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The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - 766 Words

I am writing a literary analysis on â€Å"The House on Mango Street† by Sandra Cisneros. This story takes place in the center of an over populated Latino neighborhood in Chicago, a city where many of the poor areas are ethnically segregated. This novella uses two main symbols shoes and trees. Later in the literary analysis I will explain what these mean to the main characters. There are three main characters in the novella Esperanza, Sally and Nenny (short for â€Å"Magdalena†). The House on Mango Street tells the life of Esperanza over a years’ time. Over the course of the year, Esperanza became more mature sexually and emotionally. She is determined to break free from the abuse of Mango Street to have a place of her own, but soon has a strong feeling of responsibility towards the people in her community. In the literary analysis I will be breaking down the Character, symbols and theme to give you a better look into the lives of the characters on Mango Street. The characters of The House on Mango Street include Esperanza the narrator, her family and her many friends and neighbors. In this literary analysis I will be analyzing the main three, Esperanza, Sally and Nenny. In The House on Mango Street a year goes by and Esperanza matures. She begins growing into a young woman. More people see her as a lady and not and innocent child. She also develops a sexual desire for some of the neighborhood boys. Emotionally she feels the desire for love. Although, her sexual desire becomesShow MoreRelatedThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1132 Words   |  5 Pageslives. In the collection of short stories, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, she focuses on a young Hispanic girl named Esperanza Cordero who grew up on Mango Street. As she is changing and maturing, she writes down her experiences about discrimination of gender, sexual orientation, and more. Esperanza s transformation from a young and innocent girl to a mature woman is displayed through her self-realization and experiences that help Cisneros reveal how one s own experiences can lead toRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1297 Words   |  6 Pagesto think of a story to create, most of the advice given to them is â€Å"write what you know.† This was perfect advice for Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros, who draws upon her coming-of-age events throughout her childhood and adolescence in â€Å"The House on Mango Street.† Drawing from life stories, her alter ego â€Å"Esperanza† describes everything from the house she lived in, to the hair on people’s heads. These personal stories show a stark contrast for any reader of a different culture, and confirmRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros913 Words   |  4 Pagesvignettes that made up â€Å"The House on Mango Street†, a coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros in this specific vignette reveals th e inherent oppressiveness of all marriages, which by their nature rob people of their independence. Sally is not even eight grades and she gets married. Her husband is a marshmallow salesman that she meets at a school bazaar. She moves to another state where is legal their marriage. Sally tells Esperanza about her house and domestic objects thatRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1854 Words   |  8 Pages The Street That Changed a Life The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, displays a great emphasis on culture and people helping form a young girl into a young lady. The main character, Esperanza, has to navigate a mentally and physically challenging life growing up in a poor, Hispanic neighborhood while still learning how to mature and rise above the poverty that surrounds her. Thus, the question arises: in what way and to what extent does close human interaction change Esperanza’s lifeRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros886 Words   |  4 PagesThe House on Mango Street is a novel by Sandra Cisneros. The novel is acclaimed by critics and used in schools all around the world. â€Å"The House on Mango Street† is about a young Latina girl who is about the age of 12 when the novel begins. Sandra’s novels have sold over two million copies. Sandra was born on December 20, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois. In 2016, President Barack Obama presented her with the medal of ‘Nat ional Medal of Arts’. Title: The House on Mango Street Author: Sandra Cisneros TheRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros2004 Words   |  9 PagesIn The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, twelve-year-old Esperanza Cordero must navigate through the trials and tribulations that one can associate when encountering young adulthood. The author Cisneros, utilizes her unique writing style of vignettes to illustrate the narrative voice of Esperanza in her text. A major theme that can be seen as the most prominent thus far, is on the feminist role of Esperanza as a female in her Latin American culture. The House on Mango Street is an overallRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros753 Words   |  4 PagesWhen you look at the cover of the book, The House on Mango Street, you see bright colors and a fun font. The first vignette that Sandra Cisneros writes is about Esperanza, a young Latino girl wishing that she had her own house, a house with trees and white fences. The way that Cisneros writes screams â€Å"little girl.† Howe ver, as you dive deeper into the book, the subject of each vignette gets darker. Slowly, we start to see the dangers of growing up as a young Latino girl in a Chicago neighborhoodRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1688 Words   |  7 PagesThe House on Mango Street, a novella by Sandra Cisneros, revolves around the idea of a developing Latino girl facing the difficulties of transitioning to a young mature woman. Esperanza moves into a house on Mango Street, where she meets many diverse influential people as she attempts to discover her true identity and understanding of the world. While doing this, she encounters the struggles of her community, socioeconomic class, and heritage. Esperanza’s opposing view of herself slowly adjusts asRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1087 Words   |  5 PagesRiaz Salehi The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, portrays the life of a teenage girl named Esperanza living on Mango Street. Though Esperanza lives in a diverse city, pre-existing stereotypes are affecting how others(women?) are perceived and treated. Esperanza starts to see how to change her community and the negative view of herself by taking the wrong actions of other women and connecting them to her own life experiences. To begin with, Esperanza always saw this great distinctionRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros2190 Words   |  9 Pagessociety centuries after its foundation. One of the books I feel perfectly touches on ethnicity in America specifically is Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street. Cisneros tells a coming of age story through brief episodes of a girl named Esperanza her life varying from things about her family, neighborhood, and different dreams and goals that she has. The House on Mango street is a personal and touching look at what it means to be a minority/immigrant in America as well what it means to grow up

