The House on Mango Street Foreignness and 'The Other' Quotes

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

Quote #10

My father says when he came to this country he ate hamandeggs for three months. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hamandeggs. That was the only word he knew. He doesn't eat hamandeggs anymore. (30.7)

Esperanza's father can relate to Mamacita. His refusal to eat hamandeggs anymore can be read as his way of trying to forget the isolation he felt as an immigrant.

Quote #11

¡Ay! Mamacita, who does not belong, ever once in a while lets out a cry, hysterical, high, as if he had torn the only skinny thread that kept her alive, the only road out to that country. (30.15)

Here Esperanza describes foreignness as a state of not belonging – which is how Esperanza herself feels a lot of the time.