Try to answer the following questions. I am not expecting you to write essays. Just short paragraphs will do. So don't stress yourself out over this. :-)
(1) Why is the speaker concerned with the nature of the houses she has lived in? What feelings does she show about these houses?
(2) What is the speaker like as a character?
(3) How does the condition of this house and the other houses explain the economic circumstances of the speaker's family?
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{1} Other than the dilapidated, run-down state of the house and inadequate space/inconsistent power and water, she worries about the discrepancy between what her parents hope for and what they are able to afford.
She appears to value personal space and ownership very much, citing several times the 'sharing' of the yard and bathrooms. A house, to her, should be something that they own and have full rights to. The physical state of her house, as well as the instability it represents also concerns her.
(2)The speaker is aware of the perception of others with regard to her family's financial state. The incident with the nun reveals that much. She is fairly idealistic, speaking about the house she wishes to have and their hopes for the future, but stays firmly grounded, saying that she knows how "these things go".
(3)The state of the houses past and present indicate that the speaker's family is not financially stable and has difficulty with lodging, as they appear only able to afford old, run-down places-- in fact the landlord would not fix the pipes at the flat they had rented previously because "the house was too old". The flat on Loomis had "paint peeling" and "wooden board nailed on the windows", and must have been indicative of their impoverished state.
The house on Mango Street, even as their own, is not exactly ideal. The bricks of the house "crumble into place", suggesting age, and the size of the house is a clear indication of their financial ability to own a house.
1. It all boils down to “face”. The author felt inferior when the nun asked her if that was her house. She felt that the nun was belittling her and she was desperate to break away from poverty. Desperate to get away from her poor background and wanted to live in a decent house. She was sick and tired of her parents making “empty promises” and hopes that will never be achieved like she will never live in a place called “home” but only an empty shell like a “house”.
2. The speaker is a very conscious person. She takes things and comments by people to heart like how the nun reacted to her living in a dilapidated and run down house. Although she knows that her family’s financial condition isn’t of a certain standard, she is therefore driven to find a decent “home” of her own.
3. The state of the author’s house is bad considering that that water pipes were broken, the washroom and yard were both shared. Despite the family moved house, they have moved to one which is of not much different from the one they had just moved out of. This shows that the speaker’s family could only afford old houses. Her father relied on “lottery tickets” to earn big bucks as his job was not enough to purchase a new house and thus he had to rely on “luck”. This can be concluded that the economic crisis of the speaker’s family is poor.
End of my answers :D
I know this isn’t the expected kind of answers..
Do give me more suggestions on how to improve yeah ?
Thanks ! (:
CLARA
3e2
(1) The speaker is especially concerned with the nature and image of the house she lives in as she is worried about the physical state of it, and also how others view it. The poor facilities of her house at Loomis, "water pipes broke, ... house was too old", adds on to why the speaker is worried regarding the both aspects.
The speaker have different views towards A House and A Home. Apparently, the place she is living in is just a house, and not a home which gives her comfort and the sense of belonging. She wants to move out to another house which has a TV and REAL STAIRS, so that she can call it her home. The temporary stay at the different houses results in the temporary feelings the speaker has for the houses.
(2) The speaker needs reassurance. She needs someone to assure her that the temporary house she lives in is already something worth to feel lucky of. As she feels embarrassed of the destitute state of her house, she needed someone(an outsider) to tell her from her point of view that things are actually very fortunate for her already. However, the nun incident has pulled the speaker onto a greater setback. This proves her sensitivity towards the things happening around her and the words people say to her.
(3) The condition of the speaker's current house shows that no one, even the landlord himself, is bothered to maintain a good physical state for the house. The reason of the ongoing moving of houses is probably due to their ramshackled states. Certainly, this shows that the speaker's family is always looking for a place to stay whenever they need one. They also put the rents into great consideration, and their rundown condition proves that the speaker's family is not financially strong enough to buy a stable house to lead a stable life.
*hope i made sense :D CIAO PEOPLE!:D*
Phua Zhi Ting (18)
3E2'08!:D
1| The houses’ volatile nature (run-down, untended for initially) is already worrying per se. However, after constant movement, the flicker of hope originally set in the narrator’s parents’ hearts (perhaps as to how their desire to migrate in the first place ignited) to live in a better, pleasant environment from their homeland has vanished; the speaker did not want their hearts to be crushed, and continue striving to achieve the Dream they had longed for.
