Analysis Of Setting In ‘The House On Mango Street’ And ‘A Clean, Well-lighted Place’

The two authors express their feelings for the place in a strikingly alike way. Esperanza discusses her many family homes in Cisneros story. Two waiters discussing their life differences and contrasting opinions in Hemingways story. The two stories have very different settings, but both can be interpreted as expressing feelings of despair and disappointment.

Esperanza’s family’s constant change of living circumstances is explained in “The House on Mango Street”. The house her family was renting always required them to move, until they purchased a house in Mango Street. It was a very small, run-down house that was owned by the family. She says that the bricks are crumbling and you have to press hard to enter. There isn’t a front yard …”. The narrator then says that all six family members must share one bedroom and bathroom. Esperanza didn’t feel at home in their new house, which is an improvement on their previous houses. Esperanza imagined something larger and more spectacular. She was hoping for the real home that “Papa had talked about while holding the lottery ticket” or that “Mama had dreamed of in her stories told to us before bed”. They wanted a house with “real stairs” – not just hallway stairs – but like those seen on TV. There would also be at least three bathrooms and a large yard without fences. It is fair to say that Mango Street’s house was not what the author had imagined. Esperanza is disappointed by the difference between what she expects and what she gets, as she always hopes for a house that’s beautiful like on television. But she never gets it.In the story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, an old deaf man frequents a café. The old man drinks at the cafe to escape his unhappy life. The well-lit, clean cafe provides comfort to the elderly man. The older and younger waiters watch him closely, because he has a reputation for getting drunk and leaving without paying. It was late and the older waiter and younger waiter watched the old man. He is known to get drunk and leave without paying. The older waiter got impatient with the passing of time and wanted home. “I’d like him to go home,” he said. Hemingway, 3: “I don’t go to sleep before three in the morning.” The older man insisted on keeping the cafe open as he knew that the deaf gentleman needed it to escape his life of nothingness. He shares the sentiments of the older man that life is nothing but a waste. The younger waiter finds it absurd to think that someone would stay out late instead of being home with their families. The older one tries to explain how he used to have a family at home, but is now lonely and wants to be in a place with good lighting. The younger waiter clearly sees the café as a job, while the older waiter sees it as an escape from the monotony of everyday life.

Esperanza feels that she does not have a home. She searches for a home. The house in Mango Street is a symbol of her realization that she desires more from life. In the final part of the story, she says: “I realized then that I wanted a house. A real home. A real house. This isn’t the house. It’s not the house on Mango Street,” (Cisneros). In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, the older waiter implies that his only possession is the café. The cafe is his home. The cafe was his sanctuary, just as it was for the old man. He understands how important a clean, well-lit café is to those who are looking for a place of refuge from the “nothingness” of the outside world.

Esperanza is like the older man in that both are striving for something more in life. The older man prefers a cafe that is calm, clean and well-lit to a nightclub. He can be alone and avoid loneliness while doing so. It is necessary to have light in order to drive away the shadows of darkness. The older waiter was then forced to leave the cafe when it closed. The bar is clean, but it’s not well-lit. Esperanza, too, swears to have a proper home someday. She doesn’t want to feel embarrassed about her extravagant, large house. She wants to be proud of her big, extravagant house rather than embarrassed. The characters, despite their dreams of a better life, both fail to achieve it. Esperanza’s disappointment is shared by the older server and Esperanza.