Raising a child is sometimes a difficult task. Children are often adventurous in seeking answers to the questions they have about life and where they fit in. Parents have the responsibility of answering these questions, and these answers are often opinionated which provide the child with the same views as the parent. Esperanza views her mother as a pretty, warm loving person: “my mother’s hair, my mothers hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty because she pinned it in pincurls all day, sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe…” (6). As

A child growing up in a neighborhood full of poverty is often going to have a different outlook on life than a child growing up in an upscale neighborhood. A child who grows up in poverty sometimes has a depressed outlook on the world. Esperanza is no different than other poverty-stricken children. She was brought up in low-income neighborhoods where crime was normal. A situation occurred when Louie’s cousin drove up in a stolen yellow Cadillac and they got a ride from him. “Everybody looked inside the car and asked where he got it…We all asked for a ride and asked where he got it…The seventh time we drove into the alley we heard sirens… They put handcuffs on him and put him in the back seat of the cop car” (24). This situation fascinated Esperanza and it shouldn’t have. This type of situation may influence Esperanza to think it is acceptable to steal things. Because of the environment she lives in this type of situation is more likely to occur than if she lived in an upper-class neighborhood.

The neighborhoods that Esperanza grew up in wouldn’t make many people living there happy. Reality hit Esperanza when she lived on Loomis and a nun asked her if she lived in the house she pointed up to. She timidly said yes. Esperanza wants better things in her life, but doesn't have the tools necessary to have a more prosperous life than her parents have had. She has dreams but she doesn't know where to begin in fulfilling them. She has no one around her to show her the way out of her present situation. Those in her neighborhood talk about wanting other things in life but none of them do anything about it. Esperanza has much different goals than the people in her neighborhood but the poverty that surrounds her sets her up for failure.

Poverty and parental guidance both play a role in Esperanza’s life when she is forced to start working. It is obvious by her comment about how much school costs that her parents have suggested she needs a job to help pay for it. Esperanza is not one to disobey so, due to her parent’s financial situation, she goes to work before she is ready. This sets her up for failure at her first working experience. Her mom and aunt insist she lie about her age which puts her in a working environment she is not mature enough for and makes her uncomfortable. When a man at work tried to make a pass at her she doesn’t understand what is happening which

Some topics in this essay:
Cisneros Esperanza, Benny Blanca, African American, , Mango Street, makes feel, type situation, makes feel bad, esperanza looks, experience environments esperanza, views life, mango street, parental guidance, sets failure, environment lives, child grows, family’s poverty,