Guadalupe Barajas

Ms. Shaffer
English 1 GATE
21 September 2016
The House On Mango Street

Do you move frequently? Do you wish you had a stable environment? Has it been a
dream of yours to own your own home? Are your dreams fulfilled, do you accomplish them?
Cisneros writes about a young girl named Esperanza who has to keep moving and always hopes
for a permanent home in The House On Mango Street. Esperanzas parents always describe the
home they would one day on move into as theirs. They never lost hope that one day they
would have something better than what they had at the moment and even in the worst conditions
they always had kept going and looked for the bright side.
At the beginning of the book the protagonist are introduced. They explain themselves and
their point of view. Esperanza says " In English my name means hope. She herself represents
the idea of hope and faith and looking forward to something. She represents hope in her family.
She is their representation that one day they will have something better.
Esperanzas family was always moving. The did not own a home and always hoped for
one. Esperanza says, They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real
house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year. Esperanza always
hoped for what was her dream home. Not to picky but her family just wanted something of their
own. They accomplished this when they bought The House On Mango Street. They set their
mind on owning a home and they did not give up even when they had hardships because of the
different homes they were in at times.

Throughout the book Esperanza introduces many different characters and their point of
views and one day she begins to do the same as many of them. Cisneros writes She looked out
the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness at their elbows. ( 11 ) Esperanza is
doing the same thing many women do. Yet she does not want the same for her, she wants something
better. She knows that she has the ability to do something better and she decides that she is going to do
something better than just sit around and think about what could have been if she chose a different
lifestyle.
The House on Mango Street carries through the idea of not giving up and always having hope for
something better. Esperanza represent the hope for her family and as the story continues they
accomplish one of their dreams of owning their own home even if it is not exactly what they expected.
Esperanza also hopes for a different lifestyle from the women on Mango Street. Just like Esperanza and
her family other families struggle to own a home and then to make friends and accept the neighborhood
they live in.
Rubric rating submitted on: 10/2/2016, 10:42:13 AM by ashley.shaffer@salinasuhsd.org
2

Hook
Your score: 2

Present

Partially Present

Absent

Background Evidence
Your score: 2

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Thesis
Your score: 1

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Topic Sentence 1
Your score: 1

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Says 1
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Means 1
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Matters 1
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Topic sentence 2
Your score: 1

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Says 2
Your score: 2

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Means 2
Your score: 1

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Your score: 1

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Topic Sentence 3
Your score: 1

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Says 3
Your score: 2

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Means 3
Your score: 1

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Matters 3
Your score: 1

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Restate Thesis
Your score: 2

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Review Evidence
Your score: 1

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Universal Connection
Your score: 0

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Evidence
Formatted/Cited
Correctly
Your score: 1

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Evidence Clearly
Connects to Thesis
Your score: 1

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Absent

Comments:
M.U.G.: 8/10