House On Mango Street Figurative Language

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Pages: 2

In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros’ use of figurative language highlights Esperanza’s desire for freedom. The author’s use of personification and metaphors emphasizes how Esperanza struggles to find independence from the role women take on Mango Street.
First, in the vignette My Name, Esperanza uses a metaphor to describe her name. Esperanza states, “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting.” This connects to Esperanza’s desire for freedom because Esperanza only has one name while other characters have many. Esperanza gives them nicknames, and calls some by their Spanish name and others by their English name. When Esperanza wants to change her name, it shows