Boys  and  Girls:   Esperanza notes that boys and girls do not socialize with each other in the neighborhood, she can talk to her brothers at home, they refuse to talk to her outside. Esperanza socialize with her younger sister Nenny but, is too young and would not be her choice for a friend if she were not her sister, also Nenny is Esperanza’s responsibility. Esperanza has to make sure that Nenny does not play with the Vargas kids. Esperanza longs for a best friend. Without one she compares herself to a “red balloon tied to an anchor.”  

My  Name:    Everyone in the family has different hair – she describes Papa's, her own, Carlos', Nenny's, and Kiki's. But he likes her mother's hair the best – it's all done up in pincurls and smells like warm bread. The smell of her mother's hair makes the feel safe.    

Boys  &  Girls:    The boys and girls in the family can't be seen talking to each other outside of the, because of the whole cooties thing. So is stuck with her little sister Nenny, who's too young to be her friend. Someday, she'll have a best friend who will be cool and fun and understand her jokes. Until then, she feels like "a balloon tied to an anchor”

My  Name:    Tells us her name is the Spanish word for "hope," and tells us it reminds her of a lot of sad things, including the Mexican records her dad plays that sound like sobbing. EZPERANZA is named like her grandma "wild horse of a woman" who refused to get married until the narrator's grandfather carried her off by force.

Cathy  Queen  of  Cats:    By way of introducing herself, Cathy claims to be the great great grand cousin of the queen of France. She tells Esperanza who's who in the neighborhood. Cathy has a lot of cats. Cathy promises to be Esperanza's friend until next Tuesday, when she says her family's moving out because "the neighborhood is getting bad” . She doesn't seem to realize that this is insulting to Esperanza and her family, who have just moved in.

Our  Good  Day:    Two girls approach Esperanza and try to convince her to chip in five dollars for a bicycle. Esperanza runs inside and gets five dollars from her and her sister's savings, even though she knows it will mean the end of her brief friendship with Cathy. The two girls introduce themselves as Lucy and Rachel, from Texas. Rachel decides the girls will take turns owning the bicycle, but today everyone wants to ride it together, since it's new. Lucy pedals, Esperanza sits behind her, and Rachel sits on the handlebars. The girls ride down the street and around the block, laughing.  

Laughter:   Nenny and Esperanza don't look like sisters the way Rachel and Lucy do, they have something in common the way way they laugh. The narrator gives an example of this one day the four girls pass a house that reminds Esperanza of Mexico, and she says so. Rachel and Lucy don't get it, but Nenny is totally on the same wavelength, and says, "That's what I was thinking exactly”.

Gil's  Furniture  Bought  and  Sold:    Is a junk store in the neighborhood, where her family once bought a used refrigerator and Carlos sold a box of magazines. The store is dark and crowded with junk that Nenny and Esperanza go to look at. The owner is an old, black man. Nenny asks him lots of questions, but Esperanza never talks much. One day Nenny asks the owner about a music box Esperanza thinks it's going to be a pretty music box with a ballerina inside, but it's just an ordinary looking wooden box with a brass record in it. The old man starts up the music box, and it makes a beautiful sound. Even though Esperanza is impressed, she turns away and pretends she doesn't care about the box because she doesn't want to look stupid in front of her sister. Nenny asks the old man how much the music box costs, but he tells her it's not for sale.

Meme  Or@z:    Meme's real name is Juan. He has a sheepdog who also has two names one in English, and one in Spanish. The house Meme moves into was built by Cathy's father. The floors slant, and the wooden steps are lopsided. In the backyard is a huge tree. From its branches you can see the whole neighborhood. The neighborhood kids hold the First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest from the tree. Meme wins, but breaks both his arms in the process.

Louie,  His  Cousin  &  His  Other  Cousin:    Meme's family rents out their basement to a Puerto Rican family. Louie has an older cousin named Marin who lives with the family. One day Louie's other cousin drives up to Louie's house in a big, shiny, yellow Cadillac. Everybody comes out of the house to ask questions, Louie's cousin tells everyone to pile into the back, and drives them around the block six times.  

