Exploring the Writings of Sandra Cisneros
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Teaching the Writings
Teaching the Writings
of Sandra Cisneros
of Sandra Cisneros
Dr. Patricia M. García
Dr. Patricia M. García
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin
Humanities Texas Presentation
Humanities Texas Presentation
December 1, 2020
December 1, 2020
Why write?
Why write?
"
"
We do this because the world
We do this because the world
we live in is a house on fire
we live in is a house on fire
and the people we love are
and the people we love are
burning.”
burning.”
-Sandra Cisneros
-Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros
•
Biography
Biography
•
Born 1954 (Chicago)
Born 1954 (Chicago)
•
Novelist, poet, teacher, philanthropist.
Novelist, poet, teacher, philanthropist.
•
One of the first female Mexican American writers to
One of the first female Mexican American writers to
have her works published by a mainstream press.
have her works published by a mainstream press.
•
Lived and worked in San Antonio for many years,
Lived and worked in San Antonio for many years,
currently resides in Mexico.
currently resides in Mexico.
•
Established Macondo Foundation and Alfredo Cisneros
Established Macondo Foundation and Alfredo Cisneros
del Moral Foundation to support the work of rising writers.
del Moral Foundation to support the work of rising writers.
•
Works include
Works include
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
(1984),
(1984),
“’
“’
Woman Hollering Creek’ and Other Stories
Woman Hollering Creek’ and Other Stories
” (1991),
” (1991),
Caramelo
Caramelo
(2002),
(2002),
A House of My Own
A House of My Own
(2015).
(2015).
•
Awards include MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of
Awards include MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of
Arts, and PEN/Nabokov Award for international
Arts, and PEN/Nabokov Award for international
literature.
literature.
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
“The Author Responds”
“The Author Responds”
“I believe books are medicine. A library is a
“I believe books are medicine. A library is a
medicine cabinet. What can heal one person
medicine cabinet. What can heal one person
may not work for at all for somebody else. You
may not work for at all for somebody else. You
know when something is helaing you, just as
know when something is helaing you, just as
you know when somethings isn’t. And if my
you know when somethings isn’t. And if my
book isn’t doing the trick and doesn’t serve
book isn’t doing the trick and doesn’t serve
you, you’re not required to keep reading. But
you, you’re not required to keep reading. But
please allow it to remain on the library shelf for
please allow it to remain on the library shelf for
someone else who needs its particular
someone else who needs its particular
medicine.”
medicine.”
“
“
’Woman Hollering Creek’
’Woman Hollering Creek’
and Other Stories
and Other Stories
Other Works
Other Works
Texas TEKS
Texas TEKS
•
(5) Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The
student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or
viewed. The student is expected to:
(A) describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts
•
(8) Author's purpose and craft: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using
multiple texts. The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they
influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and
applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and
performances. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the author's purpose, audience, and message within a text;
(B) evaluate use of text structure to achieve the author's purpose;
(C) evaluate the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific
purposes;
(D) evaluate how the author's use of language informs and shapes the perception of
readers;
(E) evaluate the use of literary devices such as paradox, satire, and allegory to achieve
specific purposes;
(F) evaluate how the author's diction and syntax contribute to the mood, voice, and
tone of a text; and
(G) analyze the effects of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies on the way the text is
read and understood.
Major Themes
Major Themes
•
Identity formation
Identity formation
•
Class, ethnicity, and sexuality
Class, ethnicity, and sexuality
•
Bi-culturalism
Bi-culturalism
•
Home and a sense of place
Home and a sense of place
•
Rebellion and individualism
Rebellion and individualism
•
The development of a writer
The development of a writer
•
“She stares at the ceilings and walls of her apartment the
“She stares at the ceilings and walls of her apartment the
way she once stared at the ceilings and walls of the
way she once stared at the ceilings and walls of the
apartments she grew up in, inventing stories to go along
apartments she grew up in, inventing stories to go along
with these pictures. At night, under the circle of light from
with these pictures. At night, under the circle of light from
a cheap mental lamp clamped to the kitchen table, she
a cheap mental lamp clamped to the kitchen table, she
sits with paper and a pen and pretends she’s not afraid.
sits with paper and a pen and pretends she’s not afraid.
She’s trying to live like a writer.” (“A House of my Own”:
She’s trying to live like a writer.” (“A House of my Own”:
25
25
th
th
Anniversary edition).
Anniversary edition).
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
•
Summary
Summary
•
Esperanza, the young narrator of the story, longs
Esperanza, the young narrator of the story, longs
to line in a “real” home while growing up poor in
to line in a “real” home while growing up poor in
the barrios of Chicago. She learns in the course of
the barrios of Chicago. She learns in the course of
the novel that Mango street is an integral part of
the novel that Mango street is an integral part of
her identity.
her identity.
