I chose to make Esperanza an Instagram account. The memoir is written in a vignette form so I thought that it would be charming to mirror the literary vignettes with Instagram posts. The account's handle is @humansofmangostreet because it embodies the various individuals Esperanza encounters on Mango Street. The quote in Esperanza's bio, "All brown all around, we are safe", encompasses the essence of Esperanza's experience as a Latina in Chicago. She, as a character, crosses paths with family and friends, all of whom have a story to tell. Thus, I created an Instagram account that hones in on the characters we read about in "The House on Mango Street."
The Instagram account was of course inspired by Humans of New York and I thought that personal statements from each of the characters would reveal the dialogue that we don't see very much of in the book.
The first individual I focused on is Aunt Guadalupe. Esperanza writes about Aunt Lupe as a strong character, and a dying woman. In the book, she tells Esperanza to continue writing (Esperanza read to Aunt Lupe because Aunt Lupe was blind) because writing sets you free. After all, all Esperanza wants is to eventually be free of Mango Street. (58-61)
The second character I dealt with is Sally, whose story is rather tragic. The 'quote' from Sally is supposed to convey the complicatedness of domestic abuse and mistreatment, specifically in the context of cultural barriers. Sally, in the book, reasons that her father's abuse is attributable to strictness of religion and cultural barriers. She is simply a character that wants to love and be loved. (81-83)
The third post is about Nenny, Esperanza's younger sister. It's a boomerang of a mango tree. Esperanza and her sister don't initially get along so I thought it would be very sister-like for Nenny, a younger sister to deny Esperanza taking a photograph. This post is intended to illustrate Esperanza and Nenny as sisters growing closer, but still growing closer with time.
The fourth post is a real picture of Sandra Cisneros, the author of "The House on Mango Street." I think that this post is important because it is Esperanza speaking about the people she meets and speaks to in her impoverished Chicago neighborhood. At the same time, Esperanza states that she wants a place of her own, which is an obvious theme throughout the book.
I think this is a school spin on the project. I really enjoyed how you focused on the different characters and the idea of humansofmangostreet is great. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a really creative approach to this assignment. The Humans of New York interview approach mirrors the vignette style of the novel in a way that seems authentic. While Esperanza is writing down her stories in a time before social media, I could easily see this being a type of project she would enact if Mango Street was set in modern times. The Humans of New York biopic style also has that same goal as Esperanza/ Cisneros of bringing a neighborhood of untold stories to life and getting people to recognize the full humanity of people they'll never meet.
ReplyDelete