Marin:   The first thing we learn about Marin is that she has a boyfriend in Puerto Rico. He's unemployed, but she's saving the money she makes selling Avon products, Marin also talks about wanting to get a job downtown so she can wear pretty clothes and maybe meet someone on the subway who will marry her and take her to live in a nice house. Louie's parents are probably going to send Marin back to Puerto Rico because they think she's too much trouble. Esperanza likes Marin and doesn't want her to go. Marin is her source of info on things like boys, sex, and how to look pretty. At night, Marin is allowed out of the house, but only as far as the front yard. The kids sit with her as she listens to the radio, smokes a cigarette, and waits for the boys to pass by and look at her.

Those  Who  Don't:   She says that she and her friends aren't afraid of the tough-looking guys in the neighborhood she knows them all by name. They feel safe in her neighborhood, in which everyone is "brown." But when she and her neighbors venture into another neighborhood of a different color, they get scared too.

There  Was  an  Old  Woman  She  Had  So  Many  Children  She  Didn't  Know  What  to  Do:   Rosa Vargas is a single mother with a whole lot of kids. They're completely uncontrollable. The kids are "without respect for all things living, including themselves” The neighbors try to watch out for the kids, but grow tired of worrying about them and give up. No one pays attention with Efren chips his tooth, Refugia gets her head stuck in the gate, or Angel Vargas falls from Mr. Benny's roof.

Alicia  Who  Sees  Mice:    Alicia's dad tells her that the mice that infest their dilapidated home don't exist. He tells her she needs to sleep so she can wake up early in the morning and make tortillas for the family, the way her mother did when she was alive. Alicia goes to college so she can escape life in a factory or "behind a rolling pin” The only things the narrator's friend Alicia fears are "four-legged fur" and fathers.  

Darius  &  the  Clouds   There are beautiful beautiful things like sky, butterflies, and flowers are in short supply. Darius ,is a kid who doesn't like school and mostly spends his time trying to act wise. He points at a fat, fluffy cloud in the sky and says: "That's God”  

And  Some  More    The girls talk about the many names for snow, people, and clouds. Their discussion turns into a childish argument.  

The  Family  of  LiJle  Feet    The mother of the little foot family gives Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza a paper bag with three pairs of high-heeled shoes. Mr. Benny, who owns the corner grocery, tells the girls to take off the shoes, because they're dangerous. Lucy grabs Rachel's hand and the girls run away. The girls run up Mango Street the back way, and hide the shoes under a basket on the back.

A  Rice  Sandwich    Esperanza is jealous of the kids who get to stay at school to eat lunch in the canteen. She tries to convince her mother to let her stay instead of coming home for lunch. Nenny prefers to walk home for lunch with her best friend Gloria. Carlos and Kiki are patrol boys, and don't want to stay at school for lunch, either. Esperanza's mother relents and writes a note giving her permission to stay at school for lunch. The nun monitoring the canteen sends Esperanza to see the Sister Superior. In the canteen, the other boys and girls watch as Esperanza cries over her rice sandwich.  

Chanclas    Esperanza's mom comes home with a new party dress, because they're going to a baptism, Esperanza's mom forgot to buy party shoes, so Esperanza has to wear her old brown saddle shoes. A boy who is Esperanza's cousin by first communion asks her to dance. But she's too ashamed of her clunky shoes, and sits with her feet tucked under her chair. Uncle Nacho forces Esperanza to get up and dance.

Hips    The girls are jumping the rope and "practice shaking it" so they'll know what to do with hips when they get them. Rachel, Lucy and Esperanza make up songs about hips, but Nenny seems not to have caught on to their new game.

The  First  Job    Esperanza has been planning to get a job to help pay her tuition at Catholic high school. Esperanza puts on a dress that makes her look older, borrows money for bus fare, and shows up at the photo lab. She lies about her age to the boss, and starts the same day.

Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark Esperanza's Papa sits on her bed and tells her that her grandfather is dead. Esperanza has never seen her dad cry before. Esperanza knows that Papa will have to fly to Mexico, and imagines what the traditionally Mexican funeral will be like. It's Esperanza's responsibility to tell her younger brothers and sister the news, because she's the oldest.

