ESPERANZA RISING by: Pam Munoz Ryan (Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature)

Bibliography: Ryan, Pam Munoz. 2000. ESPERANZA RISING. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439120411

Summary:

Esperanza and her mama and papa are happily ensconced on the land that has belonged to her papa’s family for generations. They are surrounded by a luxurious life that soon comes to an end as her papa’s life is taken. Her uncles force themselves into the position of authority and when Esperanza’s mama refuses to marry her uncle, the house is destroyed by fire. Her mama realizes they must escape Mexico and cross the border to escape the uncles’ demands. With the help of family friends and a family of farm workers they are able to escape from Mexico. Esperanza finds her life forever changed. Now instead of being waited upon she must work on the farm in California in order to survive. The book takes the reader through struggles with mama’s illness, threatened farm worker strikes, and ridicule from others because of her past luxurious life. Ultimately Esperanza grows through the changes that are forced upon her because of the circumstances in her life.

Critical Analysis:

The story that evolves in this book is based on the experiences of the author, Pam Munoz Ryan’s, maternal grandmother. The book was nominated for many awards in 2003 including the Texas Bluebonnet Award. It was the 2003 winner of the prestigious Pura Belpre Award. This book historically portrays the lives of the migrant workers who came North from Mexico to make a better life for themselves and their families. The hardships endured during the 1930’s included not only the hardships of the migrant life itself, but also the competition for work with families moving from Oklahoma who were victims of the Dust Bowl as well as those who had lost work because of the depression. Even within the groups of migrant workers there was tension and the landowners worked to keep the groups apart so they could not combine efforts to form strikes and stop work. The Mexican workers did not receive the amenities that those from Oklahoma received such as hot water and they would lose their jobs to those coming from other states. I found it interesting that the author gave titles to the chapters that related to the seasonal crops rather than numbered chapters. That is the way the migrant workers thought of the years, not as months, but as seasons. The chapters were titled in Spanish with the English name given below. The author used kinship words that would be familiar to the English reader such as tio, mama, abuelita and mija. There is “double talk” when abuelita speaks in the book. An example is Abuelita nodded and said thoughtfully, “No hay rosa sin espinas. There is no rose without the thorns.” There is not much dialogue in the book that includes Abuelita talking so it is not problematic within the text. Culinary words such as tortillas and frijoles were used, but I do not see this as being used just to throw in Spanish words. I am sure the migrant workers had little else to eat except for the food they would bring in from the harvest. Josefina, the child of one of the migrant workers, was described as plump with a round face and a complexion that was fairer than Esperanza’s and another child described as delicate and frail with big brown eyes, long braids and skinny legs. She looked like a young deer. These are authentic markers describing the features of the young girls. Esperanza compares the look of her mother’s beautiful black hair which she kept pinned up as the wife of the landowner in Mexico and then lets hang down long as the migrant worker she becomes. When the group arrives by train from Mexico they are met by a family member and all pile into a pickup with the younger ones traveling in the back on the way to the farm. They stop to pick up others on the road. This is authentic in the culture of the day (1930’s migrant workers). The clothing of Esperanza and her mother are also compared with the finery in their home in Mexico and the daily ill fitting clothing that is given to them upon arrival to the migrant camp.

This author uses her family history to give her account of life in the migrant camps during the 1930’s and appears to this Caucasian reviewer that her story authentically tells the life of the Mexican migrant workers of the time.

Reviews:

Horn Book Guide: In this poignant look at the realities of immigration, thirteen-year-old Esperanza, daughter of an affluent Mexican rancher, is forced to trade fancy dolls and dresses for hard work and ill-fitting hand-me-downs after her beloved father dies. Laboring in the United States, picking grapes on someone else's land for pennies an hour, Esperanza is transformed into someone who can take care of herself and others.

Booklist: Moving from a Mexican ranch to the company labor camps of California, Ryan's lyrical novel manages the contradictory: a story of migration and movement deeply rooted in the earth. When 14-year-old Esperanza's father is killed, she and her mother must emigrate to the U.S., where a family of former ranch workers has helped them find jobs in the agricultural labor camps. Coming from such privilege, Esperanza is ill prepared for the hard work and difficult conditions she now faces. She quickly learns household chores, though, and when her mother falls ill, she works packing produce until she makes enough money to bring her beloved abuelita to the U.S.. Set during the Great Depression, the story weaves cultural, economic, and political unrest into Esperanza's poignant tale of growing up: she witnesses strikes, government sweeps, and deep injustice while finding strength and love in her family and romance with a childhood friend. 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 offers excellent opportunities for discussion and curriculum support.

Connections:

VOICES FROM THE FIELDS: CHILDREN OF MIGRANT FARMWORKERS TELL THEIR STORIES by: S. Beth Atkin ISBN 0613274326

TOMAS AND THE LIBRARY LADY by: Pat Mora ISBN 0679804013