American Literature

Obstacles due to race or color are very rampant in the United States. Since it is the land of milk and honey, migrants from all over the globe are flying in large numbers everyday. One of Americas prime migrants is Mexicans. Since they are geographically closest to the United States, legal and illegal transfer of residence is extensive.

Life is a struggle for most of the migrants. One of the many Mexican families who moved to Chicago was Esperanzas, and she was not exempted from living in a community where vice, violence and sexual excess are seen everyday.

Having been raped by a circle of young boys and having been harassed in the workplace, Mango Street holds too many bad memories for Esperanza. Her intention to leave Mango Street intensifies even more. However, the memories of Esperanza will forever be with her, regardless of the place where she will be living, the sexual abuse she had experienced will always haunt her. This is a sad reality for majority of women, especially for the migrants or those from the provinces who are eaten alive by the system of the cities. Because of being unfamiliar with the place and the lifestyle they are easily tricked and often abused leaving them scarred for life.

The vow of Esperanza to go back for the ones she left behind could mean two things. Either to avenge herself or to help other girls who will soon be victims of Mango Street. As an abused woman she is craving for justice, more than anything she is a victim who was so helpless and the only way she could grant herself that justice is to leave Mango Street, get rich, build enough connections and make her abusers pay for the crime they did to her. However, Esperanza is that same victim who knows the unbearable scar that her experiences had brought and she wants herself to be the last victim of the many crimes waiting to happen in Mango Street. She wants young girls to grow up with dignity, with respect and esteem for themselves.