Cisneros Reading Group- Unit 1

1. Rae Lyn Helmick – Summarizer-The basic summary of “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros is a short story of a young female character describing her feelings towards her name. She explains that she was given the name because it was the name of her grandmother. Esperanza goes on to tell the similarities between her and her grandmother, such as they were born under the same Chinese symbol- the horse, and she also says that she would have liked to meet her grandmother. The story says that the grandmother spent her life being sad and just staring out the window, and the narrator Esperanza explains that she may have inherited the name but she does not want to inherit the place in front of the window. It is interesting that in the end of the story, Esperanza says that she would like to baptize herself under a new name and lists possibilities, in one way she is giving herself hope (the meaning of Esperanza) to become stronger.


2. Trevor Jones- Passage Picker


3. Tara Hutton- Icon Crafter-By reading the story “My Name” it made me think of visual images such as a window, a girl making a decision and the reasons she has to change her name. I visualized a window because in the story her great-grandmother, also named Esperanza, looked out the window all her life in sadness (Esperanza means “sadness” in Spanish and “hope” in English). Esperanza did not want to do the same as her great-grandmother in her life. I also thought of a girl making a decision because she was being pulled in two opposite directions, what her family wants and what she wants. She had good reasons to why she wanted to change her name to ZeZe the X, first of all it is what she wants for herself, its more like the real her, it defines her like nobody else knows her, and she thinks it is a better way to define her personal “self”.


4. Megan Riddle- Creative ConnectorIn the story “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros the main character Esperanza expresses feelings about her name and what it means to her. She was named after her grandmother. Even though she seems to admire her grandmother and wishes that she would have got the chance to meet her she isn’t fond of her name. She wants to change her name to ZeZe. Many people can relate to Esperanza. Now a days, so many people are named after some one in their family. With men, the name is usually carried down to the next generation of male. For example, my grandfather’s name is Richard and that name has been carried down through my father and now my little brother. When it comes to women, many girls are name after someone close in their family. Just like Esperanza was named after her grandmother. Not only do people usually inherit their first name, some inherit their middle name. My middle name is Christine after my Aunt who is very dear to the family. Although people inherit these names form someone special in their families that doesn’t always mean they are keen on it. Esperanza hated her name. When she thought of her name she thought of her grandmother, alone by the window side. To Esperanza her name does not define who she is. It is interesting that she wants to change her name to ZeZe, which she believes better represents who she is. I’m sure if many of us were asked if our name characterizes who we are, many would disagree. However, it is the name we were given at birth and the name we must live with everyday.


5. Dane Mitcheson- Researcher-*http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/chh/bio/cisneros_s.htmThe author of “My Name” is Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros was born in 1954 into a poverty ridden Chicago family. She grew up an only daughter in a large Latino family with seven children. Since Sandra was the only girl and her family moved often, friendships were hard to come by and she was often alone. Therefore, she began to observe her surroundings and recorded her feelings about them in a secret diary. In school, she struggled because she was so quiet and reserved, but her father and mother stressed the importance of education. Finally, Cisneros was forced to read one of her creative writings to the class in tenth grade. After reading this her writing and student life took off, she joined the school’s literary magazine and ultimately turned into the editor. When high school was over, Cisneros attended Loyola University and majored in English. Upon graduating, she enrolled in the Iowa Writer’s Workshop which is a greatly respected graduate school to study poetry. Although her wealthy classmates brought back memories of her younger years during her first year of grad school, she eventually realized that her background made her different than everyone. She began to write poems and stories that mirror her experiences involving conflicting cultures and languages which she continues to do today. In the exert “My Name” which is taken from the 1984 book “The House on Mango Street,” a young girl does not like her name, Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish. This story encompasses two common themes that Cisneros writes about. They are self-identity and gender. Along with gender and self-identity, she also writes about poverty and cultural suppression. After “The House on Mango Street,” she wrote “My Wicked, Wicked Ways” which was a poetry book. Unfortunately, Cisneros ran out of money to continue her writing career. This prompted her to take a teaching job at California State University. While teaching, she regained funds to continue her writing career. She wrote a book consisting of short stories about tough Mexican American women living along the Mexican border called “Women Hollering Creek and Other Stories.” She received an offer from Random House to publish the book in 1991 which made her the first Mexican American woman to be published. The book was a huge success with critics from all of the country raving about it. In 1994, she wrote “Loose Woman” which was a poetry book about love. Today, Sandra Cisneros lives in San Antonio where she continues to write.