Isolation In Isabel Allende's 'The House Of The Spirits'

“On March 20, 2000, he goes to his grandmother Águeda’s house. He stands on the same porch that his mother disappeared from eleven years ago. He hugs Maria Isabel and Aunt Rosa Amelia. Then he steps off” (44).

stubborn she is in staying in them: “For days, she went silent with rage” (10). This reveals just how far Estrella will venture to seethe in her emotions— and so much so, in fact, that her mother “believed her a victim of the evil eye” (11). To be in one emotion, and to not explain it to others, speaks volumes about Estrella— she is persistent about how she feels and will stay this way for days. In other words, this use of selective detail portrays how Estrella is quick to swell with passion about how she feels— by “becoming very angry,” merely because she saw Perfecto’s tools and assumed it was a secret being kept from her, her character is portrayed as someone who easily feels upset, or moody, by things that she may not even know for certain. To reword, through selection of detail, Viramontes is able to develop Estrella’s character because she describes particular instances where Estrella’s fragile temper is aroused by unfamiliar, or unfair, concepts or objects. This use of selective detail furthers her character because it conveys how Estrella is stubbornly consumed by her emotions even when she does not have the full story.

While, Esteban who is just an ordinary person and at the same time a dead man, was portrayed as a good looking guy, We can see this in paragraph 4, “Not only was he the tallest and strongest, most virile, and best built man they had ever seen, but even though they were looking at him there was no room for him in their imagination”. What’s ironic here is even though he is a drowned dead man who is supposed to be portrayed as a man full of anguish, he is still portrayed as a good looking as peaceful looking man. And even though he is already, many women still fantasize him.

? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example,

When a character is exposed to an incident in which his or her perspective is forever changed, he or she will gain knowledge and maturity. An event such as being raped is an example of how one can lose his or her innocence. The House on Mango Street leads the reader into analyzing his or her own life. It shows how Esperanza’s pure view of life has changed to become a more sophisticated and realistic one. Growing up is something that everyone, at one point or another, goes through. This loss of innocence is something that is unavoidable and irreversible. When people lose their innocence, they gain maturity and gain knowledge. When a person losing the pureness in them, they open their eyes and they are able to see the world for what it really

To begin, when Cisneros characterizes Esperanza as a “red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor” (9), Cisneros means to show how Esperanza feels restricted to live out her full potential. Like the anchor, obstacles such as gender roles and the lack of financial support hold Esperanza back from escaping the expectations of marriage and subservience to men. The “red balloon” (9) also characterizes Esperanza as a unique and bright individual who does not belong to Mango Street. In the novella, Cisneros uses red to characterize prominent details in Esperanza’s life like the “red clowns” (99) and the “red red lips” (89) of the woman whose

As a young girl Esperanza is asked one day where she lived by a nun from her school who happened to be walking by. Now before this moment Esperanza never really notice her living situation, all she knew is that her parents loved her and wanted her to go to school. When the nun rudely said “You live there” (Cinceros 5) and pointed at the shoddy apartment building, it is then Esperanza started to build a dream inside of her head because of the look on the nun’s face, unsatisfactory.

In Allende’s The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba is the principal male character. During the course of the novel, Trueba increases his power in the world as he progresses in status from a conservative landowner to a powerful senator. He is tyrannical, treating his family members and the tenants on his family hacienda, Tres Marías, like subjects rather than intimate community. The basis for most of Trueba's actions is the desire for power, control, and wealth, and he pursues these things at any cost, disregarding his emotional decline and the effects of his actions upon the people in his life.

that he only did it to get revenge for what her grandfather did to his

The House of the Spirits written by Isabel Allende is an extraordinary novel that weaves together, history, politics, and current events to create a unique piece of literature. Throughout the novel on several occasions it is clear that there is inequality between the aristocrats and the peasants and this leads to struggle between the classes. The issue of class struggle takes the form of growing conflict by causing a division between the Conservatives and Socialists. At the head of the Conservatives is Esteban Trueba, a violent and materialistic figure. He believes people need to work their way up to the top and there is no reason that peasants share the upper classes wealth. On the other hand, Pedro Tercero Garcia represents the

Finalizing her poem with the last two stanzas, Espaillat describes her opinion about her father in a hopeful tone. “I like to think he knew that, even when, / proud (orgulloso) of his daughter’s pen, // her stood outside mis versos, half in fear / of words he loved but wants not to hear” (lis 15-18). She wishes for her father to accept

Allende use of imagery allows the reader to picture specific traits about the main characters. For example, one trait of Belisa is that she is clever, a trait of the colonel is that he is lonely, and that El Mulato is loyal. One example of Belisa’s cleverness is when she learns how to read and write to in order to survive. In the story, Belisa begins by working for a newspaper. She spends her money on a dictionary and a teacher (81). This portrays an image of a little girl working hard, not only physically, but mentally as well. This takes intellect and a determination, but what takes cleverness is not just using words that she found in a dictionary (81). Another example of her cleverness is after she has helped the Colonel, and El Mulato comes for her. Allende writes, “She had been waiting. She picked up her inkwell, folded the canvas of

This essay will be going through the different types of love, and the power that they wield. Throughout the novel, different characters hold different powers of love. First, Clara’s love towards Ferula and Pedro Segundo will be discussed. And second, Esteban’s obsessiveness with Clara will be looked at closer. The bonds of love are stronger in relationships that aren’t acceptable compared to relationships that are acceptable in society.

Esperanza wishes to be grown so she can be free from Mango Street, but she is faced with a sense of powerlessness and no role models to show her to be powerful. Esperanza is surrounded by women who have submitted to their fate instead of standing up for themselves, except for Alicia. Esperanza, instead of following every woman who has submitted to their powerlessness, has chosen a role model who is showing her to be powerful. After Esperanza is raped, the peak of her powerlessness, she is speaking with Alicia, “No, this isn’t my house I say and shake my head as if shaking could undo the year I’ve lived here...No, Alicia says. Like it or not you are Mango Street, and one day you’ll come back too. Not me. Not until somebody makes it better. Who’s going to do it? Not the mayor” (Cisneros 106). Alicia is telling Esperanza that no matter how hard she tries, Mango Street will always be a part of her past, and she will come back someday. But at the same time, she’s hinting to Esperanza that she is strong enough to come back and change Mango Street for the better. Because who else is going to do it? Esperanza understands Alicia’s message to her and reflects upon what she wishes her future to be like, “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 forever. One day I will go away...They will not know I have gone away to

This relates to the theme of the struggle for self definition, because at first Esperanza was under the impression she could change a man, but as she’s exposed to these horrible encounters she comes to the conclusion that boys and girls live in different worlds.