Imagine, being forced to live in a place where there is no safety. Your home is not safe, never safe. Your house is where you are tortured. You run away, but have no where to turn but home again. You have no where else to go, and no experience with the outside world. This is how domestic abuse victims feel. Domestic violence is a huge problem in this society. According to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, “1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner in 2000.” The U.S. Department of Justice writes, “between 1998 and 2002, of the 3.5 million violent crimes, 49% were against spouses.” It is often an overlooked problem. Victims are often stuck and it is very hard to get out of such situation. In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, domestic violence is a major topic. Many of the characters are experiencing abuse by spouses and parents. These are classic examples of abuse victims who are lost, confused, and desperate for help, but have no idea how to get it. In this novel the author expresses the horrors of domestic violence through the experiences of characters and how these experiences effect them because she wants for those who witness abuse, to report it.
In the book, Sandra Cisneros brings up the topic that domestic violence is often difficult to see from outside a house’s walls. Alicia is a girl who lives in the main character, Esperanza’s, neighborhood. Her mother died and it is now her responsibility to take her mother’s place in the family. She must care for the kids while taking two trains and a bus to college. Her father wants her to stay home and take care of his children, but she refuses. This quote talks of what she is afraid of from Esperanza’s point of view: “Is afraid of nothing except four-legged fur. And fathers” (32). This quote says that she is afraid of her father, a father who wants nothing but for his daughter to take on a “women’s role.”Of course, she disobeys, Alicia being a girl who wants a future other than being a wife, mother, or factory worker. She a rebellious child who should have no reason to fear even the angriest father. She must have a reason to fear him. She must be abused by her father in some way to fear him. She tells no one about her abuse. From the outside, it is hard to tell if she is being abused, but, as a reader, if I think she is being abused, chances are other characters do too. Alicia needs help, and if anyone who thinks she might be being abused should help her. It will only get worse. If you think someone might be being abused, look deeper and try to help, they need it.
Sandra Cisneros uses this quote from the book to show that even though some people may know about a person being abused, they do not do anything about it. Sally is a friend of Esperanza. She is a beautiful girl who is flamboyant with boys, which bothers her father. He is said to worry that she will run away with a boy like his sisters did. This seems to anger him very much. He abuses her, hitting her like a dog, and the bruises this leaves Sally tells others is from falling. She confides in Esperanza in this quote: “He never hits me hard. She said her mama rubs lard on the places where it hurts” (92). Sally tells Esperanza she is being abused, and has the bruises to prove it, and yet Esperanza does nothing. Esperanza could tell someone who could help Sally, the police or a social worker. Sally seems too scared to help herself. Telling someone she trusts is her way for asking for help, when she is to afraid too. The abuse must be bad, if all her mom can do is rub lard on her injuries. He mother must be afraid too. In this section, Sandra Cisneros wants to show the victims of abuse can not be ignored. They need help.
Sandra Cisneros brings up the idea that there are signs that point towards a future abusive relationship in her book. Sally gets married young, before eighth grade, to a marshmallow salesman she meet at a school fair. Esperanza believes she did it to escape from her abusive home life. This quote talks of how she is shut inside all day by her husband: “he won’t let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn’t let her look out the window. And he doesn’t like her friends, so nobody gets to visit her unless he is working” (101-102). Sally is in an abusive relationship. It may have not become a physically violent relationship yet, but it probably will. All these signs; that Sally’s husband is keeping her away from every thing; stands for something. Most psychologists say that “removing” a spouse from their life and keeping them away from the outside world is the beginning signs in an abusive relationship; the need for control. Not to mention, like I said earlier, abusive victims often seek to repeat the abuse later on without knowing it. She is likely to have subconsciously seen him as an abuser and went ahead with a relationship. Besides, if I can see a potential abusive relationship, other characters can. They can see she is not happy, and yet they do nothing. Sally’s so called “friends” should help her get out of a bad situation before it gets worse, or at least help her to work things out with her husband. Some victims of a abusive relationship may be experiencing abuse and not even know it, until it is too late.
