House on Mango Street
...en and how the landlord could not fix it because there were old”. She is very disappointed when her family moves again because “the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all”. However the lines “they always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always” shows that the parents were frustrated as well. “For the time being, Mama said. Temporary, said Papa” shows that the parents must have wanted a better place to live but at that time could not have afforded it. This does not mean that they were satisfied and settled but rather that they still had hope that maybe one day they will actually have a facilitated house. The parents could have been going through a hard time but still believed that one day their hard work would pay off. However, the narrator sounds very cynical when she says, “I know how those things go”. The narrator also comes off as being very selfish and self-centered as she does not try to look at the situation from her parents’ eyes. Imagery helps the readers develop a clear description of the old and new house which gives them an intense understanding of the living conditions of the family. The narrator talks about “water pipes being broken and how the landlord could not fix it because there were old” helps readers connect with her as a lot of people have lived in a house where the facilities have been broken and know the difficulty of living in such a house. She mentions tight steps and windows so small which creates an image of a tiny house without proper ventilation. This image is supported when she goes on to mention that her house seems to be squeeze between the two buildings on either side. She feels that many readers will be able to relate to her as they could have gone through the same situation. She goes on to describe the house with crumbling bricks which shows the readers that the house seems to be dilapidated but still deemed safe to live in. Her description of her new house seems to imply that the neighbor, in which they are living in, is very poor. The parents seem genuine about trying to buy the perfect house and create it from the images seen on the television. The images seen on the television created a picture in her father’ head and this made him think that buying the perfect house was possible. The image of the perfect house is then passed onto the wife and children. They start dreaming of “running water, working pipes, real stairs, a basement, washrooms and a beautiful garden” In a way, the family believes that there is a better life out there for them and that they will soon possess it. Dreams push people to reach for the impossible and in this case the father’s dream of a big and better house arose from the television. The order in which the narrator mentions the members of her family shows that she is the second youngest child of the family who has three siblings. She seems to be in her early teens because she is very selfish and self-centered. Most young teens always want what is best for them and do not always tak...