The House on Mango Street — My Name

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Reader: 王伊涵
Reading Time: 3.19-3.21
Reading Task: The House on Mango Street, My Name
Summary of the content:
Esperanza's Reflection on Self-Identity and Familial Legacy (The House on Mango Street, My Name)  
At the heart of Esperanza's narrative lies her profound interrogation of identity and heritage, articulated through the symbolic weight of her name. This chapter explores themes of cultural inheritance, gendered oppression, and personal awakening.
1. The Bicultural Duality of a Name  
Esperanza’s Spanish name, meaning “hope” in English, carries layered emotional resonance in its original linguistic context. She describes it as “made out of too many letters,” evoking both “sadness” and “waiting.” This contradiction mirrors the cultural dissonance experienced by immigrant descendants: her name serves as a tether to Mexican tradition while simultaneously marking her as an outsider in an Anglophone society. The mockery she endures at school—where classmates deride her name as “harsh as tin”—contrasts sharply with the Spanish pronunciation’s “softness like silver,” encapsulating the clash between linguistic identity and cultural alienation.  
2. The Tragic Legacy of the Great-Grandmother and the Metaphor of Female Fate  
Esperanza traces her name’s origins to her great-grandmother, a “woman like a wild horse” who was violently subdued into marriage by her husband. Reduced to a life of “gazing out the window,” the great-grandmother becomes a symbol of patriarchal confinement. Esperanza explicitly rejects inheriting her ancestor’s “place by the window”—a metaphor for the silencing and objectification of women. This intergenerational trauma exposes the systemic gender oppression embedded in Latino culture and fuels Esperanza’s yearning for autonomy.  
3. Reclaiming Identity Through Self-Naming  
In the chapter’s closing moments, Esperanza expresses a desire to rename herself—as “Lisandra” or “Zeze the X”—to “become her true self.” This act of linguistic rebellion symbolizes her defiance against cultural and gendered expectations. By seizing agency over her name, she transforms it from a vessel of familial history into a manifesto of independence, a declaration of her right to escape predetermined narratives and craft her own destiny.   

Evaluation:
Sandra Cisneros employs lyrical imagery to crystallize abstract emotions: the great-grandmother’s silence is likened to “the color of muddy earth,” while her mother’s hair carries “the scent of bread.” These metaphors juxtapose the warmth of familial memory with the weight of inherited constraints, illustrating women’s dual struggle to honor tradition while asserting individuality. The discourse on naming thus transcends personal history, evolving into an existential inquiry: How does one define the self without severing ties to the past?  

Reflection:
“My Name” uses the microcosm of a name to illuminate macrocosmic tensions—cultural dislocation, the intergenerational transmission of gendered violence, and the quest for self-liberation. Esperanza’s ambivalence toward her name becomes a metaphor for both personal growth and a collective reckoning with Latina women’s marginalized histories. Her resolve—”I inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window”—anchors the novel’s broader theme of awakening, where departure becomes a necessary prelude to rediscovery and return.