The House on Mango Street is set in a lower-class neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza's family have lived in multiple apartment complexes throughout Chicago. She remembers living on the third floor on Loomis and then Keeler before that, and Paulina before that (3). During those days of living in apartments, Esperanza's parents would dream about owning their own house. They dreamed of not having to deal with landlords and neighbors, pay rent, and share the...
The House on Mango Street is set in a lower-class neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza's family have lived in multiple apartment complexes throughout Chicago. She remembers living on the third floor on Loomis and then Keeler before that, and Paulina before that (3). During those days of living in apartments, Esperanza's parents would dream about owning their own house. They dreamed of not having to deal with landlords and neighbors, pay rent, and share the yard. Specifically, Mama and Papa dreamed of the following house:
". . . our house would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the houses on T.V. And we'd have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we took a bath we wouldn't have to tell everybody" (4).
Esperanza's family does get their own house on Mango Street, but it isn't anything like the one her parents dreamed. Mama tells Esperanza that the small house is temporary, but Esperanza knows better. She describes her house as "small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath" (4). She also says that the bricks are crumbling and they still only have one bathroom. Since it is also located in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, they are surrounded by apartments and other buildings that make the yard seem very small.
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