Blog Post #4, Topic #3

Maxine Hong Kingston and Sandra Cisneros are both infamous authors who applied their cultural backgrounds to their literary works to create a realistic experience of their lives. Using Kingston’s The Woman Warrior and Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, I will identify how they compare and contrast in their lives and writings.

Maxine Hong Kingston is a Stockton-born Chinese-American woman, whose parents are immigrants from China. In her short story, she tells of the difficulty she endures adapting to the American education system, her confusion of her mother’s traditions, and her parents views of the American system as a whole. Kingston’s views were portrayed as pessimistic, contrary to that of Cisneros’. She had a bitter outlook, sharing with us words of anger. “I painted layers of black over houses and flowers and suns, and when I drew on the blackboard, I put a layer of chalk on top,” she stated, describing herself as a young girl in kindergarten. She expresses the hardship she had adapting to the English language, she could not properly pronounce “I” and “here”. Kingston also addresses her opinion with her mother’s traditions regarding the Chinese culture. Due to one of her mother’s superstitions, Kingston was forced to go to the grocery store where a delivery boy wrongfully delivered pills to their family and ask the clerk for candy to “reverse the curse”. Kingston goes in disgust and anger. She continues to write and introduces us to a quiet, shy Chinese girl, who Kingston grows extremely frustrated with. She says, “I hated the younger sister, the quiet one. I hated her for her China doll hair cut. I hated her for at music time for the wheezes that came out of her plastic flute.” The short story as a whole is full of anger, confusion, and disappointment.

Sandra Cisneros takes on a more lenient point of view compared to that of Kingston. Cisneros characterizes herself as “Esperanza” in her short story, “A House of Mango Street”. She is a daughter of two Mexican immigrants, sister of three. They live in a small house on Mango Street, and her life seems habitual. In the story, Esperanza narrates as if she’s simply stating what she is experiencing, no detail or no real connection of anything. Unlike Kingston’s character, Esperanza tries to fit in. In the excerpt, “Our Good Day”, Cisneros writes that Esperanza literally pays for friendship. “If you give me five dollars I will be your friend forever,” says Esperanza’s new-found “friend”. The deal seems reasonable and cheap, and she does not question it. Esperanza’s ignorance continues when she talks about the perspective people have when they visit where she lives. “Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we are dangerous.” She continues, “Yeah, That is how it goes and goes.” She doesn’t question anything, and it seems like no one really cares to give her an answer anyway. She is a small product of something big, and she goes on with her days habitually, with no reason to why.

Both authors feel like they do not have a place, or meaning. Kingston expresses her displacement with anger and a lot of it. Whether that be anger towards her family, teachers, classmates, or herself, she was just full of bitterness. She cannot seem to adapt to her surroundings, and she becomes enraged. As for Cisneros, it seems like she is confused She takes on everyday, just like the last, with no question. She buys friendships, assuming that is normal. She tells of her life as if in a “bird-eye view”, stating the physical but not explaining any internal emotions really.

Word Count:606

Mary Lopez