Sandra Cisneros, Human Rights, Culture,

Literary Devices and Vignettes

The House on Mango Street

IdentityThe individual

characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known

ON BACK:1. How is identity in general formed? 2. How is YOUR identity formed?

Sandra CisnerosBorn in Chicago in l954Third child and only

daughter in a family of seven children.

Loyola University of Chicago (B.A. English 1976)

University of Iowa (M.F.A. Creative Writing 1978)

Teacher and counselor to high school dropouts

Taught creative writing College recruiterArts Administrator

Sandra Cisneros“My books include a chapbook of poetry, Bad Boys; two full-length poetry books, My Wicked Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; a collection of stories, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories; a children’s book, Hairs/Pelitos; and two novels, The House on Mango Street and Caramelo. Vintage Cisneros, published in 2003, is a compilation of selections from my works.”

The House on Mango Street The House on Mango Street, first published in 1984, won the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award in 1985

It is a reflection of a female Mexican-American’s experience in the 1960’s.

Human RightsRights to which

people are entitled simply because they are human beings, regardless of their nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

Agreed standards that recognize and protect the dignity and integrity of every individual without any distinction

Human Rights and Culture: answer on back

Do you think human rights are respected in the U.S.? In California? In Oakdale? Why or why not?

Culture: attitudes and behaviors that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization

Do you think culture affects how people are treated? Why or why not?

ThemesTheme: an overall message or idea

expressed in a literary workWhile reading, take note of circumstances

and issues that make human rights a theme in The House on Mango Street.

Also, take note of the narrator’s culture. How does it affect her lifestyle? Is it a theme in the novel as well?

Literary Devicesspecific aspects of literature that we can

recognize, identify, interpret and/or analyze (the means by which authors create meaning through language)

Includes BOTH literary elements and literary techniques

Literary Techniques

refer to specific constructions and choice of language

SimileMetaphorPersonificationAlliterationHyperboleIdiom

Literary Elements

refer to a work as a whole

PlotSettingConflictMood ToneTheme

VignettesThe House on Mango

Street is a series of vignettes, or brief literary descriptions.

One chapter does not relate to the next, but each is its own short story within itself.

The vignettes still relate to one another because of Cisneros style (her use of literary devices).