Esperanza Rising is a story that begins in tragedy, but ends with hope. Hope is the English translation for Esperanza's name which serves as a sense of foreshadowing that even through the hardest times, hope can raise you out of your despair. In the beginning, Esperanza is living on her father's ranch. He is a wealthy landowner has has built a life for his family that ensures that they want for nothing. Sadly at the end of the grape harvest and the day before Esperanza's thirteenth birthday, her father, Sixto Ortega, is murdered leaving Esperanza and her mother at the mercy of Esperanza's devious uncles who, due to the land inheritance, now own the ranch. Tio Luis, who is also the bank president, makes it clear that he wishes to live like a king in the place of his now deceased brother, and take over the ranch house and marry Sixto's widow. Esperanza's mother vehemently refuses which ultimately lead to her and Esperanza's departure to the United States to work for their survival.
They arrive in the United States during the Great Depression with a family that has been close friends for many years and together they strive and toil in an Oklahoma work camp. Esperanza saves and saves for the day that she can send for her Abuelita to join them. She babysits the workers children until she too is old enough to work and contribute to earning a living. Dealing with the separation from her grandmother and her mother's sickness that she contracted shortly after coming into California, Esperanza is jolted from the comfortable life of a wealthy rancher's daughter to the impoverished life of a laborer in the fields that belong to someone else. She witnesses firsthand racism and unfair living situations and pay that were given to these workers. She also witnesses the fight that these workers had in working toward a better future for all laborers during this time. Through all of this heartache, she suffers another blow of betrayal, or at least she thinks so. Her lifelong friend, Miguel has taken every cent that Esperanza saved up to bring her Abuelita to the United States. However, little did she know that Miguel had taken the money, snuck back into Mexico and brought her grandmother to her with the money as it was intended. Esperanza's mother is also released from the hospital after recovering from the fever, and everyone is together once again to face this life head on. Esperanza, realizing the depth of Miguel's feelings for her and hers for him, now faces the future with the hope that was always in front of her despite the hardships that were thrown at her.
Discussion and Classroom Application
This is a wonderful book to serve as an introductory piece to the lives of Depression Era migrant workers and their plight to find reasonable working conditions and wage. While this does not go into great detail of the hardships that were faces, it can certainly be something that teachers use to scaffold their way towards the harsher realities that were faced. Along with English, this book would be a good supplemental reading option for History, and Government.
No comments:
Post a Comment