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Symbols
Shoes in The House on Mango Street symbolize Esperanza’s sexuality, and then her inner conflict between that sexuality and her desire for independence. The symbolism begins when a neighbor gives her, Nenny, Rachel, and Lucy some old high-heeled shoes. They try them on and find that their legs look longer and more womanly, and they walk around getting lewd comments from men. This frightens the girls, and they discard the shoes.
Shoes Quotes in The House on Mango Street
The The House on Mango Street quotes below all refer to the symbol of Shoes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 17
Quotes
They are dangerous, he says. You girls too young to be wearing shoes like that. Take them shoes off before I call the cops, but we just run.
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Chapter 43
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Not a man’s house… A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed… Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem.
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Shoes Symbol Timeline in The House on Mango Street
The timeline below shows where the symbol Shoes appears in The House on Mango Street. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 17: The Family of Little Feet
...when someone gives Esperanza, Nenny, Rachel, and Lucy a paper bag full of old high-heeled shoes.
(full context)
The girls try on the shoes and are amazed at how long and womanly their legs suddenly seem. They strut about...
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Chapter 19: Chanclas
...mother buys her new clothes for the event, but she forgets to get Esperanza new shoes to match. There is a party after the baptism, and her mother drinks and dances...
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Chapter 28: Sire
...with little pink toenails like “seashells,” but she doesn’t know how to tie her own shoes. Esperanza watches Sire and Lois walking together around the neighborhood, and Lois riding Sire’s bike,...
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Chapter 32: Sally
...and short skirts. Esperanza wants to learn to wear makeup and to wear black suede shoes like Sally. Sally leans against the fence at school and tries to ignore the rumors...
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Chapter 38: The Monkey Garden
...her heart to stop beating. When Esperanza finally gets up again her own feet and shoes look foreign to her, and the monkey garden seems foreign as well.
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Chapter 43: A House of My Own
...Esperanza herself. It will have flowers, a porch, her books and stories inside, and her shoes by the bed. The house will be silent and safe, “clean as paper before the...
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Chapter 44: Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes
...likes to tell stories to herself. She makes stories about walking in her “sad brown shoes.” She says she is going to tell about a “girl who didn’t want to belong,”...
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