Journey of growing up

The House on Mango Street is another easy one to point to as a bildungsroman novel. By giving us a snapshot of Esperanza's life in a pivotal year for her, we see the beginning of a process for her to change from a little girl to a young woman. She must confront certain realities in new ways: death, love and sexuality, friendship, family life, the workplace. She also gains a new perspective for her own life and her community, realizing the ways she is held down and stimulating a desire to leave the place she's in. I love her determination to break the cycle and go on, and the book illustrates how important it is that parents allow their children to "fly free," as we talked about last class. Through both good and bad experiences, we see the journey of growing up Esperanza is on, and though we're left to wonder what happens, the glimpses given are enough to highlight important aspects of that journey, for her and for all of us.