December 6, 2010
Do Not Expect Help on Mango Street
Imagine, being forced to live in a place where there is no safety. Your home is not safe, never safe. Your house is where you are tortured. You run away, but have no where to turn but home again. You have no where else to go, and no experience with the outside world. This is how domestic abuse victims feel. Domestic violence is a huge problem in this society. According to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, “1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner in 2000.” The U.S. Department of Justice writes, “between 1998 and 2002, of the 3.5 million violent crimes, 49% were against spouses.” It is often an overlooked problem. Victims are often stuck and it is very hard to get out of such situation. In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, domestic violence is a major topic. Many of the characters are experiencing abuse by spouses and parents. These are classic examples of abuse victims who are lost, confused, and desperate for help, but have no idea how to get it. In this novel the author expresses the horrors of domestic violence through the experiences of characters and how these experiences effect them because she wants for those who witness abuse, to report it.
In the book, Sandra Cisneros brings up the topic that domestic violence is often difficult to see from outside a house’s walls. Alicia is a girl who lives in the main character, Esperanza’s, neighborhood. Her mother died and it is now her responsibility to take her mother’s place in the family. She must care for the kids while taking two trains and a bus to college. Her father wants her to stay home and take care of his children, but she refuses. This quote talks of what she is afraid of from Esperanza’s point of view: “Is afraid of nothing except four-legged fur. And fathers” (32). This quote says that she is afraid of her father, a father who wants nothing but for his daughter to take on a “women’s role.”Of course, she disobeys, Alicia being a girl who wants a future other than being a wife, mother, or factory worker. She a rebellious child who should have no reason to fear even the angriest father. She must have a reason to fear him. She must be abused by her father in some way to fear him. She tells no one about her abuse. From the outside, it is hard to tell if she is being abused, but, as a reader, if I think she is being abused, chances are other characters do too. Alicia needs help, and if anyone who thinks she might be being abused should help her. It will only get worse. If you think someone might be being abused, look deeper and try to help, they need it.
Sandra Cisneros uses this quote from the book to show that even though some people may know about a person being abused, they do not do anything about it. Sally is a friend of Esperanza. She is a beautiful girl who is flamboyant with boys, which bothers her father. He is said to worry that she will run away with a boy like his sisters did. This seems to anger him very much. He abuses her, hitting her like a dog, and the bruises this leaves Sally tells others is from falling. She confides in Esperanza in this quote: “He never hits me hard. She said her mama rubs lard on the places where it hurts” (92). Sally tells Esperanza she is being abused, and has the bruises to prove it, and yet Esperanza does nothing. Esperanza could tell someone who could help Sally, the police or a social worker. Sally seems too scared to help herself. Telling someone she trusts is her way for asking for help, when she is to afraid too. The abuse must be bad, if all her mom can do is rub lard on her injuries. He mother must be afraid too. In this section, Sandra Cisneros wants to show the victims of abuse can not be ignored. They need help.
Sandra Cisneros brings up the idea that there are signs that point towards a future abusive relationship in her book. Sally gets married young, before eighth grade, to a marshmallow salesman she meet at a school fair. Esperanza believes she did it to escape from her abusive home life. This quote talks of how she is shut inside all day by her husband: “he won’t let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn’t let her look out the window. And he doesn’t like her friends, so nobody gets to visit her unless he is working” (101-102). Sally is in an abusive relationship. It may have not become a physically violent relationship yet, but it probably will. All these signs; that Sally’s husband is keeping her away from every thing; stands for something. Most psychologists say that “removing” a spouse from their life and keeping them away from the outside world is the beginning signs in an abusive relationship; the need for control. Not to mention, like I said earlier, abusive victims often seek to repeat the abuse later on without knowing it. She is likely to have subconsciously seen him as an abuser and went ahead with a relationship. Besides, if I can see a potential abusive relationship, other characters can. They can see she is not happy, and yet they do nothing. Sally’s so called “friends” should help her get out of a bad situation before it gets worse, or at least help her to work things out with her husband. Some victims of a abusive relationship may be experiencing abuse and not even know it, until it is too late.