#esperanzarising

Esperanza Rising is quality children’s literature about a Hispanic family who is wealthy but is forced to leave their home and all of their belongings to start a new life in the United States.  Her entire life starts to change after her father dies.  Throughout the novel, life lessons are a large part of the family’s adventure. In chapter 4, there is a fire that burns the house down. However, as the fire begins to engulf the house, Esperanza saves a doll she received from her recently deceased father. This shows that she is young and wanting to hang on to the past. This is her way of not only hanging on to something that will help her remember her papa but also hang on to her childhood. Her youthfulness and inexperience becomes evident during these desperate circumstances. Her confusion of what’s going on in her life and her inability to cope with all the change going on in her life is really brought out here. These events really scare her but she relies on her family to get her through this difficult time.

This doll is a large part of this chapter. Not only here, but throughout the rest of the book Esperanza is put in the face of some difficult challenges but responds to them by learning to grow up and accept responsibility. It is her maturity that develops throughout this novel that is important to the character development. As things start, she was protective of her doll, which is a symbol of her childhood. This is her trying to hang on to her childhood. She’s not ready to grow up and she fears that she will lose those memories of her father. This doll is more than a doll to her. It is another symbol for her love for her father. This is the most important part she wants to hold on to. It’s the last physical memory that she has of her father. It is her most prized and protected possession, and the reader can see this because it is the only thing she grabs as her house is being burnt to the ground. Losing the doll or giving it away means that she is letting go of her father. As it turns out, Esperanza comes to terms with her father being gone. She ultimately gives up her doll but holds on to the memories and knows that her father is always with her.

Ryan, P. M. (2007). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic Inc

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan is a novel about a young girl named Esperanza. She lives in Mexico somewhere around the 1930’s. Her family is wealthy and she lives a lavish lifestyle with servants and plenty of wealth.  One day her father dies and then their house burns down, and Esperanza is forced to move to the United States with her family. In the U.S and along their journey Esperanza struggles to deal with all the changes in her life. Esperanza must change quickly to help her family in their new situation.             In the begging of the story Esperanza’s life seems relatively easy. She lives with her wealthy Mom, and Dad and someday plans to be on the ranch with her husband and no worries. On page 8 of the novel Pam Muñoz Ryan uses tone and diction to foreshadow events that will happen later in the story. At the top of the page Esperanza imagines her life down the road with a husband, on the ranch and with many servants. The author writes, “Because she couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than El Rancho de las Rosas. Or with fewer servants or without being surrounded by the people who adore.” By setting up this perfect scenario the author foreshadows that all the things Esperanza’s sees in her own future will not come true. In fact the opposite of all the things Esperanza thinks will happen, happens. First she thinks she will live with Papa and Mama forever, shortly after this chapter Papa dies and she’s forced to live without him. Next Esperanza cannot envision living anywhere other than El Rancho de las Rosas. But much like what happened to her father, the ranch is burned to the grown and the life she once had is quickly flipped upside down. Next she says she can’t imagine living without servants or surrounded by the people who adore her, these things also change. She loses her servants and her perfect life and is forced to move to America where she will be doing a lot of the hard work.             Using foreshadowing the author adds dramatic tension to the story by giving readers something to anticipate. Ryan conveys foreshadowing through her tone and diction in the opening parts of the story in order to create something that the reader can anticipate, thus adding suspense.

Sam Stumberg