•
Themes
Themes
•
Growing up
Growing up
•
The endurance of the individual
The endurance of the individual
•
Gaining agency through the creative process
Gaining agency through the creative process
•
Sense of place
Sense of place
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
•
Symbolism
Symbolism
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too
many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the
number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my
father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like
sobbing. (“My Name”)
•
Diction
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were
made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish
my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not
quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than
mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and
become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.
I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name
more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as
Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the
X will do. (“My Name”)
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
•
Symbolism and Point of View
Symbolism and Point of View
I like to tell stories. I tell them inside my head. I tell them after the
I like to tell stories. I tell them inside my head. I tell them after the
mailman says, “Here’s your mail. Here’s your mail he said.
mailman says, “Here’s your mail. Here’s your mail he said.
I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. I
I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. I
say, “And so she trudged up the wooden stairs, her sad brown shoes
say, “And so she trudged up the wooden stairs, her sad brown shoes
taking her to the house she never liked.”
taking her to the house she never liked.”
I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who
I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who
didn’t want to belong.
didn’t want to belong.
We didn’t always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on
We didn’t always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on
Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before
Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before
Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad
Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad
red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.
red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.
I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so
I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so
much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She
much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She
does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free. (“Mango Says
does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free. (“Mango Says
Goodbye”)
Goodbye”)
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
•
Style and Tone
Style and Tone
She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty
She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty
that is there to be admired by anyone, like a
that is there to be admired by anyone, like a
heard of clouds grazing overhead.
heard of clouds grazing overhead.
She experiments, creating a text that is as
She experiments, creating a text that is as
succinct and flexible as poetry, snapping
succinct and flexible as poetry, snapping
sentences into fragments so that the reader
sentences into fragments so that the reader
pauses, making each sentence serve
pauses, making each sentence serve
her
her
and
and
not the other way round, abandoning
not the other way round, abandoning
quotations marks to streamline the typography
quotations marks to streamline the typography
and make the page as simple and readable as
and make the page as simple and readable as
possible. (“A House of my Own”: 25
possible. (“A House of my Own”: 25
th
th
Anniversary edition)
Anniversary edition)
“Woman Hollering Creek”
“Woman Hollering Creek”
and Other Stories
and Other Stories
•
Summary
Summary
•
Short story collection (22 total) in 3 sections
Short story collection (22 total) in 3 sections
•
“My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn”
“My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn”
•
Stories of childhood, similar to Mango Street
Stories of childhood, similar to Mango Street
•
“One Holy Night”
“One Holy Night”
•
Stories of adolescence, more mature themes
Stories of adolescence, more mature themes
•
“There Was A Man, There Was a Woman”
“There Was A Man, There Was a Woman”
•
Stories of adulthood, romance, sexuality
Stories of adulthood, romance, sexuality
•
Themes
Themes
•
Growing up
Growing up
•
Class, ethnicity, and sexuality
Class, ethnicity, and sexuality
•
Rebellion and individualism
Rebellion and individualism
•
Romance and heartache
Romance and heartache
“Eleven”
“Eleven”
Why write?
Why write?
•
“A House of my Own”: 25
“A House of my Own”: 25
th
th
Anniversary edition
Anniversary edition
How can art make a difference in the world? This was never
How can art make a difference in the world? This was never
asked at Iowa. Should she be teaching these students to write
asked at Iowa. Should she be teaching these students to write
poetry when they need to know how to defend themselves from
poetry when they need to know how to defend themselves from
someone beating them up ?
someone beating them up ?
•
“Mango Says Goodbye” (from
“Mango Says Goodbye” (from
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
)
)
One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I
One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I
will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here
will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here
forever. One day I will go away.
forever. One day I will go away.
Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to Esperanza?
Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to Esperanza?
Where did she go with all those books and paper? Why did she march
Where did she go with all those books and paper? Why did she march
so far away?
so far away?
They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the
They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the
ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.
ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.
Why write?
Why write?
For further reading
For further reading
•
Short stories:
Short stories:
•
For students: “Mericans”: “Mexico, Next Right”
For students: “Mericans”: “Mexico, Next Right”
•
For you: “Never Marry a Mexican.”
For you: “Never Marry a Mexican.”
