4。2。3 In Search of Female Identity 17

4。3 Other Repeated Images 17

5。 Conclusion 19

Bibliography 20

1。 Introduction 

1。1 A Brief Introduction of Sandra Cisneros and The House on Mango Street来自优W尔Y论W文C网WWw.YoueRw.com 加QQ7520,18766

In recent years, African American, Chinese, Jewish, Indian literature has made a major breakthrough。 A group of minority literature has successfully moved from the edge to the center, recognized and accepted by the white mainstream society。 Nowadays, the number of Hispanic immigrants in the United States has exceeded that of African Americans, becoming the largest minority。 Since the late 1980s and early 90s, the Hispanic American writer, taking Mexico as the representative, was suddenly risen as a new force in American literature。 The first one who stands out is Sandra Cisneros。 She was born in Chicago in 1954。 Her mother is an American of Mexico and her father is Mexican。 She has six brothers and is the only girl in her family。 From her childhood, she moved with her parents in Mexico and the United States。 The state of freedom made her feel that she did not belong to any culture。 In 1980, Sandra Cisneros published her first work Bad Boys。 However, her real success began with The House on Mango Street。 Told in a series of 44 vignettes with different topics for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros’ highly admired novel of a young Mexican American girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago。 Esperanza Cordero is born in an immigrant family and grows up in a dim street in the poor Latino community。 Each story in this book has different characters, but all of them revolve around Esperanza’s observation or imagination。 Although the actual timing of the story is not specified, the novel seems to chronicle a few years of Esperanza’s life in her Chicano neighborhood, as she moves from the naivety of childhood to the shocking understanding of the injustices of sexual inequality, violence, and socioeconomic disparities。

1。2 Background and Significance of the Study

From the middle of the twentieth century, a new wave of immigration to American started to emerge all over the world。 A large number of Latin American immigrants swarmed into the United States, the “New World”, to search for a new life or their “American Dream”。 Among these immigrants, Mexico-American (Chicano) is the mainstream。 As they and their children started to blend into the American society, new writers among them emerged and began to write stories about themselves。 Their works were mostly of immigrant color, which revealed the unique way of thinking and lifestyle in comparison with the American natives。

The census in 2000 shows that the amount of Hispanic American increased by 58% in 90s that is over four times to the total growth rate of American population。 And the amount of Hispanic American population has reached to 35。3 million which is 13。6% of the total population。 As a result, the Mexican immigrants might be the largest ethnicity in the United States。 There is a substantial increase on proportion of population of Mexican immigrants。

It has had a great impact on American society。 The United States is the centre of worldwide immigrants。 However, the racial discrimination can’t be eradicated。 Because of it, most immigrants are living in the edge of society。 And under the terrible living environment, they can’t deserve enough social concerns。论文网

“Nation” has a relatively stable historical category。 Although the "nation" has a perse, multi-level definition, its basic meaning has two levels: One is the nation on the sense of national state; second is the nation with the different ethnic groups of the nation within countries。 The pursuit to cultural difference and sexual discourse is one of the leading tendencies in the modern world。