Life of a Tree(Four Skinny Trees

The book "House on Mango Street" written by Sandra Cisneros has a small excerpt called "Four Skinny Trees" and in this small excerpt the speaker(Esperanza) uses an extended metaphor to compare herself to the trees. "They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them" (Cisneros) The speaker says this to say that the trees are the only ones around, she is lonely, but she can communicate with the trees, she understands them and they understand her. They too are alone and outcast like the speaker, but the trees remain there because they are rooted and they stick together. The speaker is very sad throughout the story, but with the help of the trees she stay sane. "When there is nothing left to look at on this street. Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be." (Cisneros) The speaker notices that even how there is nothing else on the street the trees still remain and reach high to the sky. The trees don't care about anything else and are there just to be there, this correlated to the speaker because she realizes that even though she is an outcast she must remain just to be there despite what everyone else thinks. The speaker(Esperanza) compares herself to the four skinny trees using an extended metaphor and this shows the theme about how you are never truly alone and you exist just to be there and just be yourself no matter what others think.

-David Limb