Many people go through life living in their shadows, afraid to come out because of their shame. Sandra Cisneros in her novel, House on Mango Street, writes about a girl named Esperanza who is ashamed of her surroundings, appearance and family. While Esperanza initially has no hope and dwells on her shame, by the end of the novel her shame has turned into something she can try to fix and she has more hope. At the beginning of the novel Esperanza has to go through teen anxiety of her shame alone. Esperanza would tell herself, "I am an ugly daughter. I am the one nobody comes for" (p 88). She was always afraid that no one would want to marry her or even be her friend because she thought she wasn't pretty enough for anyone. Esperanza would dwell on this shame of her outer appearance, always repeating these words over and over in her head. "It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing" (p 10). Esperanza was even shameful to tell people her name, afraid they wouldn't be her friend because of it. She would sit and think of different names she would like to be called, instead of dealing with it and looking for the beauty in her own name. Although Esperanza was very insecure at the beginning of the novel, she was able to gain confidence after she met three old women who gave her hope.
             Towards the end of the novel, Esperanza gets an extra kindly push towards hope from the three old ladies and she tries to deal with her shame by looking forward to what she can do about it. "Esperanza, the old veined one repeated in a high thin voice. Esperanza...a good good name" (p 104). When one of the three old ladies said this to Esperanza it changed her perspective on her name, disputing her theory that her name was ugly. She no longer was afraid to say her name, even though deep down...