Born  Bad   Esperanza is in big trouble for something she did to Aunt Lupe. Esperanza likes Aunt Lupe. When she visits her aunt, she reads her stories and recites her own poetry. Aunt Lupe encourages Esperanza to keep writing, It seems Aunt Lupe's death happens pretty soon after the girls play the game. Aunt Lupe dies, and the girls begin to dream strange dreams.

Elenita,  Cards,  Palm,  Water   Esperanza is in the kitchen of Elenita, "witch woman” Elenita's house is full of little kids, holy candles, and voodoo posters. Elenita has Esperanza pour a glass of water and asks if she sees anyone's face. Elenita begins to tell Esperanza's fortune with a stack of strange cards with pictures on them.  

Geraldo  No  Last  Name   Marin meets a young, good-looking man named Geraldo at one of the dances she goes to frequently. She's the last person to see him alive. Geraldo dies in a hit-and-run, and he doesn't have any I.D. on him. Marin tells the people at the hospital and the police what she knows that his name is Geraldo, worked in a restaurant.

Edna's  Ruthie    Ruthie is Edna's daughter. Edna is the cranky landlady of the apartment complex next door to Esperanza's house. One day some of Edna's friends ask Ruthie to go play bingo. Ruthie stands on the front steps, paralyzed by indecision. Eventually the car leaves without her. Ruthie was young, she had lots of job offers, but she got married instead and moved to the suburbs. Esperanza can't understand why Ruthie is living on Mango Street in her mother's living room when she has a husband and a real house of her own. Ruthie always says she's just visiting, and that next weekend her husband is going to come and take her home

The  Earl  of  Tennessee   Earl lives next door to Esperanza in Edna's basement apartment. The neighborhood kids like to sit on the steps outside his apartment. Earl is a jukebox repairman from the South. Rumor has is that Earl is married and has a wife somewhere.    

Sire   A boy named Sire stares at Esperanza every time she passes his house. Sire has a girlfriend named Lois, Esperanza admires her tiny, painted toenails and feminine hands and makeup, she notices that Lois doesn't know how to tie her shoes. Esperanza watches Sire and Lois together and wonders about what they do together. Esperanza feels like "everything is waiting to explode like Christmas She wants to sit out with boys and know what it's like to be held and kissed.

Four  Skinny  Trees   Esperanza says that they are the only things that understand her, and she is the only one that understands them. Nenny definitely doesn't understand while Esperanza communes with the trees from the window, Nenny just sleeps. There are four trees, and when one sags, they all droop with their arms around one another. Does this sound like anyone we know? What about Esperanza and her three close friends? The trees teach, Esperanza says. They say: "Keep, keep, keep”.

No  Speak  English   One day Mamacita and the baby boy arrive in a taxi. She's huge and beautiful, dressed all in pink. Mamacita never comes down from the third floor apartment. Esperanza thinks it's because she doesn't speak much English, when Esperanza's father first came to the United States, he ate "hamandeggs" for three moths, because it was the only thing he knew. Mamacita stays at home all day, listening to Spanish radio and singing songs about her country. She's homesick for her pink house. The baby boy begins to learn English from the commercials he sees on T.V. Mamacita tells him, over and over again, "No speak English”

Rafaela  Who  Drinks  Coconut  &  Papaya  Juice  on  Tuesdays   Rafaela's husband locks his wife indoors when he goes out. He's afraid she'll run away, because she's so beautiful. Rafaela's husband stays out late, and Rafaela leans out the window to listen to the music coming from the neighborhood bar. Rafaela asks Esperanza and her friends to go to the store to buy her some coconut or papaya juice. She throws them a dollar from the balcony, and they go get it for her.

Sally   Sally is a beautiful girl who goes to Esperanza's school. Her father is religious, and won't let Sally go out. Sally wears makeup and sophisticated black clothes, Esperanza wants to be like her. Sally used to be best friends with Cheryl, until the day Cheryl called her a name and the girls got in a fight. Esperanza and Sally sometimes wishes she didn't have to go home, but could go instead to a room all her own, where she could be herself and not have to worry about what people think of her.

Minerva  Writes  Poems    Minerva is only a little bit older than Esperanza, but she has two kids. She raises them by herself, because her husband keeps leaving her. Minerva writes poetry on little slips of paper. She and Esperanza read each other's poems. One day Minerva kicks her husband out of the house with all of his stuff. But then she lets him back in. The next week Minerva comes over to Esperanza's house covered in bruises, asking Esperanza what she should do. Esperanza says there's nothing she can do – Minerva is going to have to decide for herself.  