Decision Tree free essay sample

Despite this trend surprisingly few good, clear introductions to basic decision tree concepts are available. The present work attempts to meet that need by offering a concise primer for novices. Acknowledgments The author gratefully acknowledges instructor Meryl Natches, CEO of TechProse, for invaluable editing, guidance, and patience. The author also thanks the Technical Communication 1 class participants at UC Berkeley Extension during the spring semester 2007 for review and comments. Rosana Francescato tested the material for clarity and provided helpful feedback in the development of this project. CJ Kalin, Ph. D. , introduced me to the decision tree method in a Project Risk Management class at UC Berkeley Extension. Her real-world examples demonstrated how the decision trees technique helps solve complex project management problems. Despite the aforementioned contributions the author accepts responsibility for any errors or omissions herein. A decision tree is a method you can use to help make good choices, especially decisions that involve high costs and risks. Decision trees use a graphic approach to compare competing alternatives and assign values to those alternatives by combining uncertainties, costs, and payoffs into specific numerical values. If you are a project manager, business analyst, or a project decision-maker, this primer is for you. If you are interested in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, data mining, medical diagnosis, formal problem solving, or game theory, this primer provides an introduction to basic concepts of decision tree analysis. 1. 1 Advantages of using decision trees Decision trees offer advantages over other methods of analyzing alternatives. They are: †¢ Graphic. You can represent decision alternatives, possible outcomes, and chance events schematically. The visual approach is particularly helpful in comprehending sequential decisions and outcome dependencies. †¢ Efficient. You can quickly express complex alternatives clearly. You can easily modify a decision tree as new information becomes available. Set up a decision tree to compare how changing input values affect various decision alternatives. Standard decision tree notation is easy to adopt. Revealing. You can compare competing alternatives—even without complete information—in terms of risk and probable value. The Expected Value (EV) term combines relative investment costs, anticipated payoffs, and uncertainties into a single numerical value. The EV reveals the overall merits of competing alternatives. Complementary. You can use decision trees in conjunction with other project management tools. For example, the decision tree method can help evaluate project schedules. †¢ †¢ 1. 2 About this primer This primer offers an introduction to basic decision tree analysis. After studying this material for an hour, most users will be able to understand and apply decision tree analysis to solve simple and even moderately complex decision problems. You can readily construct and analyze simple decision trees such as those found in this primer with pen, paper, and a calculator. However, a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel can dramatically facilitate setting up and modifying decision trees. A number of other software applications are also available. These range from low-cost Microsoft Excel plug-ins to more expensive dedicated applications. For the purposes of this primer, a pen, paper, and calculator are sufficient. 1 Decision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals 1. 3 To use this primer You can use this primer in several ways. If you prefer to get started immediately with drawing and using decision tree notation, then begin with the Decision Scenario, an exercise that puts you in the role of using a decision tree in step-by-step fashion. If you are more comfortable learning by first seeing how a process works, then start with Basic Concepts. Whichever way you begin, make sure to review both of these sections. The Glossary defines underlined terms. After you review the concepts and use the scenario exercise, you can find external references in More to Explore. Icons indicate items of special interest: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Example Exercise Note Tip 2 Decision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals 2. 0 Decision Scenario Consider the following scenario. Really Big Ideas, Inc. a small company that develops inventions for the consumer market, has recruited you as a consultant to make a recommendation on a critical business decision. At 10:00 a. m. , you meet Adam Smith, the Vice President in charge of product development. Smith expresses his wish for an outside opinion on a decision the company must make soon. Your job is to supply such an informed opinion. Smith tells you that a short meeting will pr ovide all the information needed and introduce the project managers for two possible (and competing) products. As Smith ushers you into a conference room he also mentions that he expects your analysis by 11:00 a. m. , scarcely an hour from now! You are given pen, paper, and a calculator. At 10:05 a. m. , you and Smith enter a small meeting room. Smith explains that Really Big Ideas has a three-month window of opportunity to develop a new product using new pattern recognition software the company recently created. Surprisingly, the software adapts easily to different applications. Really Big Ideas only has the resources and time to develop one of two projects, or to develop none. Project Managers