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

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

Quote #4

Louie's girl cousin is older than us. She lives with Louie's family because her own family is in Puerto Rico. (10.2)

Depictions of foreignness in literature are often associated with feelings of exile. Louie's cousin, whose family is in Puerto Rico, brings up the issue of exile for the first time in the novel.

Quote #5

But what difference does it make? He wasn't anything to her […] Just another brazer who didn't speak English. Just another wetback. You know the kind. The ones who always look ashamed. (25.5)

The derogatory statements made here could be the imagined commentary of the hospital workers and police offers that interview Marin, asking her questions about the unidentified man who was killed. Geraldo is regarded as an insignificant loss because of his lack of personal connections, his nationality, and his status as a laborer.

Quote #6

They never saw the kitchenettes. They never knew about the two-room flats and sleeping rooms he rented, the weekly money orders sent home, the currency exchange. How could they? (25.8)

Here Esperanza imagines what the life of Geraldo must have been like.