Esperanza Rising

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ryan, Pam Munoz. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York: Scholastics. ISBN 0439120411

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Esperanza Rising is about a young girl living in Mexico in the 1920’s. Her family is very wealthy and live on Rancho de las Rosas, a vineyard that has been owned by the family for generations. During this time Mexico is recovering from the revolution that had taken place 10 years prior. Throughout the land there is still malice between the rich landowners and the peasants. Everyone is looking forward the end of the harvest celebration when Esperanza’s father doesn’t return from working in the fields. The ranch foreman and his son are sent out to look for him. When Esperanza’s father is found dead, her uncle proposes marriage to her mother but she refuses. After the refusal, their house is burnt down and Esperanza’s mother realizes they must escape across the border where Esperanza finds that her life will be forever changed. Where once she was waited on, she now is faced to work on a farm, deal with her mother’s illness, face a workers strike and deal with ridicule from others. Through all the hardships that Esperanza faces by the end she learns what is important to her and how to live independtly.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Esperanza Rising was nominated for the 2003 Bluebonnet Award and the 2003 Pura Belpre Award. It is based on Pam Munoz Ryan’s grandmother’s life. This novel portrays a story about Mexican immigration to California in the 1930’s and the competition for jobs from families moving away from Oklahoma due to the Dust Bowl and those who had lost their jobs because of the depression. Ryan presents many aspects that immigration dealt with which included, deportment and fighting for equal pay and better living conditions. There are some cultural markers throughout the passages which help to give authenticity to the story. These include descriptions of some of the migrants, “plump with a round face and a complexion that was fairer than Esperanza’s,” “delicate and frail with big brown eyes, long braids and skinny legs.”
The comparison of Esperanza’s mom’s hair, “her mother’s beautiful black hair which she dept pinned up as the wife of a landowners in Mexico and then lets it hang down long as the migrant worker. Migrants were picked up from the train in a pickup where the younger ones traveled in the back. The clothes Esperanza and her mom wore in Mexico were of wealth compared to the ill fitting clothes they wore upon arrival to the migrant camp. Other cultural references deal with Mexican customs such as the foods eaten, ceremonies and fiestas.
Throughout the story there are words and phrases written in Spanish and then translated into English so that all readers can understand the text. Each chapter also is written in large Spanish words for the fruits of the harvest and below they are translated in English.
The underlying theme of the story encompasses that through the fall of wealth, Esperanza discovers the importance of loyalty, faith, family and friends and that with courage and with every challenge good does come through.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
School Library Journal: “Easy to booktalk, useful in classroom discussions, and accessible as pleasure reading, this well-written novel belongs in all collections.”

Booklist: “The symbolism is heavy-handed, as when Esperanza ominously pricks her finger on a rose thorne just before her father is killed. But Ryan writes movingly in clear, poetic language that children will sink into, and the books offer excellent opportunities for discussion and curriculum support.”
5. CONNECTION
Ryan, Munoz Pam. PAINT THE WIND. ISBN 9780439873628
Ryan, Munoz Pam. RIDING FREEDOM. ISBN 9780439087964
Ryan, Munoz Pam. OUR CALIFORNIA. ISBN 9781580891172