Sandra Cisneros: A Formal Research

Sandra Cisneros; A Formal Research

Sandra Cisneros is famous for her works told about Mexican girls. As a Mexican-American herself, her culture played a huge role in what she wrote about. The characters that she created embody the characteristics that her time period, and her own personal life pushed into creating a unique writing style.

When she was growing up, Sandra Cisneros moved constantly. Her father was full blooded Mexican and moved her family between Mexico City and Chicago repeatedly. Consequently, Sandra often had a sense of “always straddling two counties … but not belonging to either culture” (Wikipedia). This can be easily seen in her writing when characters, such as Esperanza in The House on Mango Street, feel displaced or like they don't belong.

Sandra's writing about Mexican women can also be seen in her home life, as Sandra is the only surviving daughter out of seven children. Sandra has said before that her brothers had often tried to control her and dictate to her what her life would be like. “...and her brother's attempts to make her assume traditional female role is reflected in the feminist strains of her writing” (Gradesaver).

Sandra's upbringing caused her to develop a different writing style than what was considered normal for her time. It wasn't until she attended The University of Iowa's workshop that she realized that her own culture and experiences were outside that of the dominant American culture (Biography.jrank). Sandra has confided that it was those differences that inspired her to create unique works.

Sandra has been quoted as saying that she is grateful to have “twice as many words... two ways of looking at the world” (Wikipedia). Sandra has been know to incorporate Spanish words into her English writing. She believes that the Spanish words can better convey the message of her passages. It “adds spice to the English language.” Sandra has said that she likes to manipulate the two languages to make things entirely new. She creates new expressions in English by translating from Spanish directly. All of that gives the reader Sandra's ability to look at an issue from two sides,