The House On Mango Street Articles About Poverty
The Home She Despised
Esperanza is ashamed of her home. If she had her druthers, she would take her family and run away to the type of house she believes is acceptable. The House on Mango Street is an often amusing, frequently sad collection of vignettes that come together to tell the story of Esperanza Cordero and her family of six. The house they live in is old and small in a poor area of Chicago. The house Esperanza wants is “…on a hill like the ones with the gardens where Papa works.” She spends her adolescence becoming reluctantly intimate with the neighborhood: its structures, its people, and the sadness and poverty that run through the allies and circles around the edges of what passes for front yards. Through her discovery of the neighborhood, Esperanza learns that it is the people of Mango Street that make the place home.
People on the Street
“Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared.” Esperanza is a young version of an aging widow who spends her days rocking on the front porch watching the movements of her neighbors. She knows about everyone living on Mango Street. Her short tales about incidents that have occurred in the lives of Louie and his cousins, her girlfriends Rachel, Lucy, and Sally, and the odd woman on the block who is locked in her house by a jealous husband roll across the pages like mini documentaries filmed in secret; revealing intimate moments to a world that only sees despair. Sandra Cisneros fully grasps the mix of emotions a young Latina girl growing up poor in America faces and uses this understanding to deliver short bursts of stories, effectively mimicking the attention span of someone in Esperanza’s age range.
Cisneros expands Esperanza’s experience on Mango Street from that which is specific to her large family (learning English, finding sufficient housing, keeping food on the table) to a broader scope by taking on issues that all young girls struggle with as they progress to young adulthood (acceptance by family and peers, coping with the development of their bodies, and finding their place within the community and society).
Where there are beaches, there are lakefront parks. During the summer months, the lakefront parks are a destination for organized and impromptu volleyball and soccer games, chess matches, and plenty more. There are also a couple of tennis courts in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Rogers Park. There are also terrific parks further away from the lake. In the Loop, Grant Park hosts music festivals throughout the year, and Millennium Park is a fun destination for all ages, especially during the summer. In Hyde Park, Midway Park offers skating, and summer and winter gardens in the shadow of the academic giant, the University of Chicago, and Jackson Park has golf, more gardens and the legacy of the city's shining moment, the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition. In Bronzeville, Washington Park is one of the city's best places for community sports. And that's just a brief overview. Almost every neighborhood in Chicago has a beloved park.
[edit] Events & Festivals
If you're absolutely determined and you plan carefully, you may be able to visit Chicago during a festival-less week. It's a challenge, though. Most neighborhoods, parishes, and service groups host their own annual festivals throughout the spring, summer, and fall [31]. There are a few can't-miss city-wide events, though. In the Loop, Grant Park hosts Taste of Chicago in July, and four major music festivals: Blues Fest and Gospel Fest in June, Lollapalooza in August, and Jazz Fest over Labor Day Weekend. All but Lollapalooza are free. The Chicago-based music website Pitchfork Media also hosts their own annual three day festival of rock, rap, and more in the summer.
[edit] Sports
With entries in every major professional sports league and several universities in the area, Chicago sports fans have a lot to keep them occupied. The Chicago Bears play football at Soldier Field in the Near South from warm September to frigid January. Since the baseball teams split the city in half, nothing seizes the Chicago sports consciousness like a playoff run from the Bears, who dominated the 2006 season before losing in the Super Bowl. Aspiring fans will be expected to be able to quote a minimum of two verses of the Super Bowl Shuffle from memory, tear up at the mention of Walter Payton, and provide arguments as to how Butkus, Singletary, and Urlacher represent the premier linebackers of their respective eras, with supporting evidence in the form of grunts, yells, and fists slammed on tables.
The Chicago Bulls play basketball at the United Center on the Near West Side. After a few miserable years, the Bulls are in playoff form again, and while ticket prices may never reach Jordan-era mania, they're still an exciting team to watch, even if the United Center doesn't hold in noise like the old Chicago Stadium did. The Chicago Blackhawks share a building with the Bulls. As one of the "Original Six" teams in professional hockey, they have a long history in their sport, and while they've been awful for years, the team is experiencing a renaissance. Home games tend to sell out, but tickets can usually be found if you check in advance. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks play from the end of October to the beginning of April.
