My First Impression on The House on Mango Street

人生不过三万天

Among the options provided in the document, I chose to read The House on Mango Street. What initially caught my attention was the book's title, which led me to wonder if it might be a fairy tale. After conducting an internet search and consulting AI, I learned that The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel published in 1984 by American author Sandra Cisneros. The novel is written in a series of concise vignettes, telling the story of the protagonist, Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl living in a impoverished neighborhood in Chicago. Through Esperanza's perspective, the novel explores themes of identity, community, gender roles, and the American Dream, showcasing her aspirations and struggles for a better life.
The novel was published in 1984, during a period of rising cultural diversity in American society. From the 1960s to the 1980s, minority literature (such as African American, Latino, and Asian American literature) began to flourish, and Latino literature gradually entered the mainstream. During this time, Latino writers used literary works to express their cultural identity, social struggles, and pursuit of the American Dream. It is set in a Latino community in Chicago, reflecting the living conditions of Latino immigrants in the United States since the mid-20th century. Most of these immigrants came from Mexico and Central and South America, facing challenges such as poverty, racial discrimination, and cultural conflicts in the U.S. Through the perspective of the protagonist, Esperanza, the novel portrays life in a Latino community while exploring social issues such as gender, class, and race.
In addition to the novel itself, on a personal level, the required reading The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish is a rather theoretical book. Therefore, I wanted to choose a more leisurely and entertaining novel for my optional reading, as this would make it easier to sustain reading as a long-term interest.