Insecurity overwhelms her – whether it be of the obvious disfigured state of the house, or the sense of degradation at other’s skeptical view at the sight of the house, signaling their poverty.
2| She is very descriptive, indirectly showing the desperation in wanting her voice to be heard (of the horrid condition her family has to endure) in a plea from immigrants in whole to the people ‘discriminating’ them. She has an uncanny maturity of a young adult – knowing of their current situation, and very slightly naïve of being able to “have a house. A real house,” as though she can immediately save the day as soon as she works.
3| One generally judges another’s financial status from the state of their houses, and in doing so; we are able to know that the family is financially unsound – while fixing pipes may be costly, they could not even afford a paint fix for the walls and seeds to be planted upfront (yard).
Throughout their journey as ‘nomads’, the differences between each house they stay to the next are bare minimum; even after a long time, they never got their big break, and continue to live in economic turmoil.
Adinda Dj. -cracks-
1.The writer has constantly been moving to different houses with her family. Although she is quite young, she has been through quite a lot of change and this change has matured her. She is affected by the way people look at her house now. The incident with the nun is an example to this. “You live there? The way she said it made me fel like nothing.” This incident was an eye-opening experience for her. She understands how people may find her. She does not have a problem with the houses but to others, they are not even fit to live in.
She does ot really consider any of the houses she has lived in as “real”. She says that “one day we would move into a house, a real house.” It shows that she is still waiting for the perfect house to turn up. There is also a sense of detachment from all the houses she has previously lived in and also from the house on Mango Street. She constantly refers to them as “houses” instead of a “home”. It shows that there never was any sense of belonging for her in those houses. However, by the last sentence in the passage, “...I know how this things go”, it seems like she knows that it is not likely that she will ever get her “real” house but she is not giving up. “I knew then that I had to have a house”. She wants a real home that she can be proud of- unlike the other houses- and she is determined to get it.
2.As a character, the speaker is very determined, mature and un-prejudiced. She is determined because of the line,”I knew then I had to have a house.”.She came to this sudden realization after the incident with the nun. She realizes that while to her, the flats and houses may be a place to live in but to the others, it is not. The way the nun sounded when she asked “You lived there” was so condescending and she sounded so shocked. This became the reason for her to strive towards having a “real”house of her own. Despite doubtig the fact that the house on Mango Street was going to be temporary, she is determined to have a house that she would be proud of.
In this way, she is also very mature because she understands the way people think. She has an awareness of how people think of her and her family's situation but she is not embarassed by it. She is instead, determined to prove people wrong.
She is also in a sense, very un-prejudiced because despite her family's status and their living conditions, she is not embarrased at all. It does not seem like she was ever affected by that fact other than wanting to live in a house where all the facilities were good. This is like a living example where ignorance really is bliss.
3.The family is definately not very well-off because of the dilapidated state of their current and previous houses. The facilities in their previous flats are such that any normal person would have never even thought of living there. Everyone has to share rooms and such. They are trying their hardest to live what is known as the American Dream but they cannot. Their financial status is such that the closest they can get to their dream house is in their stories and dreams. The fact that their father talks about the ideal house while holding a lottery ticket also shows that he knows that only hard work is not going to get them anywhere. They need luck as well. Although the parents say the house on Mango Streets is only temporary like all their previous houses, it is doubtful to both the speaker and to the reader that they are ever going to move again.
-Shreya Bhat(20)
3e2(:
[1] The houses were run down and too small for a family of the speaker’s size. It was dilapidated and lacked the facilities for the family’s needs. The speaker resents the fact that they have to live in such a run down house. She is a little ashamed of the state of dilapidation of the houses and that her family is unable to afford something better. She is insecure and wants a place to call home and not just a house.
[2] The speaker is very conscious of her personal outlook to others. She is very mature and sensitive to the way others view her. She is idealistic and has high hopes for a better house for the entire family, a house she can call a home. She is painfully aware of her family’s financial and social status in society and is determined to push it up that ladder.
