The+House+on+Mango+Street's+Book+Group

=The House on Mango Street = By: Sandra Cisneros

Book Group #1: May 10, 2010 Leader: Andrea Lewis Group Members: Andrea, Kylee, Michelle, Thomas, and Emma!

Begining Activity:

media type="youtube" key="p3V6sj82Zhk" height="385" width="480" Questions: 1. In the first chapter, Esperanza talks about moving a lot and the type of house that she lives in now and the type of house her family dreams about living in. Do you think where you live effects you as a person and if so how? And how did where Esperanza has lived effected her and made her who she is? 2. Names seem to be an important motif. Why do names help define your self and why do you think she wanted to change her name to Zeze the X? Also when she describes her name to be hope in English and also sadness and waiting, is that how she describes herself with that name? And how does this create a barrier between the languages English and Spanish? 3. When Esperanza pays Rachel and Lucy 5 dollars to be their friend, what does this say about her characte? 4. Why do you think the author wrote this book in short chapters? Does it create a book of poetry? How is this type of writing effective? Do you think it reflects anything about Esperanza? 5. Esperanza talks about women discrimination in her culture. How does she embrace this in other ways throughout the story and do you think she will break this norm and how? 6. Why do you think the author does not introduce the character in the first section? Do you think this relates back to the meaning of ones name? 7. How do the stairs of Cathy's house represent her as a person? Is there a similarity or connection between Cathy and Esperanza, and if so what? 8. What is the significance of friendship and sisterhood in this story? Why can't she tell Nenny her secrets and do you think she can trust Lucy and Rachel, what signs show your reasoning? 9. Why does she have a whole chapter on the hair of her family? How does her mother's hair make her feel safe? 10. I think one of the common themes i've noticed throughout the sections was maturity and finding oneself. Do you agree that is a main theme? What do you think are other themes? 11. "Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor" (Cisneros, 9). What is she trying to say? What does the balloon, the anchor, and red all sybolize?  12. What do you think the picture on the cover is of and what does it mean? Closing Activity:

media type="youtube" key="0Pyf89VsNmg" height="385" width="480" This video is of the author describing why she wrote the book, so I thought it would provide as good background knowledge to think about when reading the book.

=Book Group #2=


 * Opening Activity: The pictures are a visual summary through some of the main events that occurred during the many chapters we read last nigh

Questions:**


 * 1) What is the significance of all of the people falling in these sections? Angel is trying to fly and Meme is trying to be Tarzan and they both end up falling from great heights.
 * 2) What significance does Marin have in the book? What does it show that she is waiting for a man to come swoop in and take her off to a better life?
 * 3) Why doesn’t Esperanza mention herself when she is talking about Marin, as well as the other women in the book?
 * 4) What does Esperanza reveal about the neighborhood and racism in the chapter, “Those Who Don’t”? What does it reveal about her own personal prejudices?
 * 5) How do Esperanza and Alicia compare?
 * 6) Are all of the chapters occurring in sequential order? Why isn’t it made clear how much time is in between each story? Are they all supposed to be like poems or just short stories?
 * 7) Why is Esperanza so intrigued with Darius’ observation that one single cloud is God?
 * 8) Why is it that the shoes have such a strong impact on the men’s attitudes towards the girls so suddenly? What does it reveal about the society that they are living in?
 * 9) Why is the nun so demeaning towards Esperanza?
 * Closing Activity:

Quote from "Those Who Don't": "Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. All brown all around, we are safe. But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake."

I like this quote out of all of the quotes in the section we read because it is the first real mention of the racism in the book, which I think will be just one of the many barriers that Esperanza will have to overcome throughout the rest of the book. **

__Book Group #3__
 * Opening Activity**

1. How does Esperanza's dancing at the baptism party represent her attempt to escape the expectations (or lack there of) placed upon her? How does it represent rebellion? 2. What significance does the chapter 'hips' hold? Could it be considered foreshadowing to a time when the girls are more grown up? 3. Esperanza's younger sister sings an older song while the older girls make up a new one, and Esperanza says "Not that old song." What does this represent? 4. What do the white gloves that Esperanza wears at her job symbolize? 5. Do you think that Esperanza regrets befriending the Oriental man because of the fact that he kissed her, or do you think she liked the attention? Why? 6. Do you think that the death of her grandfather made Esperanza more or less thankful for her family and current situation? 7. What does the friendship between Esperanza and her aunt represent? Why would Esperanza make fun of her - was it a peer pressure sort of situation? If so, why would she have given in? 8. When Esperanza gets her fortune told, she asks about a house. Elenita tells her that she sees a home in the heart. Esperanza doesn't understand, and is sort of disappointed. What does Elenita mean, and why is Esperanza upset? 9. Elenita leaves the room to go "hit then hug her children." How does this represent the time period? 10. Why did Marin care so much for Geraldo "no last name" if she barely knew him? What does this represent? 11. How does Esperanza's admiration of Ruthie represent the idea of escaping expectations and her longing to get a new home? Why do these things connect? 12. What role does Ruthie play in the story now? 13. What do the mysteries of Earl represent? - The fact that he works nights, he always leaves his blinds closed, his dogs that "don't walk normal,"he wears a hat no matter the weather, his wife does not live there but when she visits Earl hurries her inside.


 * Closing Activity **

Book Group 4 Opening Activity This a student's film depiction of the chapter entitled Sire

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1. How does Esperanza's longing to be someone she is not affect her relationship with her parents and Sire? 2. Why do you think Esperanze longs to be a tree and how does this reflect her life as a girl growing up in Chicago? 3. How does the language barrier between Mamacita and society display women's role in society and what is it about her that Esperanza finds beautiful? 4. How does Rafaela respresent women in the book and why does Esperanza continually mention the idea of a women sitting by a window? 5. How do the men in this book control women like Sally, are they afraid of beauty? 6. Why does Minerva continue to accept her husband after he leaves her multiple times and what does this reveal about women? 7. What role do the men have and what role do the women have on Mango Street?

Closing Activity A scene from the theatrical adaptation of this book. This is the scene in which Esperanza decribes her name and the person whe wishes to be.

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May 13, 2010 Book Group Discussion #5 Opening Activity:

Depiction of the chapter titled "Sally"

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Questions: 1. Sandea Cisneros describes the characters very thoroughly, especially her focus on physical appearance. Each character she creates seems to have a quirky characteristic, separating each person as an individual. What could this imply about their culture? 2. Poems seem to be a reoccurring symbol. What do you think the poems (and more specifically, Esperanza’s poems) represent? 3. In the chapter, “Bums in the Attic”, Esperanza talks about how she wants a house on a hill, and how those that live on hills are separated from the pains of the world. Considering her current state of “home” what could be Esperanza’s own personal hill? 4. What is Esperanza’s view on her own beauty? What does this say about her past and her own culture? 5. Sally is belted by her father for talking to a boy. Why do you think this separation between boys and girls is so heavily enforced? Why is it vital to their society? 6. What is your opinion about the way women and girls are treated in this book? 7. What is the significance of Esperanza leaving Mango, then coming back for the ones she left behind? Could this have greater meaning? 8. What defines Esperanza as an individual? Why?

Closing Activity:

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