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Essay / How Education Influences the Lives of the Characters in the Mango Street House
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, students who graduate from college are more likely to succeed in life than those who drop out secondary. Sandra Cisneros communicates the importance of education in a coming-of-age novel, House on Mango Street. Cisneros highlights how education is the key to having a chance at a better life through the characters of Mama, Alicia and Esperanza, characters whose destinies differ and whose responses clearly link the idea of education to the idea of personal and social improvement. plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Esperanza's mother, whom she calls Mama, foreshadows what happens to someone who does not pursue studies and lives a life full of regrets. One day, after school, Mom says she could have been more than just a housewife and advises: “Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard…You must take care of yourself” (90). She emphasizes that it is very important to continue your studies to be able to live freely and take care of others. Mom regrets not continuing her education because she is now stuck at home, taking care of her family instead of having the ideal life that education could offer her. Esperanza's mother reflects on her decision to marry young and drop out of school when she regretfully says, "I could have been somebody, you know?" »(90). Mom says she could have been anything she wanted. She had talents that could have given her opportunities for freedom. At that time, she thought it was better to conform to society's beliefs. She regretted it later in life because of this decision. Mom lives in regret every day of her life, wishing she had chosen to pursue her education and take advantage of the opportunities an education would provide. Mama illustrates what life is like for someone who chooses not to continue their education when it could have changed their life for the better. Alicia's mother dies in the novel and in her society, when a mother dies, the daughter must become a housewife. Alicia decides instead to attend college to build a better life. Esperanza admires her friendly neighbor Alicia who “inherited her mother's rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and intelligent, and is studying at university for the first time” (30). Alicia was supposed to inherit her deceased mother's role in the house, but she decided to get a better education instead. Alicia does not meet society's expectations of her. By attending college, she will escape the dead-end life that many residents of Mango Street are accustomed to. Esperanza sits on the sidewalk looking at Alicia's house thinking about Alicia's determination to achieve her dream, "To board two trains and a bus because she doesn't want to spend her whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin. (31). People on Mango Street are usually content to make tortillas for the family, but Alicia goes to college to defy that expectation. Through her choice to go to college, she will become an independent woman that many women are not fortunate enough to achieve. Unlike mom, Alicia chooses to fight for a better life by continuing her studies. Esperanza has many different role models in her life that make her want to pursue an education. As the novel draws to a close, Esperanza explains how she will leave Mango Street to continue her education and achieve her own freedom. She decides: “One day, I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I.