[3] It shows the audience the financial state of the family from past to present. It shows the difficulty the speaker’s family faces in finding a suitable house to house their huge family. The speaker says that the houses were too old and they were all in a bad condition and were never considered a home but simply a house. The dilapidated state of the houses shows the inability to own a house of their own, let alone the house of their dreams. Also, the fact that the family was constantly uprooted, shows how they have never managed to break out of the poverty cycle in the past years.
Kellie Shae (19)
3E2
(1) The speaker is concerned about the exterior and interior of the house. She did not wish to stay in such run down houses. As they are minority, she had the America Dream, where her family will get to live in luxurious homes. She felt insulted when the nun had a tone of despising her house. she does not want to degraded just because of the kind of house she lived in. Constantly moving of houses also showed the lack of stability in the speaker's life.
It shows that the speaker is from a lower income family and portryas a sense of displacement. It also shows that she did not take her home as personal thing but merely a house. it portrayed a sense of detachment as she called her home a house, showing that she did not have much feelings for that house.
(2) The speaker is one that wants stability in her life. The massive moving of houses alsready caused much insecurity in her heart and would much like to 'stabalise' her life.
She also knows about her family's financial status as she did question about the credibility of her parents' words on having a real house. It then became a driving force for the speaker to break free of the povery curse and be proud of her home.
(3) The conditions of the house showed the finiancial crisis the family has. it shows that the family is poor and could not afford to have a house where the speaker calls home. By buying lottery tickets and dreaming of houses, it showed that the family counted alot on luck itself but not their own abilities to own a house and do not seem to believe that they will reap what they sow.
Instead, they chose a shortcut to getting wealth. The state of the house like 'one washroom, very small' etc showed that the the family do not have the means to buy a decent house. Therefore, it shows that the family has poor economic circumstances.
(1) The author is over concerned over the state of her house as it reflects on her image. She is worried on how people view her based on materialistic things like house, showing how insecure she is, as she feels inferior when compared. This can be seen during the conversation with the nun and her personal thoughts. She wants her ideal house, as she knows that the difference between what her parents dream of, and what they are able to afford is a world of difference. (considering that the family had to shift several times despite living in run down houses).
(2) The author is a realistic and materialistic person. She takes things seriously, such as comments like 'thats your house?', which made her even more eager to succeed and not be financially unstable like her parents. The fact that she calls her home at mango street 'the house on mango street', shows that she is unwilling to admit as she's ashame of living in a run-down house, definitely not her ideal home.
(3)The author houses, those she lived in and the current one she lives, is definitely not ideal as it is shown that the water pipes broke, the house was old, bricks crumbling into places, had shown the state of the houses she lived in. However the fact that the author was only able to live in run-down houses, shows the inability of her parents, they were financially unstable, and was not able to get a house she wanted. Adding on, the father's dream house he often talks about, was only attainable IF he won lottery. This can be shown as the dad often talked about it when he holds his lottery ticket, the fact that the father bets on lottery is because he knew that it was impossible for him to get the sum of money for the ideal house even if he worked hard (his inabilities). Thus he could only rely on luck to make his dream house come true.
FIONA! (21)
3E2
1) The speaker is concerned with the nature of the house as she doesn't like the feeling of being looked down. She felt inferior in front of the nun when the nun asked "there?" Also, her parents kept telling her that they will get to live in big houses, a real house but they never fulfil what they said. The speaker concerns with the nature of the house because she hopes that her parents will really keep the promise but also knows that it will not happen.
The word "house" is used instead of "home" shows that the speaker has no feelings for the house. She has no sense of belonging and she is ashame of the house.
2) The speaker is materialistic, she doesn't seem to be contented with what she has though many things have improved already. She is aware of how the other perceive her. The moving of houses for many times also shows that the speaker has no stability in her life, she feels insecure. However, this passage also shows that she is mature enough to know how things will go, unlike her father who depends on lottery tickets.
3) This shows that the speaker's family is in the lower economic class. The family relies on luck to get money to get the ideal house they want by buying lottery tickets as they cannot earn so much even if they work very hard. The speaker wants to break through the poverty cycle.
