Home Sweet Home

"They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones that cannot out."

The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, 110

This whole last chapter reminds me of the things teenagers say when they leave home, or when they want to leave home. In their inexperienced state of mind, the only logical and normal thing to do is get away from home and move on in life. There is nothing more their parents can do for them. There is no more room for rules and expectations. The only thing to do is get out.

This is not the exact case that Esperanza experiences in The House on Mango Street, but the desire to move away from a place that should mean more to you is very similar. It's hard to see in that moment, but our upbringing has so much to do with where we end up and what we become. Not only our upbringing, but where we lived, where we played, with whom we played, and much more. Mango Street will forever be a part of Esperanza, even though she may not have wanted to admit it. 

Finally, at the end of the book, she admits that she is only leaving Mango Street to return. Whether it will be for her or for the people that are "stuck" in Mango Street, it is a part of her. Mango Street is something that she will constantly think about throughout her life. Like the disgruntled teen, she will eventually realize that home, sweet home is the best thing that ever happened to her. Even if her life wasn't perfect, there always will be an element of "home" in Mango Street. Just as many of us discover as we leave home. 

Bless Me, Ultima

Since I already blogged about the last reading in Bless Me, Ultima, but we still have a blog due during Thanksgiving, I will be talking about a few specific themes from the novel that have stood out to me. Although I have enjoyed most all of the readings for this class (even the ones that most everyone else disliked), I did not enjoy Bless Me, Ultima at all. I am not someone who enjoys the whole mystical-magic-woman-who-knows-everything stories. I would never say that Anaya is not a great author, I just don't personally prefer mystical books like this one. 

I thought Ultima was unrealistic, and I could not relate to her very well. I think her role as a friend and mentor to Antonio was very well described, but the fact that she knew everything and could save everyone seemed very far from home. Another thing that sort of bothered me was the unrealistic maturity of Antonio throughout the book. I can totally see a 6-year-old with a wild imagination much like Antonio's, but I cannot relate to a 6-year-old boy who thinks so much about his eternal soul, the fate of others, and analysis of life in general. A narrative work of a normal 6-year-old would be much more childish with far less complex thought processes. 

Although my personal opinions about the novel are semi negative, I was able to relate to some of its themes. I can relate very well to two different types of family uniting to form the beginning of my immediate family. I have observed how my parents made it work very smoothly. I could relate to the careless childhood games and friends of youth, and how they affect the rest of one's life. Antonio was far more analytical than I ever was as a child, but I remember the fun times I had as a youth, and I am still the same person, but just older. Antonio learned that sooner or later, we all grow up. Things happen that we hope never will, but we make the best of life and carry on. 

Dreams of the Future

"Sometime in the future I would have to build my dream out of those things that were so much a part of my childhood."

Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 261

Like Antonio, I have definitely shaped much of my adulthood from things that happened to me during my childhood. Unlike Antonio, my childhood is filled with so many happy memories that have affected my life for the best. Poor Antonio obviously didn't grow up as a member of the church, so his childhood was plagued with several experiences that no child should have to endure. But even so, the things that we go through as children really do have a large effect on us as we grow up.

Although these experiences make their way into our lives without us noticing, how can we go about purposely building our dreams for the future from past events of our childhood? While Antonio saw many frightening things as a child, he can also take the positive interactions with his family and Ultima into account as he builds his dream for the future. If he becomes a priest, he can remember the way so many live, and know better exactly how to help them.

I choose to bring my childhood into my future dreams because of the positive experiences I had. I can use the lessons I learned from my family, my school, my friends, my bus rides, my sports teams, my leadership roles, and much more to become a better father, brother, husband, and person. I will choose to build my dream in the future with the foundation of the childhood that got me here. I may not have been as wise and mature as Antonio, but I certainly learned a lot of things that have helped me along the way.

Family Ties

"My mother was not a woman of the llano, she was the daughter of a farmer. She could not see beauty in the llano and she could not understand the coarse men who lived half their lifetimes on horseback. After I was born in Las Pasturas she persuaded my father to leave the llano and bring her family to the town of Guadalupe where she said there would be opportunity and school for us. The move lowered my father in the esteem of his compadres, the other vaqueros of the llano who clung tenaciously to their way of life and freedom."

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 2

As the lives of Antonio's parents are introduced in the first chapter of this book, it becomes very apparent just how different his extended families are. As explained in the quote, Antonio's mother is a farm girl from the city who values city life and education opportunities. His father, on the other hand, is used to the life he has always known on the llanos. The two parents are obviously doing what's possible to remain a happy family, but the clear differences in opinions about life is obviously hard for them.

What's even more interesting are the non-coincidental names the belong to both families. The family name of Antonio's mother is Lunas, he father's name is Marez. The non-coincidence of these names are their Spanish translations. With mar meaning sea and luna meaning the moon, the characteristics of the families and their name sakes become more obvious. On an even deeper level, the observation that the moon controls the wild sea's tides brings up another accurate analysis of the book's characters. The Lunas family seems to be the ultimate controller of the Marez father, although his roots are independent like the sea. 

Fortunately for me, I married a person whose family doesn't seem to dictate the way I live my life. That is mostly because we all have similar opinions about life. But the concept of one's family imposing personal beliefs upon the other is real. Usually, this imposition isn't even to be rude, but just habit of tradition. The most famous families I first thought of to describe the immediate differences in the families of lovers, are the families of Romeo and Juliet. The Capulet and Montague families did not see eye to eye at all. Their story is obviously different from the story of Antonio's family, but the reality of two families trying to come together is difficult. However, it can be done.