What is controversial about The House on Mango Street?

Title: The House on Mango Street

Author: Sandra Cisneros

Year Published: 1984

Category: Adult fiction

Pages: 110

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary (from Amazon): Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero.

Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.

Review: I read this book years ago and enjoyed it and decided to re-read it for Banned Book Week. I am also counting it toward this month's Diversity Reading Challenge's mini-challenge: books by and/or about Hispanic/Latinx authors (September 15 to October 15 is officially Hispanic Heritage Month).

Sandra Cisneros published this book in 1983, the year I graduated from high school. It has been challenged and/or banned due to themes of racism, sexuality, and poverty. Poverty. Someone out there actually wanted to ban a book because it talks about poverty.

I like the way Cisneros writes, capturing a myriad of voices and experiences. She pulls the reader in through her use of language (a mixture of English and Spanish), with every day life as well as the trauma experienced by her characters.

As the description says, the book is made up of short vignettes that are both difficult to read and others that put a smile on my face. I love that she brings the reader into her world as she writes about what makes a home, hair, her name and its meaning. The stories that are difficult to read show up in chapters such as What Sally Said, about physical abuse and the lies we tell to cover up the shame, and Red Clowns, which is about sexual assault. 

Have you read House on Mango Street? If not, I highly recommend it.

Challenges for which this counts: 

• Diversity--Latinx author and characters (September challenge)

March 24, 2020

I think those who don't like the book need to venture out and read stories about non-white protagonists or just stick to what you know

I currently am an English Major and had to read this book for an educational project and I find that the reviews on this book are rather harsh. I read this book not knowing what to expect, but from what I've read from these comments people really are mad that this book is different. Yes, the story is fragmented but do you know what it is like to not know English and only speak in fragments? Yes, this story is at times inappropriate, but do you know what it is like to live on a street like Esperanza? I do not think that these very fortunate critics of the books do. But, of course this is a great generalization. However, if you do want to read something that is within your comfort zone choose a book with a white protagonist! I'm pretty sure someone like Nancy Drew would tickle your fancy.

2 people found this helpful.

September 24, 2019

Requires maturity, but incredible and realistic

The House on Mango Street is an incredible book for a plethora of reasons. It seems likely that the reviews written here vilifying the book were done by those that care little about Literature, exposure to different cultures, or stories that resonate with adolescents. Yes, the book contains a very vague scene of sexual assault that will likely only be understood by more mature readers. For public school classrooms with diverse make ups, this is a great book to read. It teaches girls from communities to stand up for themselves and question the ways society hurts them. It teaches all readers to dream big, reach their full potential, and learn from bad situations around them, as well as how what we are surrounded with impacts who we are. Inspiring, thought provoking, hopeful, and heart breaking all at once. If you feel that this book is "inappropriate" I strongly suggest you visit any real life middle school and you'll find that this book is much easier to digest than the real situations many of your children's peers are likely facing.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

2 people found this helpful.

February 14, 2018

Take Your Time

I read this book the summer before my Junior year of high school, I was 16. I can honestly say I was in a bad place for many reasons that summer. I remember sitting with this books and absolutely hating it. I thought it sounded juvenile, disjointed, and just annoying. So I completely get where the teens are coming from who are reviewing this book with a lot of anger about having to read this book in class. However, I started my Junior year and was smug, thinking I would just HATE having to talk about this book. So like most teenagers I learned I was wrong and smug. I learned to LOVE this book. My teacher made me see this book differently in only a few weeks. As I reread passages in class and outside I realized the depth of this book. The vignettes seem simplistic, but don't let her prose deceive you, it is anything but. There is so much depth of feeling and meaning in each. And the vignettes do connect, but you have to go slow and notice it. I connected to Esperanza, who dreams of more sky and better tomorrows. She gave me hope and taught me about compassion. She is the narrator and voice for voiceless women who hang outside their windows with sad eyes and jealous husbands. She is scared but courageous. I love how this book feels so raw and sometimes I just read a vignette when something in my life happens and I need comfort. I think her work is very relevant to inner city kids but it is important for all people to read this book because it can definitely develop empathy in teens and adults about the issues Esperanza deals with.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

2 people found this helpful.

