The House on Mango Street Dreams, Hopes, and Plans Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street, far away and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you. […] There'd be no nosy neighbors watching, no motorcycles and cars, no sheets and towels and laundry. Only trees and more trees and plenty of blue sky.

Esperanza's dream for Sally sounds an awful lot like what Esperanza wants for herself. This is the first house that Esperanza envisions and describes, but later she'll dream up others for herself. It's as if Esperanza were letting Sally share in her secret wish.

Quote #5

And you could laugh, Sally. You could go to sleep and wake up and never have to think who likes and doesn't like you. You could close your eyes and you wouldn't have to worry what people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you're strange because you like to dream and dream.

Esperanza tends to think of herself as being different – as not belonging in her environment. It's interesting that here she uses the phrase "never belonged here" to describe Sally. It's further evidence that Esperanza's house fantasy is related to her feelings of not belonging; it's an escape from the environment that she doesn't feel like she belongs to.

Quote #6

I am tired of looking at what we can't have. When we win the lottery…Mama begins, and then I stop listening. (34.1)

Esperanza becomes disillusioned with her parents' dreams of affording a big, beautiful house. It seems she may suspect it will never happen.