During the novel, Esperanza meets many people who are trapped. For example, her great-grandmother who, “looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window” (Cisneros 11). This is an important quote, because it is one of the first characters in the book who is trapped. Esperanza currently feels like she is tapped on Mango Street, just like her great-grandmother is trapped by the window. Esperanza wonders if her great-grandmother made the best of her situation, or if instead she turned her anger at her husband inward, and therefore hurt herself more than her husband could have. Esperanza feels that if her great-grandmother made the best of her situation, she could feel pity for her, but if she didn’t, then it was somewhat her fault as well. Esperanza tells herself that she doesn’t want to stay trapped, and she wants to work hard to be able to leave the poverty-ridden Mango Street. The concept of being trapped also shows up more in the book, through characters like Mamacita, Rafaela, Minerva, and Sally. All of those characters are tapped and hope for a better life, just like Esperanza.