A Stroll Down Mango Street

     I have been excited to read The House on Mango Street since the day I saw it on our reading list. I read it in my tenth grade Honors English and loved it! It was a breath of fresh air for me five years ago, just as it was this past week. In my tenth grade English class, it seemed unlikely and nontraditional to be reading a novel that, quite honestly, was so easy to get through. Placed amongst the classic texts of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Wuthering Heights, it was such an easy read. And again, this past week, I found myself reading The House on Mango Street before bed to help me relax. Hopefully when implemented in our classroom, Sandra Cisneros' witty and charming novel will have the same effect for our students. But does the fact that House on Mango Street is a short, easy read diminish its merit as a piece of literature? In my opinion, definitely not.
     I remember my tenth grade English teacher referring to the small chapters as vignettes, each one being its own little life story. We wrote our own vignettes throughout the course of reading the novel, which was a refreshing class activity. I think any time we can incorporate our students' own lives and stories into class activities, we should. It makes the activity more personal, meaningful, and relaxing to complete. Beyond all of the creative extensions House on Mango Street provides for us to do with students, it also offers an array of discussion and activities within the genre of multicultural literature. In fact, I think one of the vignettes I composed in tenth grade was about how my family celebrates a holiday according to our culture. Of course every holiday in my family is celebrated with a trip to church, a full table of food, and good beer and wine, fitting to the Irish Catholic demographic. But the point is, this came through in my vignette. We can offer students various activities that allow their own heritages to come through, just as Esperanza'a does through the entire novel. Some of these include constructing a family tree, and illustrating a room in their house that displays their own culture. Again, these activities are personal and so become meaningful, while also providing a reason to connect with family members and ask questions. The House on Mango Street also generates great class discussion, in which we as teachers could pose the question to each student, "What does your own culture and background really mean to you?" It is surprising to me that such a fun and relaxing read can supply us with so many windows of opportunity to explore with our students!