Why did Sandra Cisneros write the house on mango street?

Answer 1

It's difficult to imagine Sandra Cisneros as anything other than the activist, teacher, mentor, and literary icon we know today. As her first novel, the coming-of-age classic The House on Mango Street, celebrates its 25th anniversary, however, the 54-year-old Mexican American writer reflects on a time in her twenties when success was anything but certain.

She need not have worried. The novel, winner of a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award in 1985, proved an authentic vehicle for exploring themes of culture and tradition and the lives and roles of Hispanic women growing up in the States. It is required reading in many U.S. schools and universities, and Cisneros' first major contribution to a body of work that has garnered her two National Endowment of the Arts [NEA] fellowships, a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Texas Medal of Arts, among other honors.

Many of the stories in House are based on the lives of her own students, the women to whom Cisneros dedicated the book. "I just wanted to acknowledge all the women who gave me their stories, because there were so many I wanted to dedicate this book to," says Cisneros. "I felt the list was getting too long, so I scratched all the names and wrote: 'A las Mujeres, To the Women.'"

In this exclusive interview, Cisneros discusses the pivotal role her novel played in the acceptance of Latino culture, her years as an academic migrant, and how her views have evolved in the 25 years since its publication.

Answer 2

Sandra Cisneros wrote "The House on Mango Street" to share her experiences growing up as a Latina in Chicago and to give voice to the struggles faced by young Latinas in urban settings. The novel explores themes of identity, culture, and womanhood through the protagonist Esperanza's perspective.

Answer 3

It's difficult to imagine Sandra Cisneros as anything other than the activist, teacher, mentor, and literary icon we know today. As her first novel, the coming-of-age classic The House on Mango Street, celebrates its 25th anniversary, however, the 54-year-old Mexican American writer reflects on a time in her twenties when success was anything but certain.

She need not have worried. The novel, winner of a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award in 1985, proved an authentic vehicle for exploring themes of culture and tradition and the lives and roles of Hispanic women growing up in the States. It is required reading in many U.S. schools and universities, and Cisneros' first major contribution to a body of work that has garnered her two National Endowment of the Arts [NEA] fellowships, a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Texas Medal of Arts, among other honors.

Many of the stories in House are based on the lives of her own students, the women to whom Cisneros dedicated the book. "I just wanted to acknowledge all the women who gave me their stories, because there were so many I wanted to dedicate this book to," says Cisneros. "I felt the list was getting too long, so I scratched all the names and wrote: 'A las Mujeres, To the Women.'"

In this exclusive interview, Cisneros discusses the pivotal role her novel played in the acceptance of Latino culture, her years as an academic migrant, and how her views have evolved in the 25 years since its publication.