In The House on Mango Street, what is a physical element that Esperanza reacts to?

One of the most oppressive physical elements about
Esperanza's situation that she reacts to is actually the poverty that she and her family
faces, and the way that this traps them in their house which Esperanza feels so ashamed
of and also gives Esperanza such an intense desire to improve herself and study so that
she can escape and buy her own house. You might want to study the vignette entitled "The
First Job" for an example of this, as this details the way that Esperanza looks for a
job to help pay for her school fees, and is even willing to lie to achieve her aim.
Consider the opening paragraph and what it tells us about the realities of poverty that
Esperanza faced:

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It wasn't as if I didn't want to work. I did. I
had even gone to teh social security office the month before to get my social security
number. I needed money. The Catholic high school cost a lot, and Papa said nobody went
to public school unless you wanted to turn out
bad.

Note the way in which
Esperanza confesses her need for money and the way that poverty is recognised as being
such a physical, concrete reality for her, which has profound implications on the kind
of future somebody could expect, as her father's comment about schooling makes
clear.