Blog Post #1

In the novel “The House on Mango Street,” Sandra Cisneros use of imagery in the vignette “Hips” reveals the theme of identity and self-definition. For example, when Rachel, Lucy and Esperanza came together to jump rope, they ended up talking about their hips and how they apparently grew in overnight.  Each girl takes her turn telling what they think hips are useful for. “They’re good for holding a baby when you’re cooking, Rachel says”(Cisneros 49). Lucy says “you need them to dance”(49). “If you don’t get them you may turn into a man”(49) Nenny says. Esperanza thinks that “hips are scientific…it’s the bones that let you know which skeleton was a man’s when it was a man and which was a woman’s”(50). By giving these immature hypothesis and visions of hips, the girls reveal their lack of knowledge and growing insecurity in their hips. As the girls grow and mature, the only thing they know to do is believe whatever Alicia says because she goes to school and is smart. These girls, like most girls, grow up believing whatever they hear older people say. Due to the fact that they don’t want to talk to their parents about their changing bodies, they grow insecure and decide to talk about it with friends and make up silly stories.