Trees

 In the book the house on mango street by Sandra Cisneros the book contains many types of figurative language to emphasize and make the main topics of the story clear for the reader. The main character in the book is a young woman named Esperanza living a poor Hispanic base community where she faces difficulties, having Many adventures attempting to over come. The author uses and focuses alliteration on trees. Trees in the chapter meme Ortiz and in the four skinny trees it seems to signify and relate back to the characters. The characters in that chapter include Esperanza and meme both young teens. The trees and both of teenagers seem to both face struggles of being somewhere and growing/being in unwanted places and situations. "Down at the base of the tree, the dog with tow names barks into the empty air"(Page 22)Esperanza faces the struggle of her low income community. While esperanza may truly understand her family situation she believes other will begin to judge her family. Having a friend such, and a nun comment on her house further led her to feel as if she does not fit in. Though esperanza may feel as if people may not understand her she perseveres rather than letting people get in her way.
 Esperanza begins to relate to the four old skinny trees that are in front of her house. Those trees all understand each other. They face the difficulty of not fitting in or being wanted. "They are the only ones who understand me. i am only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with and pointy elbows like mine" (Page 74)The trees face the difficulty of the cement in their roots, but they continue to grow not allowing them to hold then back. Esperanza believes and finds herself in a place where she believes that the trees are an exact mirror or reflection of who and what she is. She states that the trees are skinny while she has a skinny neck, the trees too have branch long thin arms. Esperanza feels as if she is another tree along side with the ones in her house.
 The tree in meme Ortiz's house on the other hand was something not to mess with or go near since he began to climb it, he fell and broke both of his arms as a result. Esperanza found it to be resilient since it grew and stood out even more than the ones in front of her house. Though she may not want to climb it one more time she begins to point out that there are many squirrels in the top of the tree. The squirrels tend to symbolize that there is life and stands clear, it shows the tree did not allow anything from it to grow. The trees growing in esperanza's house to be as big as the one meme's house. It tends to show the possibilities of growing and being resilient. Meme's tree shows the future of esperanza's tree. The trees reflect on what esperanza feels and how she may overcome.