Annie John

Annie John is a story about a young woman's life in Antigua. Overall, she is a very bright child and excells in her school work. On the surface, Annie seems like a normal child, but inside she lives the life of a frustrated teenager. I feel that this story chronicles a classic mother/daughter relationship. As a young child, Annie John loves her mother more than anything, but as she enters puberty she begins to distance herself in order to gain her own identity.

When Annie was a child, all that mattered to her was her mother's acceptance and love. This is typical of many children, in that it is all that they know and care about. To show the reader her affection for her mother she would go into great detail in describing her physically. For example, she had "a beautiful mouth I could have looked at forever if I had to and not mind (19)" or Annie would talk about her mother's "powerful legs (25)." All of Annie's descriptions of her mother while she was a child showed the reader how absorbed she was in her.

Upon beginning puberty, however, Annie began to distance herself from her mother. Her peers began to have more of an influence in her life. This can be seen in Annie's undying friendship with Gwen and the Red Girl. The reader can tell that Annie's love has been directed towards her peers and away from her mother by paying attention to the descriptions of her friends. She uses the same physical adoration as was used on her mother. In referring to Gwen, Annie says, "Sometimes when she spoke to me, so overcome with feeling would I be that I was no longer able to hear what she said, I could only make out her mouth as it moved up and down (51)." The transition from idolizing adults to idolizing peers is common among many teenagers.

Over time, however, Annie begins to distance herself from her peers as well. I believe that this is due to a personal discovery. After the "Colombus in Chains" event, I think that Annie decided that her upbringing in a colonized nation meant that she had no way of identifying with Antigua. She was not raised in England, but she recieved the education of a British child. This includes the British version of history. Therefore, Annie knows nothing about the island she grew up on other than her own observations, and she does not like those. Ultimately, Annie settles for moving to England to pursue a career in nursing. Not that she wants to be a nurse, but perhaps she is forced to because that is all she knows.

The House on Mango Street

"The House on Mango Street" tracks the sexual and emotional maturation of Esperanza over the course of one year living on Mango Street. There are several underlying themes and messages in this book that fall in line with issues in feminism. These ideas mostly center on male superiority over female sexuality and freedom. Ultimately, Esperanza rejects this male domination and obtains her freedom from Mango Street through her love of writing.

Cisneros encourages women to live as individuals, and not to rely on men throughout "The House on Mango Street." She portrays men as domineering and violent over the course of the novel. For example, Sally's father beats her due to her confidence and sexuality (113). This goes along with the recurring theme that female beauty equals trouble. Also, women in the novel that get married often sacrifice their own personal freedom. Rafaela is a good example of this. Esperanza explains that "she gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at (99)." Esperanza decides to escape this male domination through her own personal interests, such as writing. She loves to tell stories and write poems (132). Esperanza's love for writing shows that women need to be viewed as individuals, not sexual objects like the other women in the novel.

Freedom from a male dominated society is a key concept in this book. Often, individual talents and interests are lost by women who marry because they immediately become an object to their husbands. Cisneros urges women to think for themselves and fight for the right to express themselves, much the same way Esperanza expresses herself through writing. Ultimately, freedom is important and should be preserved at all costs.