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Allusions
Dialect
Explanation and Analysis:
As a work of Chicano literature, The House on Mango Street frequently includes Spanish text, be it in the names of characters, phrases or idioms, and even full sentences. The interweaving of Spanish into the text creates a unique Mexican American dialect that blends both an understanding of English with an understanding of Spanish, a multilingual facet to the characters that mirrors their cross-cultural existence. This dialect also reinforces the setting of the novel, an impoverished Mexican American community in Chicago called Humboldt Park.
One example of this dialect occurs after Esperanza's abuelito (grandfather) dies. Her father explains, "Your abuelito is dead.... Está muerto." The fact that Esperanza's father doesn't just speak in Spanish when discussing their family's ancestry, but insists on repeating "is dead" in Spanish after saying it in English, highlights the difference between the family's past and their present. Her father's father can best be described in Spanish, not English, even in death. Indeed, the family comes from a cultural context that is notably different from their current life, and the juxtaposition of language parallels this juxtaposition of culture. The dialect then serves to highlight the fact that Esperanza and her family inhabit two worlds as Mexican Americans residing in the United States, a facet of Esperanza that comes up again and again throughout the novel.
Related Themes:
