Esperanza is the main character in the house of mango street
Esperanza internalizes her family's dream for a house.
They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year… Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed.
There are, however, many forces working against her. Esperanza is a girl and expected to adhere to strict gender roles of the culture. She struggles against poverty and pressure to conform to male expectations. Esperanza must find the drive and fortitude to transcend her circumstances.
I am tired of looking at what we can't have. When we win the lottery…Mama begins, and then I stop listening.
