Yet, along with this longing to conform, to belong, Esperanza feels the tug of independence as well. She admires her great-grandmother for being wild, and is upset by the idea of her great-grandfather carrying her off "like a fancy chandelier.
Significantly, although Esperanza is embarrassed by her name, she does not want a plainer one: she considers Maritza, Lisandra and Zeze the X as alternatives. Finally, she says she would like to baptize herself under a new name, a striking idea for a young girl. She does not want someone to give her a new name. She wants to name herself.
She explains who is dangerous in the neighborhood, like Joe the baby-grabber, how to act around the men who own the corner store, which girls her age not to play with, and many other things. She gives Esperanza a sense of the neighborhood, past and present. She owns many cats, and says she is the "great great grand cousin of the queen of France.
Esperanza must socialize with her younger sister Nenny, who, Esperanza notes, is too young and would not be her choice for a friend if she were not her sister. Esperanza has to make sure that Nenny does not play with the Vargas kids. Esperanza longs for a best friend. Esperanza muses on the meanings of her name, but she does so in a random, nonsensical way that we are not meant to take seriously. Esperanza is named after her great-grandmother, and both she and her great-grandmother were born in the Chinese year of the horse.
The horse is an animal that represents strength, and being born under this sign is supposed to be bad luck for women.
Esperanza rejects this superstition, explaining that she believes both the Chinese and the Mexicans discourage women from being strong.
Esperanza never met her great-grandmother, but she compares her to a wild horse. Previous Next. Chapter 4 My Name The narrator tells us her name is the Spanish word for "hope," and tells us it reminds her of a lot of sad things, including the Mexican records her dad plays that sound like sobbing.
The narrator is named after her great-grandmother, a "wild horse of a woman" who refused to get married until the narrator's grandfather carried her off by force 4.
The story goes that great-grandma never forgave her captor, and spent her whole life looking out the window longingly. Mamacita comes to America at great expense to her husband, but she is wildly unhappy. She never learns English and never leaves her third-floor apartment. Rafaela sends money down on a clothesline to Esperanza and her friends so they can buy her sweet juices from the convenience store.
The married woman in the neighborhood who is most similar to Esperanza. Minerva and Esperanza share their poems with each other. She is only two years older than Esperanza but already has a husband and two children. Her husband leaves for long periods, only to return in a violent rage. A neighborhood boy who relates to girls in violent and sexual ways.
Sire sometimes stares at Esperanza, and though she is afraid, she tries sometimes to look back at him. Sire and his girlfriend Lois hang around outside late at night. A neighbor who works nights and tries to sleep during the day. Earl sometimes brings women home with him for short periods. The neighbors see these women at different times, and each thinks a different woman is his wife, but the women are probably prostitutes. They advise Esperanza always to return to Mango Street after she leaves it.
SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Esperanza Sally Nenny. Themes Motifs Symbols.
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