I picked this picture because it connects to Esperanza’s identity and her plans for the future. In the photo the guy is alone, thinking, and sitting above a big city full of opportunity. The guy in the picture looks as if he has aspirations for the future and big plans to move away from where he is living now and to go to a place where he can prosper. He is alone, away from friends and other people because, just like Esperanza, he stands out and dares to be different. He is thinking about who he is and what he could be. I believe that this connects to the thematic motif of identity because the boy seems to be searching for his his own personal identity and longs to go away somewhere. Esperanza also wants to leave, she wants to move away from her house on Mango Street and start her life off somewhere new. She ends up leaving her house with only her pen and paper because of her dreams to become a writer. The city in the picture connects with Esperanza’s writing because they both resemble signs of hope, success and freedom. Part of Esperanza’s identity was shaped by her writing and throughout her life she couldn’t wait until the day that she could leave Mango Street. She thought for hours about herself and who she would become and finally she was able to leave her house on Mango Street. Therefore, the picture connects to Sandra Cisneros thematic motif of identity because it resembles Esperanza’s own aspirations for a future of success away from her poverty ridden childhood and both the boy and Esperanza struggled to find who they were and who they wanted to become.

Picture: Photographer – unknown. Posted on Afranko’s Blog on February 12, 2014 by nagy.

Link: http://www.afranko.org/2014/02/boys-alone-images/