Bums  in  the  AGc     Sundays, Esperanza's family drives out to the neighborhood where Esperanza's Papa works to look at the beautiful houses and dream of what it would be like to be rich. Esperanza stops going with her family, because she's ashamed to be staring out the window at things she can't have. Esperanza thinks the people who live on the hill live so close to the stars they've forgotten what it's like to live close to the earth.

BeauHful  &  Cruel   Esperanza isn't like the other girls in her neighborhood, boys don't pay attention to her. She feels ugly, untamed, and unattractive to men. Esperanza says, there's always a beautiful woman who attracts all the men with her red lips. She never gives in to any of their amorous advances, her sex appeal gives her power, and she's not giving it away. Esperanza says that she's "begun own quiet war” . Her strategy involves acting with the carefree, uninhibited attitude of a man.

A  Smart  Cookie    Esperanza's mom has all sorts of skills: opera-singing skills, cooking skills, language skills, Esperanza's mama is singing along to Madame, in the opera, Madame Butterfly kills herself when she's abandoned by her husband.

What  Sally  Said    Sally confesses to Esperanza that her father beats her. Sally tries to make it seem like no big deal, Sally doesn't tell anyone about the times when her father beats her badly, or hits her like she's an animal, just because she's a girl. Sally comes to stay with Esperanza's family one day, to get away from her dad.

The  Monkey  Garden    Esperanza's neighbors move to Kentucky, and take their pet monkey with them. They had had a garden, and now that they're gone, the neighborhood kids take it over. Little by little, the garden becomes an overgrown graveyard for old, broken-down cars.  

Red  Clowns    Esperanza accuses Sally of having lied to her about sex. Esperanza was waiting for Sally .She had gone somewhere with a "big boy," and never came back. A group of boys starts to bother Esperanza. Some more things happens, but Esperanza doesn't want to remember it. We suspect that one of the boys in the group rapes her. Esperanza accuses Sally again , and all the books and magazines that talk about sex, of having lied to her.

Linoleum  Roses   Sally's get when she gets married to a marshmallow salesman. Esperanza thinks Sally got married to escape. Sally lives in a house now, and claims to be happy, but sometimes her husband gets angry and violent. Sally's husband won't let Sally talk on the phone, look out the window, or receive visits from her friends. Sally stays at home, because she's afraid to leave the house without her husband's permission.  

The  Three  Sisters    Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies, and the family holds a wake in their house. The three sisters comfort Esperanza, who feels weird about the whole death thing. They study Esperanza's hands and tell her to make a wish. The sisters seem to know Esperanza's wish, and tell her that it will come true. One of the aunts tells her that she "will always be Mango Street," and that when she leaves, she must always promise to come back for those who cannot leave as easily Esperanza goes outside to join Lucy and Rachel, and says goodbye to the three sisters. She never sees them again.  

Alicia  &  I  Talking  on  Edna's  Steps    Alicia listens to Esperanza as she expresses her sadness over not having a home of which she's proud. Alicia says that, like it or not, Esperanza is Mango Street, and that one day she'll return to it. Esperanza says she'll never return to Mango Street until someone makes it better. Alicia asks Esperanza who's going to make it better. The mayor? The thought of the mayor coming to Mango Street makes Esperanza laugh. She knows the mayor will never do anything to help the people of Mango Street.

A  House  of  My  Own    Esperanza dreams of having a house of her own. It won't be a man's house – a husband's or a daddy's. And it won't be an apartment. It will be a whole house, all to herself. The house will be a clean space for Esperanza to create.  

Mango  Says  Goodbye  Some@mes    Esperanza tells us that she likes to tell stories. Then she tells us that she's going to tell us a story "about a girl who didn't want to belong”. Esperanza recounts the many streets on which her family has lived, but says that the place she remembers most is the "sad red house" on Mango Street. Writing helps Esperanza feel better, and helps to free her from her environment. When she puts her experiences down on paper, something strange happens. They will not know that she has gone away to come back for the people she has left behind.