1)Since young, the speaker moved house too many times that she even lost count. It builds up the instability in a young child’s life. Naturally, she feels detached to her ‘houses’, as she described. Noticed she did not use the word ‘home’, which suggests a warmer image. She is obviously been brainwashed by the ‘American dream’. She hopes to have real houses, as all those described/shown in television. Somehow, the nun incident further ‘inspired’ her to pursue her dream, because she did not want to be looked down. The fact that she is from a lower economical class, her dream of having a ‘home’ has a very big impact on her.
(2) Somehow, the speaker leaves me the impression that she is materialistic, and pride means a lot to her. It’s obvious that she wants to break out of the poverty circle, and have a house that she can be proud of. The nun incident shows that she does not like to be belittled. She is also quite naïve, believing the ‘American Dream’. But I think that her character is caused by her economy status.
(3) It shows that they are from a lower economical class. Their flat in Loomis have broken water pipes, and they have to use the washroom next door and carry water over in empty milk gallons. And it is made obvious that their house on the Mango Street was not of certain standard, because the speaker showed a lot of dissatisfaction. It also suggests that the parents receive low education because they believe in luck. ( lottery tickets )
Cai YiJun (: (3)
3E2
1) Her house, with its peeled painting and crumbling bricks, is a testimony to her family’s poverty, a symbol of their dire financial situation. She is not concerned about living in the house; indeed, she does not complain about the house’s comfort, and seemed content with its small bedrooms and so on. Rather, she is more concerned of society’s degrading, judgmental view on her living conditions, as she claimed that she realized she had to get a new house ONLY AFTER her encounter with the nun and her shocked reply. This goes to show that it is the ill impression society has about the house the she is so concerned about, NOT the run down condition of the house itself - she simply dislike the stigma associated with the house.
Her feelings of the house are not explicitly stated; however, judging from her docile explanation of the house’s condition, one can see that she is content about the house ITSELF. She does not complain about it, and her tone is emotionless – she simply describes the house, but does not express her feelings, whether ill or not, towards it. Rather, it is the society’s damaging and lowly view of her poor status which she resents; she hates the way society scorns at her just because of how unfortunate she is. For instance, in her encounter with the nun, she was evidently dismayed at how the nun, a person whom should have a kind persona, had such demeaning opinions of her. Hence, her ill feelings are not directed at the house, but on the stigma associated with it. The fact that she wants a house that she “could point to” suggests that she is keen to prevent being ostracized because of her house.
2) The speaker is overtly sensitive to the society’s opinion to her and her living conditions. She dislikes how her poor status can bring about a lowly view on her by the society, as she felt “like nothing” upon having the nun criticize the house. She is not materialistic; her yearn for a typical house with the basic amenities is justified based on her unprivileged lifestyle. She is idealistic yet pessimistic – she dreams for a house where she could live without being ostracized, yet is resigned to the fact that her dream is merely a dream, nothing else. Despite being reassured by her parents that the pathetic living conditions would only be ‘temporary’, she still believes her life would not be the ‘paradise’ she yearns for.
3) Obviously, the weary conditions of the house on Mango Street signify that her family has financial difficulties. The constant shift from houses to houses suggests that they are constantly expelled from their lodgings, most likely due to how their dire financial situation prevents them from paying rent. It is noted that the narrator’s papa would buy a lottery ticket in hopes of winning money; this goes to show that perhaps the family depended on gambling as a source of income, and it may be this dependence on chance that lead to the family’s poverty.
Leonard Hio
I hate prose. Poetry is much more interesting and easy to work with.
1. She wanted to have pride in her house. However, the constant moving and lousy house did not let her. There was always “need” in her house, but not “have”, like the power and water supply.
The state of the houses she lived in was a blow to her pride. She could not tell people about her houses without realizing the shock and disgust in them, even a nun could not suspend her disbelief.
2. The speaker is sensitive to people’s reactions and feelings. The nun questioning her had left the final print on her sensitive heart, making her want to make changes, especially in her living conditions.
3. The house had a big lack in the essential things; water, electricity, and the comfort in a home. Even the washroom had to be shared, so in emergencies there was no place to relieve themselves. Their father only had money to pay rent, feed the family and buy lottery tickets, as their only means of earning more money was through sheer luck with the lottery. Her family’s economical state was in distress.
testing
1) esperenza's house is in a bad shape and she gets ahsmaed of telling people where she stays because it"takes away her pride". she badly wanted her parents' dream house but the parents believe they can't achieve that house by their own means only, they have to count on the lottery ticket too. she wants a big house so she could proudly say that that big house is hers.
