The House on Mango Street Online

If you want to continue reading the book or if you need to finish the work, here is a link to an online version:

http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/Mango_Street/

 Questions:

The House on Mango Street Group Questions #2 (Pgs. 26-55)

Instructions: Answer all of the regular questions.  Challenge Questions are in italic and will be extra credit.

"Marin"

1. Who is Marin? Why is she unable to leave her house? How does she plan to change her situation? Why do Esperanza and her friends admire her?

2. What is Marin waiting for? Is this a good dream for a young girl to have? Why or why not?

"Those Who Don't"

3. How do outsiders see Esperanza's neighborhood? How does Esperanza feel when she visits other neighborhoods?

4. Why are people afraid of going into Esperanza’s neighborhood? Why is Esperanza afraid of other neighborhoods?

"There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn't Know What to Do"

5. Why does Rosa Vargas cry every day? Why do her children misbehave? What happens to her son Angel?

"Alicia Who Sees Mice"

6. How does Alicia's father treat her efforts to get an education?

7. What is Alicia forced to do?  Why? How would you describe her relationship with her father?

"The Family of Little Feet"

8. What happens to Esperanza when she and her friends are given some cast-off shoes? How do the shoes change them? What effect do they have on the men in the neighborhood?

9. Describe the incident with the Bum Man. What happens?

10. In this vignette, Esperanza and friends get their first taste of being “women.” What do you think Esperanza learns about being a women from their encounter with the men in the town while where the new shoes?

"A Rice Sandwich"

11. Why does Esperanza want to eat in the school canteen? How does she get her mother to help her?

12. What happens with the nun? Why does Esperanza cry?

"Hips"

13. What are the girls doing as they talk about hips? What are hips good for? What does their conversation tell you about their ages?

"The First Job"

14. Why does this story have a misleading title? What happens to Esperanza on her first day at work? What does this episode tell you about her family and their expectations?

15. What happens to Esperanza at the end of the vignette? What harsh realities is she learning about growing up?