House on Mango Street Project

Read and review the vignettes on pages 62-85.  Divide up the work among the group, making each group member responsible for 3  or 4 stories.

With your reading group partners, go over the following discussion questions for the stories and post your responses on the blog.


23. "Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water"
Does the superstition expressed in this story conflict or coexist with any religious beliefs Esperanza may hold? With what tone does Esperanza describe her visit to Elenita?
24. "Geraldo No Last Name"
What is the significance of this being the last story in the book in which Marin is mentioned?
25. "Edna’s Ruthie"
What does Esperanza learn from Ruthie’s experience that helps her formulate goals?
26. "The Earl of Tennessee"
What does Esperanza learn from Earl that might help her formulate goals?
27. "Sire"
How has Esperanza’s awareness of her own sexuality evolved from "Hips" to this story? How have her imagination and her desires moved away from her negative sexual experience in "My First Job"?
28. "Four Skinny Trees"
What do the trees symbolize? What does Esperanza impose of her own character on the trees, and what does she take from the trees? How do the trees compare to the clouds in "Darius & the Clouds"?
29. "No Speak English"
What does Esperanza tell us about her community’s attitude towards non-Mexican Americans? What about the image that the non-Latinos have of the Latinos? How do these views help or hinder Esperanza in the formulation of her own personal identity?
30. "Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut..."
What conflicting needs or desires of Esperanza’s does her description of Rafaela’s situation convey?
32. "Sally"
Compare the portrait of Sally to that of Marin in "Marin." How is Esperanza’s relationship with Sally different?
33. "Minerva Writes Poems"
With what tone is Esperanza’s plaintive "There is nothing I can do" conveyed? [p. 85]

Continue to work on your vignettes