Windows Significance

Today, we read a few vignettes  from the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The vignettes we read were My Name, No Speak English, Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesday, and Sally First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that we are reading this because it is based on a Latino family. Anyways, our assignment was to see the The following quote is from the vignette My Name. In this vignette it talks about Esperanza's name origin and how the grandma Esperanza was somewhat forced to marry. In this quote she talking about her grandmother Esperanza.

She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow... I have inherit her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window. (11)

This quote shows that Ezperana the grandmother sits down by the window when she is sad. I am not sure sad from what, just sad. I think that she is like sad that she is somewhat locked into that life, when she wants something different. basically she is dreaming or wishing of a different life.

The following is from the vignette No Speak English. The vignette is about a neighbor bringing her girlfriend or wife to live with him, and it seems as if she can't talk English very much. This quote is describing the wife or girlfriend mamacita.

She sits all day by the window and plays Spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs about her country in a voice that sounds like a seagull. (77)

This quote also shows about mamacita being sad and sitting by the window. In this example, it shows that she is missing something. Mamacita misses where she was, which I believe is Mexico. She listens to music which calms her down or reminds her of Mexico, or wherever she was from. basically, she is reflecting on her old place.


The next quote is from the next vignette which is Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays.v In this vignette it mainly talks about Rafaela and how she looks outside the window and drinks a certain drink.

Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her elbow and dreams her hair is like Rapunzel's. On the corner there is music from the bar, and Rafaela wishes she could go there and dance before she gets old. (79)

This quote shows that Rafaela sits by the window wishing she was able to do something like go to the bar. In conclusion , the window signifies as a place to ponder or be sad wishing for something else. I think this because in all the the vignettes, it exemplifies all of them being sad looking outside the window. Or I also think of as the window being able to isolate yourself from everything and just ponder about stuff. Ponder about anything, past, present, future and etc.