Like many, my first encounter with Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street was during high school. I vividly recall being a sophomore in English class, tasked by my teacher to select a book and delve into a social issue it presented. Driven by perhaps a bit too much youthful ambition, I chose The House on Mango Street, deciding to focus my paper on the complexities of Mexican assimilation within the United States. Years later, this book still resonates deeply, so much so that I find myself revisiting its pages annually. Among its poignant vignettes, “Bums in the Attic” remains my absolute favorite, and I wanted to share it here:
Bums in the Attic
I want a house on a hill like the ones with the gardens where papa works. We go on Sundays, Papa’s day off. I used to go. I don’t anymore. You don’t like to go out with us, Papa says. Getting to old? Getting too stuck-up, says Nenny. I don’t tell them I am ashamed– all of us staring out the window like the hungry. I am tired of looking at what we can’t have. When we win the lottery…Mama begins, and then I stop listening.
People who live on the hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth. They don’t look down at all except to be content to live on hills. They have nothing to do with last week’s garbage or fear of rats. Night comes. Nothing wakes them but the wind.
One day I’ll own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from. Passing bums will ask, Can I come in? I’ll offer them the attic, ask them to stay, because I know how it is to be without a house.
Some days after dinner, guests and I will sit in front of a fire. Floorboards will squeak upstairs. The attic grumble.
Rats? they’ll ask.
Bums, I’ll say, and I’ll be happy.
This short piece encapsulates so much of what makes The House on Mango Street a powerful and enduring work. Esperanza’s quiet yearning for a better life, symbolized by the “house on a hill,” is palpable. The vignette beautifully contrasts the lives of those in privileged positions (“People who live on the hills”) with the realities of those struggling, like Esperanza’s family, who are “tired of looking at what we can’t have.”
Yet, beyond the desire for upward mobility, “Bums in the Attic” reveals a profound sense of empathy and a commitment to remembering one’s roots. Esperanza’s dream isn’t just about escaping poverty; it’s about creating a space where she can offer refuge to others who are experiencing hardship. Her promise to welcome “bums” into her attic is not a literal plan, but a powerful metaphor for her determination to remain connected to her community and to extend compassion to those less fortunate, even after she achieves her dreams.
For anyone interested in exploring themes of identity, social class, and the American Dream, The House on Mango Street offers a deeply moving and insightful read. Exploring a “House On Mango Street Pdf” version can be a great way to delve into Cisneros’s masterful storytelling and the enduring lessons found within vignettes like “Bums in the Attic.”
