Sandra
Cisneros was born in 1954 in Chicago. She is one of seven children and the only
girl. She is an American writer who has written a lot about the Latina
experience.
(Bio.True Story, 2013)
Cisneros is famous for her The House
on Mango Street (1984). She has also written some poems including the
collection of poetry, My Wicked, Wicked
Ways (1987). In a number of vignettes in Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991), she provides an
impressionistic portrayal of life. (Bio.True Story, 2013)
Cisneros’
“A House of My Own” is a hybrid story/poem with about 10 phrases separated by
periods and all placed in a paragraph except for the last, long phrase.
Cisneros
seems to want her own place. She wants solitude and privacy. She wants to be
able to arrange things and decorate as she wishes. It is her own place, her own
space.
It
seems that she is from a large Mexican or Chicano family.
This
story/poem is impressionistic because the reader gets a general
impression of the house with its phrases (rather than sentences). One phrase
(one pictorial detail) after another adds up to a general impression. It all evokes "my own house" this way more than describing everything in it with specific details in 1-3 pages in a realistic, exact way.
I
get the feeling that this writer/speaker is a girl or woman and that she wants
to get away from a man’s (father’s) control. She wants to “make” her own place
like she wants to write her own story and her own life.
My
reaction to this story/poem is that I have yet to get my own place, that is, I
have yet to get the place of my dreams, a place that really fits me. I have a
house (brick rambler) in Cheverly, MD and a house (Cape Cod) in Olympia, WA.
But, neither one is my dream house. The house in Cheverly is just the best I
could do at the time and it was a 40th birthday present to myself to
lift my spirits. (I do like the trees and access to the Cheverly Metro subway
station. And, I did fix up the place last year. I finally put up bedroom
curtains last summer.). The house in Olympia is actually something my second
husband chose. (I do like the woods and the fact that it is waterfront
property).
My
mother tells me I should get a nice, little, first floor condo (in a group of
four condos) with a garage attached to it. I agree but where do I find one close to Gallaudet??
I
think I would rather have a place that is either more modern or a place that
merges into the woods more.
Bio.True
Story. Sandra Cisneros.biography” Biography.com <http://www.biography.com/people/sandra-cisneros-185853.
2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
“Sandra
Cisneros”. (Sandra-Cisneros-185853-1-402) in Bio.True Story. Image. 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/sandra-cisneros-185853.
2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
Gender role plays a huge role in the Mexican culture. Macho which I considered the negative role in Mexican household because it's considered that men have the power over the women. For instance men works and is the breadwinner. While the ladies stays at home and take care of their babies and clean the house. But for my friends who have the "macho father" was tough but in some case a loving parent. It depends on individual and background experience they came with their upbringing with a macho father. This story "A House of My Own." reminds me of how my friend lived in a big household contains 8 family of her own including her. Based on her experience she had to share her room with her siblings, little of privacy, help and watch over her young siblings. Which she loved doing it but in a way she cannot help it but feel that her family is depending on her a lot since she is the eldest daughter. It became overwhelmed for her so she decided to move out, which her father protested against her decision. Because traditionally daughter leaves home after they get married, so therefore my friend was not married so she was forced to stay or else find someone to get marry. Which my friend had to fought hard in order to convinced her father that she needs to finds her own home.
ReplyDeleteSo I find the character in the story that are alike my friend when she moved in her own place for the first time. She loved the fact that she for the first time in her life can make any decision on her own without her father get involved with her every decision making.
This short story is about that where you live in my own home and is not a flat, not an apartment, not a man's house, or not dad's house, but I can’t image that what if I live in own home. The house is my own entire home, some my stuff. Nobody can't bother me or touch my things. It is more likely peaceful and very quiet in my own house. There are having the house on my own house and need more space for me to thinking about everything that I want to think about. It looks like on the moon is all alone, having the peace and very quiet all by myself. This short story about anything to easy, because those are all alone, there is nobody to bother me or making me distractions. For example, Cisneros wants her own place because she likes to peaceful and privacy. Also, it is more space for her. That’s why, she wrote about her life and story.
ReplyDeleteThis short story gave me some goosebumps somehow. It's just the same feeling as mine when I was ready to live a new life on my own. Like, I can make a decision if I really want to live in apartment by myself or roommates. It's very challenge but guaranteed to have some good feeling in the end that I make my own decision with peace and easy.
ReplyDeleteThis story is similar to my cousin's situation because she wanted to have her own space, home, and be able to do things she wishes. So, she decided to move all the way to Tennessee from Chicago, IL to start her new life there.
ReplyDeleteThis poem really was short but powerful because the author made it so simple but so meaningful at the same time because all the person wanted was to be on her own place. I used to want my own place and be on my own and pratically am living on my own because im living with my roommate at Gallaudet not living with my family. The experience is kind of hard because I am homesick but I am pretty much used to living on my own. I guess I am ready to be on my own. I could understand the author feeling because sometime you get so trapped in a place and you just wanna leave to avoid all the trouble, sufferings, drama and more because i get that feeling sometime too but at the end of the day we all have to deal with it in different ways.
ReplyDeleteThis short story is pretty powerful by describing a dream house where you want to escape and to be peaceful. According to the Mexican culture, there are some negatives about it like men do control over women but women shouldn't let them to control them. Women should be proud for what they're made of and strong enough to set up a dream house as they wished for. I'm a girl and I personally won't let anyone control me or tell me what they want me to be. I'm being myself and I have a lot of things to think about for my future including owning my house.
