The house move is an important episode in Esperanza’s life since it demonstrates her parent’s ownership of something which is actually theirs. However Esperanza actually feels rather short changed by the house itself since it is small and run down and she actually wishes that the family could move somewhere else. We observe that the house is located in a particular area in Chicago where racial segregation is still prominent and which actually rules the roost.
The move from the apartment to the house is symbolic of an emotional journey for Esperanza. Through this journey she experiences an arousing of her sexual feelings and begins to interact more with other persons who live in the same street. The girl however does not have any sort of privacy and suffers various emotional problems as a result thus she is determined that someday she will leave the house forever and own something of her own where she can live exactly as she wants.
Esperanza’s experiences which relate to her sexual maturity are also important as are the friendships she makes. She is also raped during the year which the book covers and this demonstrates a certain sense of awakening as well as sexual intimacy. Although she does not move from Mango Street, the emotional distance which she travels is quite immense and substantially varied in every way.
The journey is complex since it is not actually a physical one but an emotional one. In fact the story seems to imply that even if Esperanza had to move, she would never leave mango Street behind since this is firmly embedded in her consciousness and memory. In a way her experience in the house at Mango Street will remain with her all her life since these are her first real emotional and physical experiences regarding sexuality. The author crafts an intriguing and interesting picture which helps us go along with Esperanza’s life as it develops slowly but surely.
The relationship between Sally and Esperanza is also of crucial importance. Here we observe how Sally flirts and engages in sexual activity with boys to escape her father’s abusive behaviour. This experience continues to confirm Esperanza’s wish and goal to leave Mango Street and the house behind but she is unable to really do so since she is stuck there with all her emotional troubles and experiences.
Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown’s journey is different since it concerns only night and he visits the forest which is replete with dangers and other challenges. His meeting with a man who carries a walking stick is symbolic as it shows that others are offering him help with his journey to enable him to walk faster. Hawthorne’s novel reads like a symbolic journey through religious innovation and also delves into the superstitious aspects of New England puritanism. The journey continues deep into the forest as Goodman Brown meets various other persons who are also associated with the devil and in a way we are also embarking on a spiritual journey of sorts. There is a lot of symbolism also in the way the staff with the serpent is described and how Goodman Brown eventually faces his demons accordingly. The journey to the clearing where Goodman Brown is eventually reunited with his mother and father is also very symbolic as it shows that Brown is reliving his own personal conversion to the faith. The victory over the devil is perhaps the leitmotif of the story.
Araby
In ‘Araby’ James Joyce also examines the journey of a boy who traverses the imagery of time through a train ride to a bazaar. The journey is also symbolic since the boy discovers things and emotions which he thought weren’t possible partially since he lived in the drab and despairing Richmond Street where nothing ever happened. The train ride takes on a pilgrimage like sort of emotion as the boy gazes fascinated at all he sees before him. It is another emotional and spiritual awakening very much comparable to the House on Mango Street although Joyce is perhaps a greater craftsman in the art of storytelling. The incredible sense of fascination which is conveyed when the boy reaches his destination of the market is quite magical as he gazes open mouthed at the stalls and everything that is part of a busy and bustling market. The innocence of the boy is well portrayed but through the train journey he is closer to being a man with all the embodiments and disadvantages that this will bring to his future life. The sheer disappointment of the market stall which is closing down is perhaps the high point of the story, one’s hopes and dreams lie dashed in ruins.
All three stories convey a change from the innocence of childhood to the challenges of adulthood. The journeys are symbolic with the house move in the House on Mango Street perhaps the most persuasive and powerful of them all although Araby is not far behind.
Works Cited:
Joyce, J (1914). Dubliners. London: Grant Richards
Bloom, Harold, (ed.) Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown (2005). Chelsea House. Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, p.39