•
Poetry
Poetry
•
For students: “Peaches-Six in a Tin Bowl”; “My
For students: “Peaches-Six in a Tin Bowl”; “My
Wicked, Wicked Ways”
Wicked, Wicked Ways”
•
For you: “You Bring Out the Mexican in Me”
For you: “You Bring Out the Mexican in Me”
•
Essays
Essays
•
For students: “Only Daughter”
For students: “Only Daughter”
•
For you: “Hydra House”; “The Author Responds”
For you: “Hydra House”; “The Author Responds”
Sandra Cisneros, a renowned novelist, poet, teacher, and philanthropist, has made significant contributions to literature. Her works, including "The House on Mango Street" and "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories," delve into cultural identity and personal connections. Through her writing, Cisneros imparts the notion that books are like medicine, offering healing and solace to readers. Her impact on Latinx literature and the craft of storytelling is profound, shaping perspectives and inspiring aspiring writers.
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Presentation Transcript
Teaching the Writings of Sandra Cisneros Dr. Patricia M. Garc a The University of Texas at Austin Humanities Texas Presentation December 1, 2020
Why write? "We do this because the world we live in is a house on fire and the people we love are burning. -Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros Biography Born 1954 (Chicago) Novelist, poet, teacher, philanthropist. One of the first female Mexican American writers to have her works published by a mainstream press. Lived and worked in San Antonio for many years, currently resides in Mexico. Established Macondo Foundation and Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation to support the work of rising writers. Works include The House on Mango Street (1984), Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991), Caramelo (2002), A House of My Own (2015). Awards include MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Arts, and PEN/Nabokov Award for international literature.
The Author Responds I believe books are medicine. A library is a medicine cabinet. What can heal one person may not work for at all for somebody else. You know when something is helaing you, just as you know when somethings isn t. And if my book isn t doing the trick and doesn t serve you, you re not required to keep reading. But please allow it to remain on the library shelf for someone else who needs its particular medicine.
Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
Texas TEKS (5) Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed. The student is expected to: (A) describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts (8) Author's purpose and craft: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances. The student is expected to: (A) analyze the author's purpose, audience, and message within a text; (B) evaluate use of text structure to achieve the author's purpose; (C) evaluate the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes; (D) evaluate how the author's use of language informs and shapes the perception of readers; (E) evaluate the use of literary devices such as paradox, satire, and allegory to achieve specific purposes; (F) evaluate how the author's diction and syntax contribute to the mood, voice, and tone of a text; and (G) analyze the effects of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies on the way the text is read and understood.
Major Themes Identity formation Class, ethnicity, and sexuality Bi-culturalism Home and a sense of place Rebellion and individualism The development of a writer She stares at the ceilings and walls of her apartment the way she once stared at the ceilings and walls of the apartments she grew up in, inventing stories to go along with these pictures. At night, under the circle of light from a cheap mental lamp clamped to the kitchen table, she sits with paper and a pen and pretends she s not afraid. She s trying to live like a writer. ( A House of my Own : 25th Anniversary edition).
The House on Mango Street Summary Esperanza, the young narrator of the story, longs to line in a real home while growing up poor in the barrios of Chicago. She learns in the course of the novel that Mango street is an integral part of her identity. Themes Growing up The endurance of the individual Gaining agency through the creative process Sense of place
The House on Mango Street Symbolism many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. ( My Name ) In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too Diction made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do. ( My Name ) I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name
The House on Mango Street Symbolism and Point of View I like to tell stories. I tell them inside my head. I tell them after the mailman says, Here s your mail. Here s your mail he said. I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. I say, And so she trudged up the wooden stairs, her sad brown shoes taking her to the house she never liked. I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who didn t want to belong. We didn t always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong to. I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free. ( Mango Says Goodbye )
The House on Mango Street Style and Tone She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty that is there to be admired by anyone, like a heard of clouds grazing overhead. She experiments, creating a text that is as succinct and flexible as poetry, snapping sentences into fragments so that the reader pauses, making each sentence serve her and not the other way round, abandoning quotations marks to streamline the typography and make the page as simple and readable as possible. ( A House of my Own : 25th Anniversary edition)
Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories Summary Short story collection (22 total) in 3 sections My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn Stories of childhood, similar to Mango Street One Holy Night Stories of adolescence, more mature themes There Was A Man, There Was a Woman Stories of adulthood, romance, sexuality Themes Growing up Class, ethnicity, and sexuality Rebellion and individualism Romance and heartache
Why write? A House of my Own : 25th Anniversary edition asked at Iowa. Should she be teaching these students to write poetry when they need to know how to defend themselves from someone beating them up ? How can art make a difference in the world? This was never Mango Says Goodbye (from The House on Mango Street) will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away. One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I Where did she go with all those books and paper? Why did she march so far away? Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to Esperanza? ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out. They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the
For further reading Short stories: For students: Mericans : Mexico, Next Right For you: Never Marry a Mexican. Poetry For students: Peaches-Six in a Tin Bowl ; My Wicked, Wicked Ways For you: You Bring Out the Mexican in Me Essays For students: Only Daughter For you: Hydra House ; The Author Responds
