The House On Mango Street Summary

            
             This book is about young Latino girl named Esperanza who is growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago. When she first moves in to this Hispanic ghetto, she knows nobody and was desperately seeking friendship. Esperanza met two friends who were with her throughout the story, and also introduced her sister Nenny who was the only relative that she really interacted with. She also describes many of the interesting people in her neighborhood that she does not get to know.
             Esperanza then gets a job and has bad experiences there, and not too long after that her aunt dies. Her late aunt had always enjoyed her writing, and her passing helped Esperanza realize how important it was that she continues to write. She then visits a fortune teller, which only helped her realize that she is still ashamed of living on Mango Street. Esperanza then met a girl named Sally, who ending up deserting her for a boy that she met at a carnival. Esperanza ended up getting molested because she was all alone. Then Sally ended up leaving the neighborhood for good when she got married to a man before she was even in the eighth grade. By the end of the story, Esperanza finally accepts Mango Street as a part of her. She still desired to have a new house so that she can be on her own, and pursue her dream of writing. .
             This book represents the struggle that minorities faced while living in ghetto communities. Esperanza had to sacrifice her childhood to get a job at the age of twelve to bring home some money for her family. Also, she had to deal with many deaths within the family, and encounters with many odd people. Life in the ghetto during that time was hard for everyone who lived there, no matter how old they were.