The House on Mango Street Guide for Chapter Eight “Gil’s Furniture Bought and Sold”
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
Questions
1. How does the personality difference between the two sisters show up in the store?
2. Why does Esperanza pretend she doesn’t care about the music box?
3. What literary devices are used to describe the music from the music box?
Themes
1. In this chapter we see an internal conflict that Esperanza experiences throughout this novel: she struggles with desire
to achieve her hopes and dreams, yet she feels weighed down by her situation. Explain what in this vignette could
represent her hopes and dreams.
2. She must deal with the disappointment of poverty and the fact that you may not achieve or receive something despite
intense feelings of desire. How does this vignette show this idea?
Style
Cisneros has a poetic style. She incorporates both vivid imagery and spare prose. She uses both to create a picture of the
narrator’s world.
1. What words does the narrator use to describe the music and the effect of the music?
2. How do these words create a sense of the music the music box plays?
3. How does Esperanza describe her embarrassment?
The House on Mango Street Guide for Chapter Nine “Meme Ortiz”
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
Questions
1. Who is Meme?
2. How are Meme and the dog alike?
3. What happened to Meme in the First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest?
Themes
1. Because homes are important to her, Esperanza creates a vivid picture of Meme’s home. What words and phrases
does she use to describe his home? How does she describe her home?
2. This chapter also deals with the theme of a neighborhood as an extended family. The children play together; the
houses are near each other. What words help create a sense of unity?
Style
Cisneros has a poetic style. She incorporates both vivid imagery and spare prose. She uses both to create a picture of the
narrator’s world.
1. What words does the narrator use to describe the Meme’s house? How does the description of his house compare to
the description of her house in chapter one?
2. What words does Esperanza use to describe Meme? How do these words create a word picture of Meme?
3. How does the idea that Meme broke his arm in the First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest differ from the idea that
Meme fell from a tree and broke his arm?
The House on Mango Street Guide for Chapter Ten” Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin”
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
Questions
1. Describe Louie and his cousins.
2. Why were people so interested in the yellow Cadillac?
3. Where does Louie’s cousin get the Cadillac?
4. What happened to Louie’s cousin?
Themes
1. A major theme of the novel is continued in this chapter. The idea that people can find happiness in their day or in
their difficult existence is shown in the major event in this chapter. What event? What does this show about the people
of Mango Street?
2. Why doesn’t Esperanza focus on the theft as she tells the story? Why does she focus more on the car and the ride
than on the fact that the cousin committed a crime?
Style
Cisneros has a poetic style. She incorporates both vivid imagery and spare prose. She uses both to create a picture of the
narrator’s world.
1. What words does the narrator use to describe the cousins? How do these words create a vivid picture of the cousins?
2. How did Esperanza describe the car?
3. What lines in this chapter create the sense of joy that the narrator feels?