An Interpretation Of The Emotions In The House On Mango Street Through Affect Theory

The House on Mango Street is a Bildungsroman written by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros.It shows the racial discrimination,class discrimination and gender discrimination towards Mexican-American women.Affect Theory is an emerging area of study,thus this thesis aims to apply Affect Theory to give a new perspective to analyze this novel.In light of the Affect Theory,the thesis analyzes the confusing and complex emotions that mirror Mexican American women's oppression and struggle.The thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter ? is a brief introduction of novel,author and literature review at home and abroad.Chapter ? is the theoretical framework,an introduction to and application of Affect Theory.Chapter ? and Chapter ? are the main body of the thesis,analyzing the characters' emotions in detail.Chapter III illustrates the density of emotions,with emphasis on the why emotions are accumulated and densified.It reveals the confused and depressed emotions of Mexican-American women under the race,class and gender discrimination from America's mainstream society.Chapter IV discusses the deliverance of emotions,with emphasis on how emotions are expressed and delivered.Hopeful,confident and optimistic emotions of Mexican-American women are demonstrated in this part.Chapter V summarizes the main points of the thesis and the significance of research on emotions in the novel as a new way to approach Mexican American literature.Through the employment of Affect Theory,this thesis explains reasons for Mexican-American women's inferiority and expounds their endeavours in achieving self-growth.The thesis also explores the tensions and conflicts between mainstream Americans and Mexican-Americans.