanish girl” (100). The man directly refers to Esperanza as Spanish rather than just calling her a young girl. In saying this, Cisneros indirectly hints that the man took advantage of young Esperanza just because she is Hispanic. The man thinks that just because she is of a different race than him that she is of lesser value, so he takes advantage of Esperanza’s young age and race in order to sexually abuse and mentally traumatize her forever. Here, Cisneros introduces the idea that race has to do with being taken advantage of sexually. Through this discrimination, Esperanza’s identity is formed not only through the way the man speaks to her, but also through the way he treats her. Taunting her and her race, he knows that Esperanza is stuck here on Mango Street, surrounded by others who have had similar experiences to hers, and won’t escape these memories until she learns to accept herself for who she is and to not blame herself or her race for what the horrible man did to her. Thus, racism contributes to Esperanza’s identity by describing the racist beliefs of Hispanics and by the traumatic experience she has with one of the racists.
One way racism is presented in “The House on Mango Street” is by the stereotyping of the Hispanic minority. Throughout her novel, Cisneros introduces different perspectives of stereotyping by introducing two characters who enhance the stereotyping of Hispanics. In her vignette, “Louie, His Cousin, and His Other Cousin,” Cisneros presents the reason why Hispanics as a whole are stereotyped as dangerous criminals. Esperanza is suddenly forced out of Louie’s other cousin’s stolen yellow Cadillac because the cops have found him. He crashes into a lamp post because the alleys are too thin, and the cops “put handcuffs on him and put him in the backseat of the cop car” (24-25). In this vignette, Cisneros reveals the small percentage of the Hispanic people that actually are the dangerous criminals they are thought out to be. The few people that are like Louie’s other cousin is the reason why Hispanics as a whole are stereotyped. Because of this, the Hispanic minority’s sense of identity comes from the actions of the few people who actually are perpetrators. This, too, is also the reason why Cathy and her parents stereotype Hispanics as “bad.” In “Cathy Queen of Cats,” Esperanza is introduced to Cathy, her first friend on Mango Street. However, Cathy can only be Esperanza’s friend until next Tuesday because “[she’s] mov[ing] away. Got to… the neighborhood is getting bad… [because] people like us keep moving in” (13). Here, Cathy is implying that the neighborhood is bad just because of the people living in it. The residents of Mango Street and the surrounding neighborhood are all stereotyped as “bad” before they even get a chance to prove themselves. People like Cathy and her parents stereotype the Hispanics because they do not want to get to know them on a personal level for fear of what they’ve heard about them as a whole. Here, Cisneros reveals Cathy’s identity by the beliefs of her parents. Since she is just a child, and is not mentally mature yet, she just repeats what she hears without really knowing or understanding what she’s telling people. The fact that Cathy’s family is surrounded by a neighborhood of Hispanics only worsens their racism and increases the need to stereotype them as a whole. Cathy’s parents have either heard stories of Hispanics or experienced the small percentage of Hispanics that truly are criminals first-hand, and now have to “move a little farther north from Mango Street” (13) in order to escape from these culprits. Thus, stereotyping contributes to the identity of the Hispanics by providing the reason why Hispanics as a whole are stereotyped, and by and the beliefs passed down from generation to generation.
Another way racism is presented throughout the novel is by labeling one as an outcast because they are different than the average person. In her vignette, “A Rice Sandwich,” Cisneros presents Esperanza’s longing to belong to something, in this case it being the canteen. When Esperanza tries to stay at school to eat lunch in the canteen with the other kids, the nun scolds her, saying “you don’t live far away… Three longs blocks away from here… then she said she was sorry and said [Esperanza] could stay… [but] just for today” (45). The nuns wouldn’t allow Esperanza to stay at school and eat lunch with the canteen kids ultimately because she’s Hispanic, making the excuse that she lives “close enough” (45) to the school to go home and eat. Esperanza just wanted to feel like she was a part of something, to be accepted by her peers. However, she is unable to do so because she is different from the rest of the kids. Even the nuns, who one would think to be the most accepting and welcoming, turns her away and forces her to be an outcast just because of her Hispanic roots. Because of this discrimination, Esperanza is forced to become an outcast at the canteen, therefore causing her identity to come from the color of her skin and the origin of her family. Because she looks and talks differently than the rest of the kids at school, she is labeled as an outcast and isn’t allowed to associate with the other “normal” kids. Another example of an outcast is found in the vignette “Edna’s Ruthie.” “Ruthie… is the only grown up [Esperanza] know[s] who likes to play… she doesn’t [even] need anybody to laugh with” (67) because she can make her own fun. In this novel, Ruthie represents the ultimate outcast because she has not grown up enough to handle the adult world. She doesn’t belong into a specific age category; she is too old to be a child, but not mentally mature enough to be an adult. The adults discriminate her because she has some type of mental disability, so they force her out of the adult world and into the world of the outcasts and loners. Through this discrimination, Ruthie’s sense of identity comes from her mental disability. The neighbors label her as an outcast because of her current state of mind, and avoid being associated with her. Only the children of the neighborhood talk and play with her because, like Ruthie herself, they are not mentally mature enough to understand her lack of adult-like maturity. They think it is fun to play with an adult, or one who physically looks like one. Because Ruthie is already surrounded by racists and stereotypers, her disability only increases the cruel nature of these people because they enjoy pointing out others flaws to avoid detection of their own. Ruthie is an innocent woman who cannot change the things that have happened to her, yet she is constantly seen as an outcast because of her differences with the average neighbors surrounding her. Thus, outcasts contribute to the formation of own their identities by breaking the rules set by those who appear to be normal, and their discrimination against those who are different from themselves.
Thus, Cisneros use of racism as a thematic motif enables the reader to learn about the identity of Esperanza and the Hispanic race and how it is formed through racism, stereotyping, and outcasts. Throughout the novel the reader is able to see the negative effects racism has on Esperanza and her neighbor’s lives as each one of them grows older and experiences racism first-hand, further developing their unique identities by the way that the individual reacts to this racism.