“So, who are you?” “No one you need to know of, except for the fact that I was going to be a movie star before my ma ruined it all for me. I mean, I got the looks, and I got the acting ability. Who says that I couldn’t ever do it? And who might you be?” “I’m Sally. I’m in high school and I don’t have anything special like you do, except I attract a lot of boys.”

“Oh, I attract a lot of boys too. I mean, who could ever resist me. My husband Curley sure couldn’t. Boy did he get jealous all the time. He always thought I was off flirting with another man. I don’t mean to draw them to me. I really don’t. They just can’t stay away.”

“Of course you don’t go chasing after them.” “At least I don’t wear that disgusting looking make up that you wear. If you attract so many boys, I don’t believe it. Wearing makeup like that should probably make them all run away from you.” “At least I’m not a tramp who ‘doesn’t mean to draw men’ to herself. I know a lot more than what you think. I’m gonna get married soon, and I’m going to stay faithful to him. But before then, I can kiss as many boys as I want to and not have a care in the world about it.”

“Ungrateful brat.” “Tramp.” With what was said, the two girls; Curley’s wife and Sally parted ways, never to see each other again.

Beautiful by Christina Aguilera is a fitting song for Sally, because it is talking about how beautiful people are. This fits Sally because she has to deal with her father possibly beating her, and then going to school as a completely different person to seem beautiful. In the song, it says “You are beautiful, no matter what they say”, and Sally is beautiful no matter what anyone says. The boys even prove that she is beautiful, by playing games about getting her keys back by kissing them. That’s an example of how beautiful Sally is no matter what. In the song, it’s basically saying that no matter how bad you feel, you’re still beautiful. This portrays Sally because she’s going through a rough time with her father, but she is still beautiful throughout it all.  Sally can also tell that she is beautiful because she can get any boy that she wants because she’s so beautiful. Sally also knows that she’s beautiful because she is married, and he won’t allow her to ever leave the house because she is so beautiful.

Dear Esperanza,

I know you are having a rough time with everything that is happening, but I am here for you. Your papa is here for you, and so are your siblings. I am having a rough time too, and I wish we could have a different life. I know that it’s hard for you to watch over Nenny and have a life of your own to have fun and play with your friends. I appreciate everything you do that helps me, and I love you so much. You can be the person that I could never be, and I want you to achieve your dreams. I don’t want you to be trapped like I am, and I know that’s not what you want either. I want you to be free and I want you to do what you’ve always dream of doing. I don’t want to trap you anywhere you don’t want to be, so spread your wings and fly. My sweet little Esperanza has grown up, and I can’t stop you from leaving anymore. You go where you believe you need to go, and leave Mango Street. Even though you are leaving to be free, I am still trapped here. Please, visit me Esperanza and show me how free you are when you have left me. I love you and don’t ever forget about where you came from.

Love,

Mama

    My grandma loved cats so much, she had cat figurines everywhere in her house. When she passed, my dad told Erin and I that we could have a cat figurine that his mom would  keep around the house. We got to choose one of the thousands that she had, and I chose a cat about five inches long, three inches wide, and about three and a half inches tall. It is white  with some brown spots along its body. The tail is underneath a leg , its eyes are yellow, and it looks very alert.

    Big Momma had a cat, and fell in love with cats. She began buying many figurines of cats. Erin and I would look at them in awe because they were so beautiful. When she passed away, we put all the cats into boxes. When we were done, Erin and I got to go through them and choose the one that we wanted to keep. After I chose my cat, I named it Shadow, even though it wasn’t black.

    This is my most prized possession because it is the only thing I have left of my grandma. She passed when I was in the fifth grade, so I didn’t know her very well. All I really remember was her blueberry muffins and how much she loved cats. My family went on a family trip and she went with us. With the very little memories that I have of her, this possession is my most prized one because it is a part of her that will always stay with me.

My dog Bailee thinks that she is a human. Even though she sleeps outside, she believes that she belongs in the house with the rest of her family. Her tail wags most of the time when she is around us, unless she is being scolded. Her golden fur sheds all over the floor in our house, making my allergies go wild. She doesn’t care though, because I still love her no matter what.

Her favorite thing to do is to get on my sisters bed. Erin lays with her and curls up with her every time. Even though fur gets everywhere, Erin lets her stay. On the other hand, she isn’t allowed to get on my bed. I would start sneezing uncontrollably and have to go wash my sheets.

My dad and Bailee have such a good relationship, she chases him around the house and follows him wherever he goes. For fun, my dad runs away from Bailee so she can chase him in the house. Recently, she’s started chasing me around the house. Bailee hates to be by herself, so whenever we have dinner and she is inside, she sits in the corner near my dad while we eat. When we’re done eating, we all look at Bailee to see that she is on her back with her feet in the air. Sometimes, she gets up and scratches the wall because she’s trying to get to some food that my dad is going to feed to her.

Once, my dad and I washed Bailee in my bathtub because we had a removable, wand showerhead. She refused to move while we washed her, and the only time she moved was to get out of the tub. As soon as she got out, she shook the water off of her and got it on us. She has been in many other rooms, some with good stories, some don’t have good stories. Soon, my dog that is like a human will have many funny stories that I can tell to my friends.