芒果街上的小屋读后感

zwt

Reader:曾维庭
Reading Time: 6.1
Reading chapters14-20
In Chapter 14, Esperanza's analysis of her name reveals a profound awakening of identity. ‘Esperanza’—a name that symbolises ‘hope’ in English—is steeped in the weight of ‘sorrow’ and ‘waiting’ in Spanish. This bilingual divide serves as a precise metaphor for her cultural dilemma as the descendant of immigrants: struggling between Mexican tradition and American reality. When tracing the origins of her name back to her great-grandmother, who was carried away in a sack by her great-grandfather and ultimately reduced to a ‘woman by the window,’ Esperanza realises that her name is like a curse passed down through generations, bearing the history of Mexican women being objectified and deprived of their agency. The declaration, ‘I inherited her name, but I do not want to inherit her position by the window,’ marks her first rupture with the shackles of fate—she refuses to become another ‘woman by the window.’

This awakening was soon pierced by harsh reality. Kathy, who claimed to be a descendant of French royalty, contemptuously announced that she was moving away from Mango Street because the community had become ‘too mixed.’ This seemingly casual remark cut like a knife, exposing the raw racial discrimination and social segregation. Esperanza first recognised so clearly and painfully that, in the eyes of the white mainstream, she and her neighbours were merely ‘outsiders’ to be avoided, the ‘brown’ other. This moment of pain completed her bitter awakening to her identity: no matter how much an individual strives, the racial label has already drawn an invisible divide.

On Mango Street, the confined female figures form a harrowing tableau of fate: Rafina, locked at home by her husband; Marlene, who flaunts her beauty at the window yet dreams of shattered hopes—they are all vivid embodiments of ‘window prisoners.’ These women are trapped in narrow physical and mental cages, whether due to patriarchal oppression, economic hardship, or societal expectations. Their vacant stares out the window are a silent indictment of dreams withering and vitality extinguished. These figures stir a profound resonance and deep fear in Esperanza's heart—she sees a fate that could consume her.

It was this fear and awakening that gave birth to Esperanza's most powerful soul-stirring vow: ‘Leaving is to return.’ This declaration marked the fundamental difference between her and the other ‘Mango Street daughters’: she refused to accept her fate. Escape was not the end, but a strategy to break free from the shackles and gather strength, with the ultimate goal of returning with the ability to bring about change and rescue those still trapped.

Running through this awakening process is the ‘axe’ of writing. When Esperanza realised that ‘writing is like splitting open with an axe,’ she found her most powerful weapon of resistance. Writing is the sharp blade that cleaves the chains of fate, the tool for understanding pain and reshaping the self, and the practical path to fulfilling the promise of ‘returning.’ Amid the dust and sighs of Mango Street, writing becomes her brightest hope—not only the spark of personal redemption but also the potential light illuminating the future of the entire community.