2)she cares about what others perceive her and her family, thats why she feels ashamed when talking about her house. she knows in the near future that the "ideal" house would never come or maybe forever, that house would never come. she is definitely not materialistic.
3)it shows that the esperenza is from a lower income family, where housing permenantly in one place is difficult, they can only afford old, run-down flats. they cannot afford their dream house and esperenza had said they maybe would not own the ideal house in years to come.
1:The speaker wants to have a house that she is able to have a sense of attachment.The reason why she is concerned with the nature of the house she has lived in is due to the nun who went passed her house and said in a skeptical tone saying:"YOU live THERE?"it shocked the nun but embarrassed the author that she lived in such a horrible and impoverished house that was not even permanent.It made her felt belittled,though it was just an ordinary statement,but a very provocative one.This made the author concerned with how the nature of her house will allow others have degrading percetives of her,leading to her feeling more inferior.
The author felt superficially embarrassed that she live in such a run-down,shackled house,one that is already not considered livable,with crumbling bricks almost everywhere.As a young child,she already feels that her "house",not "home",which indicates to the place she is living in is not a home which gives her comfort and a sense of belonging but is just another house she is living in,allows her to be ashamed of her house as she feels that others will look down on her.this is even more so as at such a tender age,friendship means alot.
2:Her character tells me that she knows how her family was in an impoverished,yet,they still made do with whatever they had.There were signs of instability in ther life and her family's social status was low.Though what the nun said to the author had belittled her,she felt ashamed but had the sense of willpower and hope to want to break away from her poverty cycle and knew she had to do something to overcome it.this tells me that however young the speaker was,she was aware of how others percieved her by the look of her house and was embarrassed that she was poor ,having the insecurities of others looking down on her.From the last sentence of the prose,she says "but i know how things go."this indicates that no matter how many times her parents assure her that all this impovishment is only temporary,she knows that all those are just empty promises and would most likely not be fulfilled in the end.
3:The state of the author's house,both the present house and the past few houses she stayed in,showed her family's poverty as they even stayed in houses that were not even fit to be stayed in,with water pipes that broke and had to even resort to carrying water over in empty milk gallons to wash up.This shows that they could not even rent or buy houses deemed fit to be able to live in.Although their present house,which the family had bought was already considered better than the rest,it was still not livable,with bricks crumbling into places.Clearly,this shows that the house on Mango Street was already old and breaking down.Its size also indicates her family's circumstances to own a house.
yupp:D thats it.
Oops... I’m really sorry Miss Chandran... I totally couldn’t log in to this freaking blog thingy... Can we just have homework as hardcopy??? I think that would be much easier…-_-
House on the Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – 1983
1)Why is the speaker concerned with the nature of the houses she has lived in? What feelings does she show about these houses?
The speaker is very much worried about the physical look and the physical state of her house. And also, she is quite sensitive with others how they view on her house. s stated in the text, even the nun was skeptical about where the speaker lives. The speaker regards the house on the Mango Street as simply a house she lives in and not her home. When she was younger and constantly on the move from apartment to apartment her parents promised her a real home with a green yard, real stairs, and running water with pipes that worked. She dislikes the house on Mango Street because its sad appearance and cramped quarters are completely contrary to the idealistic home she always pictured. That the speaker is ashamed to point out her house to any stangers and retains th notion that one day she will have a real dreamed home.
2)What is the speaker like as a character?
The speaker is a extremely sensitive and conscious person. Towards the parents telling her what kind of house they will live next time depending on their luck. And she was also once sensitive on the nun being skeptical when the speaker told her what her kind of house she lives in.
3)How does the condition of this house and the other houses explain the economic circumstances of the speaker's family?
The speaker’s family is very poor, low income class faimly. Her family does not have the money to afford a proper house that she does not have to move. The text also states that the houses she had lived on both now and then cannot be renewed nor rebuilt for convenience. The family’s idle dream also shows that they only believe on luck than themselves for improvement and upgrading.
Kim Ji A (Jeaa)
3E2’08 #11
REALLY SORRY FOR THE LATE SUBMISSION.....
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