What influences a person's identity? Is it their religion, their home, their parents, their neighborhood? When will they have one? When do they learn right from wrong? Were they born with it? Everyone has one but it is different from each other. A person's identity is their own. Nobody put it there and nobody can take it away if they don't like it. Everyone creates their own throughout life, there is no one thing that gives a person their identity. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is about a young Mexican/American girl named Esperanza who moves with her family to a house on Mango Street. It's a small house in a poor neighborhood. She is ashamed of her parents' poverty and lies to try to hide the fact that she is poor. Going through puberty makes Esperanza feel ashamed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Esperanza talks about how she doesn't like herself and how she wants to change her identity and become someone who truly defines her. In the cartoon “Born Bad” we read: “I want to be like the waves of the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but it's me. One day I'll jump out of my skin. I will make the sky shake like a hundred violins." This quote talks about how he wants to be someone who stands out. The literary device is simile. This is connected to my theme because it talks about identity. Another quote is in the cartoon “My Name”, he says: “I would like to be baptized with a new name, a name more similar to the real me, the one that no one sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or ZeZe the X. Yes. Something like ZeZe the This quote speaks to one of the many things Esperanza doesn't like about herself. The literary device is symbolism because it talks about how Esperanza wants a name that means something to her, not one that means nothing. This is related to my theme because it talks about the ability to define oneself. Esperanza feels like she doesn't belong where she is. In the cartoon “Four Skinny Trees”, it is said: “They are the only ones who understand me. I'm the only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who don't belong here but are here." This quote talks about how she can relate to these four skinny trees and how they are just like her. The literary device is simile. This relates to my theme because Esperanza compares herself to trees. Another quote is in the cartoon “Those Who Don't,” it says, “All brown all around, we're safe. But look at us driving through a neighborhood of another color and our knees shaking and our car windows rolling up and our eyes looking straight.” This quote talks about how people of color do not belong among white people. They have to look straight ahead to show that they are not afraid of anyone. This relates to my theme because it shows how people of color may not be able to express their identity around other superior people of color. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essayThe House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, uses simile to develop the theme of identity and self-definition. This theme is important and relevant to the real world because there are people out there just like Esperanza who don't like some things about themselves and have difficulty finding/expressing their inner self.