The House on Mango Street

Alicia is a friend of Esperanza’s. Her mother died, leaving her to take care of the home. Alicia’s father doesn’t believe her when she tells him she can’t sleep because there are mice crawling around the apartment. He tells her that her place is in the kitchen, making tortillas. Alicia works hard in school and attends a university. The only things that scare Alicia are mice and her father. 

Esperanza doesn’t like Darius because he chases girls around and bothers people with his stupidity. One day, he does something that helps Esperanza understand the importance of sky. He points to the clouds and notes that one of them is “God” (34). Esperanza thinks his simple observation is brilliant, and it reminds her that “you can never have too much sky […] here there is too much sadness and not enough sky” (33). 

Rachel, Lucy, Nenny, and Esperanza are chatting about names. They talk about the different names for snow, clouds, and their cousins. The girls start to tease Esperanza about having an “ugly face when she comes to school” (36). The girls all take turns calling each other names and get upset with each other.