1) Repetition in “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water”

In the vignette, “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water” Sandra Cisneros utilizes repetition to build upon the thematic motif of finding one’s home. In the piece, Esperanza goes to Elenita, a witch woman, to see her future. As she walks in, the house is nice (in terms of Mango Street) with a big color T.V. and furniture “made out of red fur like the teddy bears they give away in carnivals” (Cisneros 62). This fortune telling, however, is not the glamorous gazing into a crystal ball that is portrayed in movies. No, a beer mug and hot tap water are used. Cards are used to see that Esperanza, among other things, will attend a wedding soon. But what she is really interested in, and the reason for her even being there, is to ask about a house. Esperanza of course hopes that she will say she will acquire a beautiful home where she will live out her days in luxury, but the response is much different. Elenita remarks that Esperanza will have “a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart” (64). Esperanza’s confusion is evident as she asks her to look again, only to be faced with the same answer. “A house in the heart, I was right” (64), and to repeat it once again, “A new house, a house mad of heart” (64). Repeating the phrase 4 times, Cisneros makes it clear that Esperanza will find her home in her heart, or through charitable actions. This leads us to believe that Esperanza’s home will not be a physical house, but something she does for those around her. Thus, this repetition foreshadows the conclusion of the book while also reinforcing the thematic motif of finding one’s home, only not in the literal way that Esperanza had hoped.

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