Object of the Study

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is a novel entitled The House on Mango Street written by Sandra Cisneros. This novel consists of 110 pages divided into 44 chapters. It is a novel made of interconnected vignettes. At the first glance, this book seems like a collection of a short story, but actually each part of the story is connected each other. It is the style of the author in writing this book. The House on Mango Street is written by Sandra Cisneros and published in 1984. After the publication of the book, The House on Mango Street was awarded “The Before Columbus American Book Award”. That is why the book is worth to be studied. The novel itself tells us about the portrayal of adolescent Mexican – American girl Chicana named Esperanza that lives in Mango Street. Her characterization develops throughout the course of the novel. In the first half of the novel, Esperanza is described as a shy and innocent girl. But in the second half of the novel, she starts to be more mature in her way of thinking and realize what her goal of her life is. From the beginning of the novel until the end, she faces many experiences that show male domination toward girls and women in her society. Esperanza observes many female characters in her neighborhood. Esperanza learns positive and negative things from the other female characters. There are positive examples of female characters that help Esperanza to develop. For example, they help her to develop her artistic talent in writing poetry, understand the concept of heaven and hell, etc. But, there are also negative examples of female characters that do not have intention to come out from the male domination. Esperanza is different from other female characters in this story that do not have intention to defy the male domination. The male domination that she has faced through her experiences and the male domination that she has seen through other female character’s experiences will encourage her to respond it. Esperanza’s response toward male domination in this story reflects feminism value. Later in the analysis, the writer will show how male domination is presented and how feminism value is reflected through Esperanza’s response toward male domination in this novel.

B. Approach of the Study