Esperanza Rising Character Analysis Essay Example

The people who are fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family will most likely never have to go through the same hardships the people in poverty will have to. Experiencing starvation, small homes, and working labor jobs are all issues poor people face daily, but what would happen if a wealthy family would experience a loss that could change their life entirely? The novel, Esperanza Rising, tells a story of a young girl, Esperanza, and the hardships she had to endure due to her father, Papa, being killed by bandits in her town. After the news of her father dying was released, her two uncles take advantage and try to take everything Papa owned or connected to, even her mother, Mama. Mama, and Esperanza soon escape from Mexico to California to avoid the power-hungry uncles, but they now face a new problem, poverty and starting over. Esperanza is new to poverty and has never been through any hardships in her life, which makes her new life difficult, but she adapts to this new Mexican American life despite every new problem that shows up. Throughout the novel, Esperanza is given advice and taught lessons by several important people in her life such as Papa, Abuelita, Mama, and Miguel, which makes her become the round and dynamic character she is by the end of the book. 

In the novel, Papa gives one of the most important pieces of advice to Esperanza, which is patience. Patience is one of the key lessons that Esperanza needs to overcome the issues that arise in her life. At the beginning of the book, Papa and Esperanza have this father-daughter bonding moment in which they talk about their land and the valley. Papa then tells Esperanza, “‘Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel it breathe? That you can feel its heart beating?’”(Ryan, 2007, p. 1). To most people, these questions may seem absurd since it is unlikely that the land can breathe or have a heartbeat, but Esperanza likes to believe it to be true. When she tries to hear the land do these things, she cannot at first and is impatient to hear it. 

That is when Papa tells her, “‘Wait a little while and the fruit will fall into your hand. You must be patient, Esperanza” (Ryan, 2007, p.2). Although this small piece of advice is given at the beginning of the book, Esperanza needs to follow it since it is not easy to get out of poverty in a foreign country. She finds it frustrating that she cannot save enough money to bring her grandmother, Abuelita, to California and pay for Mama’s hospital bills. Patience is a key element to creating Esperanza’s round and dynamic character because it helps her continue working hard to keep saving money for her family, even if the situation does not look ideal. Papa’s piece of advice will help Esperanza in the long run of her life, and so will the advice of many others in the family. 

Soon after Papa’s piece of advice, Esperanza’s grandmother, Abuelita, gives Esperanza some pieces of advice that act as a foreshadowing of Esperanza’s future. Abuelita teaches her about knowing how life is a difficult journey and to not be nervous to start life again. Abuelita knows that Esperanza lives a very sheltering life and that her parents and servants spoil her every day. When Esperanza pricks her finger on a rose she was trying to pick, Abuelita tells her, “‘There is no rose without thorns’” (Ryan, 2007, p.14). Although, this piece of advice is vague since she does not say that life is hard directly, Esperanza understands that Abuelita has a different meaning for this phrase and that it means that life is not easy. Abuelita’s advice foreshadows Esperanza’s new experiences working since she is not used to doing chores or working outside in the fields. Another piece of advice given by Abuelita, that foreshadows Esperanza’s change in life, is, “‘Do not be afraid to start over,’ she said” (Ryan, 2007, p.15). Even though Abuelita says this as advice for crocheting, it has a whole different meaning to Esperanza’s life after she flees from her uncles with her mom and moves away from Mexico to California in the United States. She needs to start over in life and create a new beginning with her mom, her friends in the new place, and soon with Abuelita too. Abuelita’s piece of advice helps Esperanza with her dynamic character change since it foreshadows a change that happens to Esperanza through the events in the story. 

Abuelita’s piece of advice made sure of foreshadowing the future, but Mama’s advice helps Esperanza learn to be more humble and grateful for what she has throughout the events in the story. Since the beginning of Esperanza’s journey of fleeing away from Mexico, Esperanza faces many instances which show how much privilege and wealth she had before Papa died. One of the major instances that shows this was when Esperanza and Mama went on a train, and a little girl came up to Esperanza since she had her doll, which was a birthday gift from Papa before he died. When Esperanza pulls the doll away from the little girl in a rude manner because “‘she is poor and dirty’” (Ryan, 2007, p.70). Mama gets angry at Esperanza for refusing to give the doll to the little girl just because she looks dirty and is a peasant. Being amongst poor people was not common for Esperanza, so she did not have the correct mannerisms and did not know how to be humble either. Mama especially gets angry because “‘When you scorn these people, you scorn Miguel, Hortensia, and Alfonso’” (Ryan, 2007, p. 70). Esperanza is not familiar with being poor, so now that she is in poverty and living the same lives as her servants, she is offending them by treating others with little respect. She is not thinking about the other poor people around her and that is why Mama tries to humble her at the beginning of their journey. 

Esperanza is also not grateful for the opportunities she and Mama are given because they are full of hardships and not easy to deal with. Mama reminds Esperanza about these opportunities by saying, “‘Please be grateful for the favors bestowed upon us’” (Ryan, 2007, p. 104). They had luck in being able to accompany their ex-servants to the U.S., and Esperanza is busy complaining about it instead of being thankful they had the opportunity. Esperanza uses what Mama teaches her by bettering herself and being more respectful towards those around her in poverty since she, herself, is in poverty as well. Esperanza also becomes grateful for the job opportunities she is given because she needs them to pay for Mama’s hospital bills and Abuelita’s trip to California. 

While Mama teaches Esperanza about being more humble and grateful in life since they are now poor, Miguel teaches her about the social inequalities between poor and rich people. In the beginning, Miguel is known as Esperanza’s servants’ son, and she sees him as less than him due to their social standing. This is seen when Miguel tries comforting Esperanza by holding her hand, after Papa dies, and she immediately pulls away as if it were embarrassing (Ryan, 2007). Miguel feels hurt after she pulls her hand away because he knows that they “‘stand on different sides of the river’” (Ryan, 2007, p.37). Even though they are childhood friends, she will always treat him as less because of their different social and economic differences. In Mexico, they stand in different classes which means it is most likely they will not be able to be more than friends since it is seen as forbidden, especially since Miguel will always be seen as just a servant. 

Later on, after Miguel’s and Esperanza’s families get off the train, Esperanza sees a poor woman giving a beggar money and she criticizes the poor woman because the beggar can easily go to a farm market nearby instead of begging (Ryan, 2007). Miguel is frustrated by Esperanza’s thought process since she believes everything is so easy, when in reality, it is not. Miguel then tells Esperanza that “‘The rich take care of the rich and the poor take care of those who have less than they have’” (Ryan, 2007, p. 79). Since Esperanza is offending Miguel with her naive thought process on how the poor should act, he then tells her the harsh reality of how the rich and poor people differ. Rich people support other rich people because it’s easier and does not change the social standings of others while the poor try to help those who are poorer since they understand the struggles and hope others do the same when they are in that position. Miguel teaches Esperanza about the social rules of classes in Mexico which contribute to her dynamic character since it causes her to change her feelings towards these social and economic constructs of life. 

Throughout Esperanza’s journey to California, she goes out of her comfort zone on many occasions and learns several lessons from the people around her as well. Due to the pieces of advice she was given, she was able to adapt to the circumstances she was given and gain many positive character traits through her hardships and new experiences. Esperanza learns patience through Papa and Abuela teaches her that life is a difficult journey and that it is not a bad thing to start over. Mama teaches Esperanza about being more humble around others and to be grateful for opportunities while Miguel teaches her about the differences in the social standings of the rich and the poor. The lessons and pieces of advice given by these people are what cause Esperanza to become a rounded and dynamic character in the novel.