Esperanza Rising

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2000

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-11

Chapters 12-14

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Plants

The recurring motif of plants is woven into all the events in the novel. Esperanza explicitly makes this connection when she tells Abuelita the story of her life in the camp in terms of which harvest season was occurring at the time. Each chapter title contains a reference to a fruit or vegetable, and the chapter itself then references that specific crop as it relates to the characters’ experiences. The chapter titles also mark the time of the year since the fruit or vegetable indicated is the one in season and the one the characters are harvesting throughout the chapter.

Perhaps the most important crop is the grape because it frames Esperanza’s year of misery. The story begins with Esperanza performing the ceremonial task of cutting the first cluster of grapes to begin the harvest. This event also marks the beginning of her birthday celebration, but she loses her father that same night. One disaster follows another as Esperanza tries to adjust and survive. A year later, when it is once again time to bring in the grape harvest, she finds herself having a reason to celebrate, to hope, and to look forward to the future.

The rose bushes that are saved from Esperanza’s old home in Mexico are also important symbols of growth. Esperanza’s father planted them in the rich, privileged soil where they began to grow and blossom until tragedy struck. The rose bushes were a little damaged, but there was still hope for survival, just like Esperanza herself. Once transplanted in the United States, the roses once again blossomed under the same tender care they had back in Mexico. Through these plants, Esperanza understands what it truly takes to survive and flourish in life.

The motif of the plants is enfolded within the larger context of nature and its patterns of growth and decay. The peaks and valleys of human experience are analogous to the cycles of nature, and all relate to the theme of new beginnings. In the very first pages, Esperanza’s father teaches her how to listen to the breath and heartbeat of the earth. In the book’s final pages, she imparts this same lesson to Miguel.

Crocheted Blanket

Esperanza’s crocheted blanket symbolizes her ties to her family. When she is first separated from Abuelita, the elderly woman puts her granddaughter in charge of finishing the blanket. This blanket represents Abuelita’s connection to her family and her guarantee that they will be together again. Esperanza barely knows how to crochet at the beginning of the story. She neglects the project until Ramona falls ill. Desperate to maintain her ties to her mother and grandmother, she takes up the stitching again. By Christmas, the blanket has advanced far enough for Esperanza to drape her mother’s hospital bed with the coverlet as a symbolic attempt to keep her from slipping away. She also weaves her own stray locks of hair into the blanket for the same reason.

Significantly, Esperanza leaves the final row of the blanket unfinished even though it grows to tremendous size by the end of the novel. She is waiting for Abuelita’s return to complete it. Ramona, Abuelita, and Esperanza tacitly understand that the blanket represents their connection to one another, so they finish the final row of stitching together, reaffirming their connection to one another for the rest of their lives.

Dolls

As one might expect, a rich little girl like Esperanza has amassed quite a collection of expensive dolls over the course of her short life. Her father’s final posthumous birthday gift is a porcelain doll that Esperanza manages to salvage from her burned home. Dolls in the novel symbolize Esperanza’s evolving understanding of the true meaning of wealth. Initially, she grips the birthday doll tightly and is loath to part with it even for a minute. She keeps it hidden in a valise. When a little girl on the train wants to touch the doll, Esperanza won’t let her because the filthy peasant child might soil the doll’s clothing. This gesture indicates Esperanza’s sense that she is better than the other passengers, and she must protect her treasures from them.

Ramona gently rebukes her daughter and fashions a yarn doll for the peasant girl. Such a doll would be common among the lower classes. An upper-class Spaniard like Esperanza would never play with such a plain toy. As Esperanza’s perception of herself changes over the course of the novel, she teaches Isabel how to make yarn dolls and marvels at the delight her protégé feels over these simple creations. This represents a turning point in Esperanza’s understanding of the concept of wealth. She expresses a desire to know the joy that Isabel feels in the smallest pleasures of life. Esperanza’s transformed concept of wealth at the end of the story is demonstrated by her willingness to give Isabel her porcelain doll. She now understands that wealth comes from generosity of spirit rather than from material possessions.