10.10 Unit Test: The House on Mango Street

In The House on Mango Street, many of the women in Esperanza's neighborhood rely on men to improve their lives, but in the process, give up their freedom to these men. Which details support this conclusion? Select the three correct answers.

1.) "And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at." 2.)"Sally got married like we knew she would....She sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission. She looks at all the things they own..." 3.)"...but I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain."

In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros wants readers to recognize that one's inability to communicate leads to powerlessness and isolation and that those who can communicate effectively have power over their destiny. Which two excerpts from the novella work together to develop this overall message?

1.) "You must remember to keep writing, Esperanza. You must keep writing. It will keep you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn't know what she meant." 2.) "...I believe she doesn't come out because she is afraid to speak English, and maybe this is so since she only knows eight words."

Cisneros wrote The House on Mango Street to relate Esperanza's experiences living on Mango Street in a Latino community in Chicago. In her novella, she conveys a hopeful tone toward the subject. Which quotations from the text help to convey a hopeful tone? Select each correct answer.

1.)"I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do." 2.)"Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed." 3.)"But my mother's hair...is the warm smell of bread before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside falling and Papa snoring."

Read the excerpt from the chapter "Beautiful & Cruel" from The House on Mango Street: My mother says when I get older my dusty hair will settle and my blouse will learn to stay clean, but I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain. Why does Cisneros use the word tame instead of words like submissive or subdued?

It has a more negative connotation, indicating that she is wild and will not be controlled.

Read the excerpt from the chapter "A House of My Own" from The House on Mango Street. "Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody's garbage to pick up after. Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem." What is the connotative meaning of the phrase "shake a stick at" as it is used in the excerpt?

It indicates that there will be no one in Esperanza's new house to bother her.

Why is Mango Street significant to The House on Mango Street? Select Yes or No for each statement.

It is where Esperanza spends most of her childhood and teen years. (YES) It is where Esperanza lives in a house her parents bought which she is ashamed of. (YES) It is the place where most of the stories Esperanza relates takes place.(YES) It is the street where Esperanza's dream house is located.(NO) It is the place Esperanza will move back to when she becomes an adult.(NO)

Part A What is a theme of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros? Part B Which detail from the novella best develops the theme identified in Part A?

Part A: People can be imprisoned by their circumstances, but it is up to them to find a way out. Part B: "Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias."

What does the house on Mango Street symbolize in The House on Mango Street?

The family's house represents shame for Esperanza but also her heritage.

Read the excerpt from the chapter "Laughter" from The House on Mango Street. Nenny and I don't look like sisters...not right away. Not the way you can tell with Rachel and Lucy who have the same fat popsicle lips like everybody else in their family. But me and Nenny, we are more alike than you would know. Our laughter for example. Not the shy ice cream bells' giggle of Rachel and Lucy's family, but all of a sudden and surprised like a pile of dishes breaking. What is the meaning of "surprised like a pile of dishes breaking"?

The girls' laughter is loud and startling.