Another important theme in both books is the individual's feeling of alienation or displacement. Esperanza in Mango Street expresses the feeling often, saying she does not "belong" where she is and that she wishes she were from somewhere else — although Alicia assures her that she "is Mango Street" and will carry it with her when she leaves there. In the "Woman Hollering Creek" stories, various characters' express similar feelings: the speakers in "'Mericans" and "Tepeyac"; Cleófilas in the title story, who first longs to get away from her hometown to Seguin, Texas, and then longs to be away from Seguin; and all the characters who feel alienated from each other and even from themselves. These last named include Clemencia, Lupe, and especially Tristán, who is so self-alienated he has created a new identity for himself, refers to himself (by his new name) in third person, and wishes to separate himself completely from the person he was in the past.
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