Coming of Age Comic

A brief comic on coming of age that I found quite funny ^_^

~Dana

Tears of a Tiger

Death, it’s something we all have to face whether we like it or not. It is a painful thing that causes sadness, tears, and questions. Death can break the strongest person, but yet makes a weak person stronger. Esperanza was always used to seeing her father as a strong, tough, tenacious man. However after his own father died, Esperanza saw a side of her father that she wasn’t used to, a side of the male sex that she wasn’t used to. Her father was left vulnerable, weak and lost. He cried without shame and with emotion. I believe this came as somewhat of a shock to Esperanza. It’s so hard to imagine the people that have always been the strong ones in your life as someone who is left at their lowest point. Although it may not seem so, everyone has emotions, and everyone has specific things that trigger those emotions. We may not like to admit it, and I would imagine Esperanza’s father feeling almost embarrassed by his vulnerability, but there are certain things that just break us in ways we are not quite used to. No one likes to feel weak, and no one likes seeing their loved ones at a weakened state. I believe that this experience was good for Esperanza. It allowed her to better understand and actually witness the fact that even the most powerful people have their low points. It helped her realize that we are in the end only human, and there are certain events that occur in one’s life that just leave us broken and awestricken. Also, in a way the event gave me the realization of how Esperanza’s parents are preparing her to be a mother. I noticed that Esperanza’s father went to her, rather than her mother and his own wife, to announce the heart-breaking news. He asked Esperanza out of all of his family to tell her siblings about their grandfather’s death. When it comes to tragic news, I normally imagine my mother breaking it to me, not an older sibling. So in some way or another I felt as if her father did this on purpose, almost to secretly prepare her for the role of breaking bad news, something that most mother seem to have the responsibility of.  Another interpretation of her father’s actions could also be his sense of pride. He was too proud to show his vulnerable side to his wife and his sons that most likely look up to him as a role model. And since Esperanza’s little sister Nenny was so young, he probably knew that she wouldn’t quite understand. So in result he told Esperanza, because she was mature enough to handle it and a women of honestly much lower standard then him, since he is the head of the household. Whichever motive it was, maybe even being both I believe that it was a crucial experience for Esperanza to go through, that way she could understand that even eminent people have downfalls.

~Dana

My Vignette

My Vignette

BOOM! CRASH! All I saw was the old Cadillac car hit my father’s car. Time was in slow motion.  Everything stayed still for what felt like an hour. Sirens came louder and closer with each passing second. “Is everyone ok?” my dad asks. We all reply silently. The door opens, “are you hurt sweetheart?” I look into his eyes and don’t reply. “Don’t cry everything’s fine.” I’m strong because I don’t want to upset my little stepsister who’s in the seat next to me. “Were going to put you in a stretcher, you can sit up if you want.” I didnt say anything, they put me on the gurney and lifted me onto the ambulance. Nothing hurt, but the trauma from the whole event. It kept replaying in my head.
~Ayana~                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The First Job

In the beginning of this chapter I was happy that Esperanza got a job to help her family and herself out with money. I was also happy when her aunt got her this job even though she wasn't old enough.  In the middle of this chapter when the old Oriental man was having a conversation with Esperanza I thought, " Why would this man that just started talking to Esperanza tell her to sit next to him during their lunch time,  that is so out of the ordinary and strange." I also just assumed from when he started talking to Esperanza that he was a creep trying to get pleasure from her because he was an old man. All I could think about was how much he came off to be a rapist in my mind. When Esperanza said, ".....he said it was his birthday and would he please give him a birthday kiss...." I wasn't suprised at all.

~Gabriella~

The Lady with the marks

All the lights of the kitchen were on in the house on Ridge. If someone was looking in the window they would see three smiling girls and their mother, laughing and dancing. It would look as if nothing could change that happiness.

A piercing scream sounded outside in the darkness. Someone knocked at the door and their mother turned down the music. The three girls were commanded to stay in the kitchen while the mother went to greet a lady with marks on her face.  Their low whispers worried the girls who were ushered into the master bedroom by their worried mother. They tried to hear what their mother and the crying lady were saying but their low whispers were hard to hear.

The girls looked at each other asking what happened, what’s wrong, but none of them knew the answers.

~Ingrid <3

Marin

Marin is that older teenage girl that all little girls want to be. She has a boyfriend who lives in Puerto Rico. They send love letters to each other professing how much in love they are.  She said she was going to get a real job downtown. She says “since you always get to look beautiful and get to wear nice clothes and can meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house far away.” She’s too much trouble though so Louie’s parents are going to send her back. She only comes out at night, lights a cigarette and listens to the radio. When boys pass her they say dumb things but, it doesn’t faze Marin. She is a universal person. Everyone in their lifetime has known someone like her. A girl who is beautiful, who has so much potential to be whatever she wants but, wants a man to sweep her off her feet and take her away from Mango Street.

~Ayana~

What Sally Said

When I began to read this chapter, I started to have a soft spot for Sally. The fact that she went to school with bruises on her body and had to lie to her classmates and teachers when they asked what happened and she had to lie is really sad. But after the chapter, my feelings towards Sally began to change. I became extremely mad at her. Esperanza basically begged for her to leave those boys alone and not to kiss them but she refused to listen. Also, when Sally said yes to kissing all of the boys it made Sally sound really bad and risque for a girl her age. I then understood why her father beat her that way, even though it was wrong to beat you child that hard, there was reason behind it. I also thought Sally was acting too grown for her age and wasn't by Esperanza's side like Esperanza was for her.

~Gabriella

Coming of Age

Who we are is shaped by the events and trials that happen within our lives. It is a series of events over the years that help us to grow in our maturity and wisdom. In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza goes through this. She faces hardships, problems and the loss of her innocence all throughout the novel.  However, these events are displayed through vignettes which are brief stories that capture specific moments. Esperanza goes though these vignettes in a fast and at times confusing pace, which leads to the reader having to deeply think and elaborate on the text. Despite this, the growth in Esperanza is clearly visible throughout the novel. As the pages turn and the events continue, you can tell by her words and actions that she is beginning to go through changes that she once did not have to endure. These changes are what guide her from the transition of childhood to adulthood. These changes are the coming of age of Esperanza Cordero.

~Dana