ReplyDeleteI have always been fairly independent and not controlled by anyone in my family. My father was oral deaf so my hearing mother "wore the pants". My mother was actually very strong because she managed okay with a deaf husband a deaf daughter. When I was 13, I transferred to the MD School for the Deaf and just went home on weekends. Most of the time when I was at home, I would just read. (No one could sign anyway). Then, I enrolled at age 16 (July birthday) at Gallaudet. Strangely enough, my mother didn't do as well once my father died in 1977 and we two girls left.
ReplyDeleteI can tell that she is very independence and a strong woman. She like to be on her own, not her father. Her father controlled her like a crap but she defensed herself from him. What a honor! I feel better when she fights all in her life then so, now she has an own place. It's a good end. :-)
ReplyDeleteShe is a powerful woman. She will be successful if she has her own living space and own path of life. like me and my mom, I showed my mom i can be successful if i do things on my own...I chose Gallaudet not because of friends that i know who goes here but because my education is very important to me. I made it in my success and now see if i can continue on with being successful. This story impressed me, especially for a Mexican woman that lived in Mexico and for a woman like her to show that she want be successful and have a new life.
ReplyDeleteShe is a strong smart Mexican woman and I love how she write as making us look at the picture. I can image that in my head, I used to have that kind of experience because my mom and I used to live with like 6 people when I was young, I always wants to have my own room and my own stuff, but no I can't gets stuff like that until I got older I do gets my own apartment, condo, or a house with roommates, I do not feel like I am home. Now this year, I am living here in a studio and no roommates yapping. Later in the future will be more peaceful.
ReplyDeleteShe is a strong, powerful woman who wants to do things her way. She can be successful easily if she blocks out all of the negativity and just think positively that she can do it. I can somewhat relate to it because I am independent, i dont like to ask for help/have people tell me what to do most of the time.
ReplyDeleteAs an author, Sandra Cisneros could probably related the whole story of "A House of My Own" to me. I am making sure to think that Sandra Cisneros' poem might be matching John Lennon's songwriter. Likewise, "Imagine there's no countries" by John Lennon and "Not a flat" by Sandra Cisneros. It's necessary for me to live at my own home. I really love my own peaceful house.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cisneros is a very independent and doesn't like being control by her father. She is a very brave to live on her own and she fought her whole life to get her own space then finally, she has her own and a new life. I personality myself, that I am pretty much an independent for instant I like go to someplace on my own,I sometimes don't ask for anybody help and I do some stuffs on my own in most of the time.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cisneros is a very inspiring women to me.She has her mind set on exactly what she wants which should help stay positive and get what she wants. Sometimes you have obstacles but you should always find a way around them just like Sandra did. I somewhat relate to this because there was always someone who would always try to bring me down or treat me like I was a horrible person who did bad things (which wasn't true) and when i realized it, that's when I started to become independent and do things on my own.
ReplyDeleteSomehow this poetry make me think of escape to peace land. For example sometime I feel stressed out over something. I would rather going to scenic view and have alone time. I just like to be positive influence.
ReplyDeleteSanrda Cisnenros got that what she wants.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this story of “ A House of My Own”, Sandra Cisneros has been independent and was not controlled by her father. I prefer to make my decision independently because I like to keep my own life and things. I also know my life better than anyone and I know what I want in my life. When I make decision, I need a lot of time to think. When I ask people for advice, they tell me too much and I get overwhelmed. For example, when I was trying to decide if I should move to DC, I didn’t tell anyone. I kept my thinking to myself and make my decision by myself. I really love my own peaceful life.
ReplyDeleteReading the story, "A House of My Own" It makes me look forward to having a job and my own apartment. It's like a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteShe did great decided to leave man's control. She can decided whatever she wants.
ReplyDeleteThis story/poem make me more independent and I can control my own life and things. Sandra Cisnenros is a powerful and very independent woman from her father. She did what she made for her decisions and her life. I was independent since one and half year ago, I made my decision right, but it was overwhelmed and difficult time to being an independent man by first time. Now, I'm living in dorm and don't have any parents support, but I do have VR support, for my college, so it is my responsibility to do anything and figure out how to solve my problems. She did what she wants.
ReplyDeleteI am from the Mexican and Salvadoran family and I can relate to her story, In our culture, the family are tight therefore, it is hard to let somebody go. Hispanic women tend to be labeled as housewife so she is expected to act like one. That is why it is hard for hispanic women to leave their culture tradition and go to college, get a degree, get a career, and be independent.
ReplyDeleteThis short story is more independent, my real parents didn't rinse me so I got adopt when I was 15 years old, so my mother is my interpreter so she want me live with her because she love me, and she want me raise me. I live with my parents; I was a bad behavior and punished me so many time and I've learned my lesson. Now they wants me be independent and choose wisely with my decision. They will always be my adopt parents in the future, which made me feel better than my real parents but I still love them no matter, which somehow made me feels emotionally.
ReplyDeleteI remember that I had that feeling to have my own house and do whatever I want; however, I learned that its better to wait until I am responsible enough. Because if I left early to my own house and I won't take good care of it. I am half American and half Puerto Rican, I understand her story. The Hispanic women tend to stay home do her chores and men work outside of the house. I as a woman don't like a man that control on me while its doesn't make me a happy person and I have the rights to do on my own.
ReplyDelete