The Struggle of Identity: A Feminist Analysis of Sandra Cisneros’ The House of Mango Street (1983) and Michelle Cliff’s No Telephone to Heaven (1987).
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Date
2021
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UNIVERSITY OF ABBES LAGHROUR-KHENCHELA
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes the works of Sandra Cisneros‟s The House on Mango Street and
Michelle cliff‟s No Telephone to Heaven. It deals with a set of vibrant themes such as
identity, sexuality, language, woman oppression, belonging, migration, and racism. Each
theme has its own significance and representation in the respective novels. Each of the stories
has its own beauty in portraying woman in a way that shows and presents their power courage
and capacities no matter how society treats them and the situation is. This study adopts
Feminism and Marxism as the main approaches to analyze the novels and to stances that
explore the struggle of women. This dissertation aims to shed light on women‟s role in
claiming their identities each in their own different way. They fight to prove to the society
that they are not fragile and soft as they look; their urge to better themselves made them
strong enough to stand to the oppression they bear from society and people around them. In
terms of chapters, this research consists of two chapters. Chapter one, entitled “Exploring the
Conflict of Self-identity in Sandra Cisneros‟s The House on Mango Street,” deals with the
story of Esperanza and her journey towards finding herself in a patriarchal neighborhood.
Similarly, chapter two is titled “Claiming Identity in Michelle Cliff‟s No Telephone to
Heaven.” It deals with the life of Clare and how she evolved to be a strong woman that fought
for her principles. The chapters mainly contain an analysis with stances from the novels.