September 1, 2021

Not appropriate for most ages

I am a student but this is my parent's account. Essentially as I was reading this, It dealt with sad and downright depressing matters, such as suicide and rape. It made me sad and disgusted to read this book. It is sickening and is sad.

This title has:

Too much violence

Too much sex

1 person found this helpful.

April 20, 2021

Some people won't get it, but it is nonetheless a great book.

This book isn't trying to tell a completely cohesive story, its trying to shed some light onto really important subjects in what is probably the most effective way. If it was cohesive, it would remove a lot of what makes this book powerful. So much of this book is just trying to portray to the reader that the tragic things that happen really do happen, and they happen often at that. Its nonrecurring character, after nonrecurring character going through tragedy through the eyes of an innocent young girl who doesn't think too much of it, she's used to it, which makes it all the more horrifying because there in lies the implication that that these things that are absolutely horrid happen over and over. If there was a cohesive story, it would remove so much of the books ability to call the readers to action. They would think "oh its just a story" but its not just a story.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Too much violence

1 person found this helpful.

October 6, 2022

Challenging for Learners of the English Language

I love that the book is written from the perspective of a child. I love that the vignettes cover topics that are outside of my comfortable suburban bubble. I'm smart enough to recognize that this writing style itself is artistic, and is meant to convey the emotions and thought process of a child. It paints very vivid images in my mind. The maturity level of the stories can be debated endlessly. Sex. Death. Etc. Those topics will be interpreted subjectively by readers, whether children or adults. To each their own. The problem is that most kids under the age of 16 will struggle to even comprehend this book. Kids with certain learning disabilities will have an especially difficult time because the writing style is so...unique. The grammar is broken. There's no straight-forward plot, or continuity between vignettes. It's a great example of how we DON'T want our kids to write. This book should be reserved for kids who have a STRONG foundation in proper sentence structure, and reading comprehension. It is very much an poetic/artistic book suited for kids who are ready to read The Scarlet Letter, or other metaphor-heavy literature.

June 9, 2022

Completely inappropriate

My 16-year-old sophomore daughter and 18-year-old senior son both were reading this book in their English classes. This book was the most appalling, Inappropriate book I have ever seen. It is heavy with sexuality, depicting men as animals, rape etc…. I don’t see how in the world this book is appropriate for any child that is school-aged. The fact that this book made it in the curriculum makes me sick to my stomach.

December 17, 2020

Horrible Book

Confusing writing style, extremely short, 0/10 . This book was probably one of the worst books I've ever read.

February 19, 2019

Bad writing, confusing, and too short

The house on mango street is a terrible book, with a confusing writing style, a blank slate of a character, and things that happen for no reason, the house on mango street breaks multiple rules of story writing, as it tries to build a community and tell a story in it. The writing style hinders what could be an interesting story. characters appear and disappear, things happen for no apparent reason. i do NOT recommend this book. it is a waste of time.

July 17, 2016

Good Book

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cinceros, is a book for the crowd of ages 14+. I personally think it's a good book, the overall message to it can definitely be relatable to many readers. The novel covers the life of Esperanza, a chicana who is 12. She goes from living in a apartment to moving to a house that their family owns in Chicago. Throughout the book she grows mentally and physically. As time goes by she begins writing as a way to express herself and escape the reality of her neighborhood that she's not to happy with. You get the impression that esperanza is a friendly girl who moved into mango street. She quickly befriends Rachel and lucy, two sisters that live across the street from her. As in other girl, Esperanza is growing up and gets a sudden interest in boys noticing her. Thats when she befriends Sally, whos a bit more sexually mature then Esperanza and her friends. Sally uses sex as a way to escape her abusive father. Soon enough Esperanza is ready to leave Mango street. She wants to go away from her sad red house. She understands that writing might be her way out of mango street. I think the overall message is relatable, we've all been in situations when we are the "new kid" or simply just dont like our neighborhood and dream of the day we get to leave. I think the book is definitely one for young kids to red just to get a taste of what puberty can do to you, and how it can make you feel. It also shows that stressing over situations really does you no good, and one day you'll look back on your childhood and wish you could go back to it.

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