It's baseball, though, in which the tribal fury of Chicago sports is best expressed. The Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field on the North Side, in Lakeview, and the Chicago White Sox play at U.S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park, underneath the corporate naming rights) on the South Side, in Bridgeport. Both stadiums are open-air, and both franchises have more than a century's worth of history. Everything else is a matter of fiercely held opinion. Both teams play 81 home games from April to the beginning of October. The two three-game series when the teams play each other are the hottest sports tickets in Chicago during any given year. If someone offers you tickets to a game, pounce.
There are plenty of smaller leagues in the city as well, although some play their games in the suburbs. The Chicago Fire (Major League Soccer) and Chicago Red Stars (Women's Professional Soccer) play soccer in the suburb of Bridgeview, the Chicago Sky play women's professional basketball at the UIC Pavilion on the Near West Side, and the Windy City Rollers skate flat-track roller derby in neighboring Cicero. Minor league baseball teams dot the suburbs as well.
While college athletics are not one of the city's strong points, Northwestern football (in Evanston) and DePaul basketball (in Lincoln Park) show occasional signs of life, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is usually at least competitive. If you find yourself in Hyde Park, ask someone how the University of Chicago football team is doing — it's a surefire conversation starter.
[edit] Theater
Modern American comedy — the good parts, at least — was born when a group of young actors from Hyde Park formed The Compass Players, fusing intelligence and a commitment to character with an improvisational spark. One strand of their topical, hyper-literate comedy led, directly or indirectly, to Shelly Berman, Mike Nichols & Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show; another strand, namely The Second City, led to Saturday Night Live and a pretty huge percentage of the funny movies and television of the last thirty years. Still in Chicago's Old Town (and few other places as well), still smart and still funny, Second City does two-act sketch revues followed by one act of improv. As the saying goes, if you can only see one show while you're in Chicago, even if you have no particular interest in theater, Second City is one to see.
Improvisational comedy as a performance art form is a big part of the Chicago theater scene. At Lakeview and Uptown theaters like The Annoyance Theater, I.O., and The Playground, young actors take classes and perform shows that range from ragged to inspired throughout the week. Some are fueled by the dream of making the cast of SNL or Tina Fey's latest project, and some just enjoy doing good work on-stage, whether or not they're getting paid for it (and most aren't). There's no guarantee that you'll see something great on any given night, but improv tends to be cheaper than anything else in town, and it can definitely be worth the risk. Another popular theater experience is the comedy/drama hybrid Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, offering 30 plays in 60 minutes every weekend in Andersonville.
Steppenwolf, in Lincoln Park, is Chicago's other landmark theater. Founded in 1976, they have a history of taking risks onstage, and they have the ensemble to back it up, with heavyweights like Joan Allen, John Malkovich, and Gary Sinise. Steppenwolf isn't cheap any more, but they mix good, young actors with their veteran ensemble and still choose interesting, emotionally-charged scripts. It's the best place in town to see modern, cutting-edge theater with a bit of "I went to..." name-drop value for the folks back home.
Most of the prestige theaters, including the Broadway in Chicago outlets, are located in the Loop or the Near North. Tickets are expensive and can be tough to get, but shows destined for Broadway like The Producers often make their debut here. For the cost-conscious, the League of Chicago Theatres operates Hot Tix [32], which offers short-notice half-price tickets to many Chicago shows.
One theater to see, regardless of the production, is The Auditorium in the Loop. It's a masterpiece of architecture and of performance space. Designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, who were on a commission from syndicate of local business magnates to bring some culture to the heathen city, it was the tallest building in Chicago and one of the tallest in the world at the time of its opening in 1889, and it's still an impressive sight, inside and out.
[edit] Bicycles
Chicago has a strong, passionate bicycle culture, and riding opportunities abound. Pedaling your way around the city is one of the best ways to get to know Chicago. And the terrain is mostly flat — a boon for easy-going cyclists!
