Throughout the book, there are a number of recurring themes. Some of the more significant themes in The House on Mango Street are the importance of names, the language barrier, and the power of words.
Using a traditional storyboard layout with a description cell, choose three examples of theme as they appear in the book. Illustrate each cell to show how the theme is described by Esperanza’s words. Under each illustration, include quotes from the text or a description of the theme.
Esperanza spends a lot of time talking about her own name and the power names have.
The importance of spoken language is another subject about which Esperanza is quite verbal. Her father had issues understanding and speaking English. He jokes that he only was able to eat “hamaneggs” because it was the only food he knew how to order in English when he first came to the country.
Esperanza takes great pride in her own writing. The reader is able to see that language plays a very important role for Esperanza. Esperanza turns to writing and decides that she will use her writing to escape from the community she wants so desperately to leave.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in The House on Mango Street. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.