The character Esperanza in “The House on Mango Street” fits quite well within the song “Royals” by Lorde. In verse one, Lorde sings, “I’m not proud of my address, In a torn-up town.” One of the biggest struggles that the character Esperanza faces in the story is that she associates her privilege with the house she lives in, and, quite frankly, she doesn’t like her house. Proof of this is provided when she insists that she “had to have a house. A real house. One [she] could point to.” Thus, as in the words provided by Lorde, Esperanza is not proud of her “address” (aka home) “in the torn-up town” (aka Mango Street). In fact, much of the book is devoted to following Esperanza’s quest for her “home”. Likewise the song goes on to say “And we’ll never be royals (royals). It don’t run in our blood.” This can be compared to Esperanza as she is almost certainly doomed to a life of poverty and misfortune. A life like the ones her parents, neighbors and friends have all been subject too. Even the young girls in her neighborhood are seen growing up, trying to escape the confines of the street only to suffer in a marriage, in the case of Sally. This royal blood Lorde mentions can represent success and good fortune in the case of Esperanza, something that doesn’t run in her blood. However, by the end of the story, Esperanza overcomes her environment and achieves her dream of leaving her broken little house.