The scenic Lakefront Trail runs for 18 continuous miles along the city's beautiful shoreline. Even while riding at a moderate pace, traveling downtown along the lakefront can be faster than driving or taking the CTA! Further inland, many streets have bike lanes, and signs direct riders to major bike routes. The City of Chicago maintains helpful bicycle resources online [33], including major civic bike events and (slow) interactive maps of major streets with bike lanes.
Bicyclists have to follow the same "rules of the road" as automobiles. Police officers will write citations for bicyclists in violation of traffic laws (especially disregarding stop signs and traffic lights). Bicycle riding is never allowed on sidewalks (except for children under age 12). This rule is strictly enforced in higher density neighborhoods, mostly areas near the lake, and is considered a criminal misdemeanor offense. You must walk your bike on the sidewalk.
Conveniently, CTA buses are all equipped with bike racks which carry up to two bicycles, and 'L' trains permit two bicycles per car except during rush hour (roughly 7-9:30AM and 3:30-6:30PM weekdays, excluding major holidays on which the CTA is running on a Sunday schedule). With the buses, inspect the rack closely for wear or damage and be absolutely certain that the bike is secured before you go, lest it fall off in traffic (and be immediately flattened by the bus). The CTA will fight tooth and nail to avoid reimbursing you for the loss, and the driver might not stop to let you retrieve it.
Bikes may be rented from the North Avenue Beach House (Lincoln Park), Navy Pier, (Near North), the Millennium Park bike station (Loop), and from several bike shops in the city. Another option is to contact the terrific Working Bikes Cooperative [34], an all-volunteer group of bike lovers that collects and refurbishes bikes, and then sells a few in Chicago to support their larger project of shipping bikes to Africa and South America. You could buy a cheap bike and donate it back when you're done, or even spend a day or two working as a volunteer.
For an opportunity to connect with the local bike community and take a memorable trip through the city, don't miss the Critical Mass [35] rides on the last Friday of every month, starting from Daley Plaza in the Loop (5:30PM). With numbers on their side, the hundreds or even thousands of bike riders wind up taking over entire streets along the way, with themed routes that are voted upon at the outset of the trip. Anyone is free to join or fall away wherever they like. Police are generally cooperative — take cues from more experienced riders.
[edit] Learn
Several major and minor universities call Chicago home. The University of Chicago and Northwestern University are undoubtedly the most prestigious among them. The University of Chicago's Gothic campus is in Hyde Park, which is, famously, "home to more Nobel Prizes per square kilometer than any other neighborhood on Earth." Further north, in the Bronzeville area, is the Illinois Institute of Technology, which has notable programs in engineering and architecture. Northwestern University has its main campus in Evanston, just north of Chicago, but it also has campuses in the Near North off Michigan Ave, including its medical, law, and business schools.
On the North Side, there are two major Catholic universities with over a hundred years in Chicago: DePaul University, in Lincoln Park, and Loyola University, in Rogers Park. Both schools also have campuses in the Loop. Rush University Medical School, on the Near West Side, traces its roots back even further, to 1837. Dating back to 1891, North Park University serves as another fine private liberal arts university in Albany Park on the Northwest Side.
A handful of schools in the Loop attract students in the creative arts. Columbia College has an enviable location on Michigan Avenue, and its programs in creative writing and photography are well-regarded. The School of the Art Institute is generally regarded as one of the top three art and design schools in the country and is one of the few art schools that does not require its students to declare majors. The Illinois Institute of Art specializes in different fields of art and design. The main campus of Roosevelt University, former home to Chicago heavyweights like Harold Washington and Ramsey Lewis, is in the Auditorium Building on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway. Northwestern University has its main campus in Evanston, just north of Chicago, but it also has campuses in the Loop including its medical, law, and business schools.
To the west of the Loop, built over the remains of Little Italy and Maxwell Street neighborhoods is the brutalist Near West Side campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the second-largest member of the Illinois state university system.
The City Colleges of Chicago [36] are scattered throughout the city. They include Harold Washington College (Loop), Harry S. Truman College (Uptown), Malcolm X College (Near West Side), Wright College (Humboldt Park), Kennedy-King College (Englewood), Daley College (Southwest Side), and Olive-Harvey College (Far Southeast Side).