Aisha Ali and Ben Bertrand arrive. After brief introductions, Aisha Ali launches her pitch. She says that a smoke and fire detector is the best project to make. The detector goes beyond ordinary smoke detectors. It can detect flames as well as smoke. It will cost $100,000 to develop, and if it succeeds the Business Analysis department says it will generate revenue of $1,000,000. Not to be outdone, Ben Bertrand announces that a motion detector device is the best project to develop. The motion detector, which uses conventional household lighting, will only cost $10,000 to develop. He adds that the analysts expect such a device to generate $300,000 in revenue. Smith asks if you have any questions, so you carefully ask about the chances for success. Both project managers agree that Samiksha Singh, the Director of the Business Analysis department, has that information. Smith initiates a conference call with Samiksha Singh. Singh informs the meeting that the smoke and fire detector has a 50% chance of success, and that the motion detector has an 80% chance of success. Smith thanks all the participants and ends the meeting. It is now 10:30 a. . Smith announces that he’ll return within the hour to see if you have decision analysis. Smith leaves you with your notes, paper, pen, and a calculator. Can you help Really Big Ideas to decide which product, if either, to develop? How can you evaluate the alternatives in a measurable way given the various uncertainties involved? You can use a decision tree to describe and then to evaluate the decision alternatives. 3 D ecision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals 2. 1 Describe decision alternatives and outcomes You can now start your decision tree. A decision tree is a diagram of nodes and connecting branches. Nodes indicate decision points, chance events, or branch terminals. Branches correspond to each decision alternative or event outcome emerging from a node. 2. 1. 1 The first decision (root node) Start by drawing a small square on the left side on a piece of paper. This is called the root node, or root. The root node represents the first set of decision alternatives. For each decision alternative draw a line, or branch, extending to the right from the root node. Allow a generous amount of space between the lines to add information. Some branches may split into additional decision alternatives or outcomes. You can also â€Å"bend† branches so that the lines line up horizontally. These techniques make keeping track of alternatives easier. (See figure 2. 1. 1) Label each branch with the decision and its associated investment cost. Write that the smoke and fire detector will cost (-$100,000) to develop. Similarly, write that the motion detector will cost (-$10,000) to develop. Write $0 at the third branch corresponding to the alternative to develop neither product. Tip Show the costs as negative values since they represent a â€Å"preliminary loss. Any future gross revenue will be offset by costs. Showing costs as negative values simplifies the calculation of payoff. Figure 2. 1. 1 The root node is the small square at the left. Branch lines emerge from the root towards the right. Each branch represents one decision alternative. 4 Decision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals 2. 1. 2 Chance outco mes In the Really Big Ideas scenario each product development effort can have one of two outcomes: each project can either succeed or fail. Draw a small circle, or chance node, at the end of the branch for the smoke and fire detector. Draw a chance node at the end of the branch for the motion detector. From each chance node draw two branches towards the right; one branch represents success and the other represents failure. Label the branches accordingly. Figure 2. 1. 2 Chance nodes, shown as small circles, lead to two or more possible outcomes. Draw each outcome as a branch from the chance node. 2. 1. 3 Endpoints and payoffs You can now complete all the branches with endpoints, since there is no further branch information to represent. Draw a small triangle ( ) at the end of each branch to represent the endpoint. Write the payoff value at the endpoint. In business applications the payoff is usually a monetary value equal to the anticipated net profit, or return on investment. Net profit (or net loss) is the difference between the investment cost and the total revenue. A positive value indicates a net profit, while a negative value indicates a net loss. In other words, if revenue exceeds investment, then the effort is profitable. Otherwise the effort is a net loss, or a breakeven result if the payoff is zero. For Really Big Ideas, a successful smoke and fire detector project will earn $1,000,000 in gross revenue. The resulting net profit therefore equals the sum of the gross revenue and the investment cost. Recall that cost can be represented as a negative number. The calculation is therefore $1,000,000 + (-$100,000) = $900,000 net profit, or payoff. Write $900,000 at the end of the branch for success of the smoke and fire detector. 5 Decision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals However, if the smoke and fire detector project is not successful, then no revenue will be earned and all the investment will be lost. The calculation for this event is $0 + (-$100,000) = (-$100,000), a loss or negative payoff. Write (-$100,000) at the end of the branch for failure of the smoke and fire detector. Perform a similar calculation for the success and failure payoffs for the motion detector. Your results should show a $290,000 payoff if successful, and a (-$10,000) payoff (a loss) if it fails. Write these values at the endpoints of their respective branches. The payoff for the decision branch to not develop either project is simply $0. See figure 2. 1. 3. Figure 2. 1. 3 Use endpoints, shown by small triangles with one point connecting to the branch, to indicate that there are no further outcomes or decisions to consider. Write payoff values for each terminated branch to the right of the endpoints. This concludes the basic structure of the decision tree for the Really Big Ideas alternatives. We can now incorporate the likelihood of success and failure and use that to analyze the decision alternatives. 6 Decision Trees A Primer for Decision-making Professionals 2. 2 Incorporate uncertainty (outcome probability) You can now incorporate the relative outcome probability, or uncertainty, associated with each chance event. You can express probabilities as percentages or as decimal fractions.