Esperanza is the heart and soul of this story – she's our protagonist and narrator, and the person who develops and changes the most over the course of the novel. Because of the fragmentary w...

The most notable thing about Sally is that she's a bombshell. She's the gorgeous girl that all the boys at school talk about in the locker room. She's got eyes like Cleopatra, and she wears nylons...

It's clear from her description of her parents that Esperanza feels a lot of affection for them – Esperanza's Mama and Papa are the forces that make the house on Mango Street a home, even whe...

Alicia is an older girl in the neighborhood who studies at the university. Alicia's mother died, and Alicia is forced to take up many of the chores that her mama used to do, like making the tortill...

Cathy is a big snob. She befriends Esperanza when the Cordero family moves to Mango Street, but tells her their friendship will be short lived – her family is moving on Tuesday because the ne...