“The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Awakening are two pieces of literature that are quite obvious in their intent to reveal the reality of female agency in their environments, however there are several texts that, while less apparent in their themes, are subtly crafted and just as effective in detailing the path of a women in discovering her efficacy as those two scripts. In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros captures in a series of poetic selections of prose the journey of a young girl who is traveling throughout a culture that, like many, puts a damper on female agency. However, in many ways, the protagonist and several characters make small efforts to increase their efficacy in such a world, even as many other females within the text lose their sense of agency and are lost to the impossible and suffocating expectations of society. The novel followed the blossoming life of a young Latina girl in a neighborhood dominated by those in her same situation and detailed how this setting affected her and her goals in the future, and, in turn, how she clung to her agency that was constantly vulnerable to extinction. The small yet expressive stages throughout the book lead the reader on a journey of eclectic adventures and happenings in young Esperanza’s time on Mango Street. In her Hispanic dominated avenue of Chicago, many things occurred that perhaps would not have taken place in the ordinary lives of any young girl of another race, and her ethnicity proved to be a factor in her pursuit to create her own life through her personal strength. Esperanza was forced to react to not only the expectations of human society as a
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Awakening are two pieces of literature that are quite obvious in their intent to reveal the reality of female agency in their environments, however there are several texts that, while less apparent in their themes, are subtly crafted and just as effective in detailing the path of a women in discovering her efficacy as those two scripts. In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros captures in a series of poetic selections of prose the journey of a young girl who is traveling throughout a culture that, like many, puts a damper on female agency. However, in many ways, the protagonist and several characters make small efforts to increase their efficacy in such a world, even as many other females within the text lose their sense of agency and are lost to the impossible and suffocating expectations of society. The novel followed the blossoming life of a young Latina girl in a neighborhood dominated by those in her same situation and detailed how this setting affected her and her goals in the future, and, in turn, how she clung to her agency that was constantly vulnerable to extinction. The small yet expressive stages throughout the book lead the reader on a journey of eclectic adventures and happenings in young Esperanza’s time on Mango Street. In her Hispanic dominated avenue of Chicago, many things occurred that perhaps would not have taken place in the ordinary lives of any young girl of another race, and her ethnicity proved to be a factor in her pursuit to create her own life through her personal strength. Esperanza was forced to react to not only the expectations of human society as a