Abstract: The House on Mango Street is a masterpiece written by famous Mexican writer Sandra Cisneros. In this novel, the author uses the first-person point of view to tell the story of a little girl, Esperanza. Esperanza and her parents often move between the United States and Mexico. After drifting for a long time they finally settle down on Mango Street. House is of great significance to Esperanza’s life. Since this novel was published, it has been analyzed in many aspects. But this paper will dig the implications of the “house” from a new angle. From the study of implications of the “House”, we can understand the meaning behind the novel and the influence on human being. This paper makes full use of symbolism to elaborate the implications of the house, which is a significant breakthrough.

  Key words: implication; novel analysis; Mexican-American; Symbolism

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Sandra Cisneros and The House On Mango Street-1

1.2 Literature review and structure of the paper-4

2.Symbolism-5

2.1 Origin-5

2.2 Definition-6

2.3 The intrinsic meaning and concrete manifestation of Symbolism-7

3.Symbolic implications of the “House” and the building-up process-8

3.1 Symbolic implications of the “House”-9

3.1.1 The pursuit of ameliorating material life-9

3.1.2 The pursuit of racial equality-10

3.1.3 The pursuit of gender equality-12

3.2 The building-up process of the “House”-14

3.2.1 The aim of independence-14

3.2.2 The road to the collectivism-15

3.2.3 The act of Esperanza's writing-16

4. Conclusion-17

References-19