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Esperanza Rising

Janessa Acuna

Liberal Arts Program, Fresno Pacific University

LIT-467: Literature for Children/Young Adults

Professor Sarah Elder

April 4, 2025
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Esperanza Rising: Character Change of Esperanza

​ Growing up, Esperanza was very privileged and pampered by everyone around her, she

knew nothing but everyone else doing anything and everything for her. It wasn’t her fault, she

was an only child and a girl at that so she was very spoiled and treated amazingly. Throughout

the story, Esperanza and her family go through some rough patches that they have to overcome

and they do. This shift of events makes the story have a different ending. While the beginning

was very predictable, it took a turn for the better. Esperanza learned so much in their travels and

experienced some life changing tasks that soon made her realize that she was much stronger than

she thought.

​ While Esperanza was younger, she was raised on a different lifestyle, on a ranch named

El Rancho de las Rosas with servants and a whole bunch of workers; “ Everyone who lived and

worked on El Rancho de las Rosas was gathered at the edge of the field: Esperanza’s family, the

house servants in their long white aprons, the vaqueros already sitting on their horses ready to

ride out to the cattle, and fifty or sixty campesinos, straw hats in their hands, holding their own

knives ready” (Ryan, 2003, 13). This was everything she knew and how she was surrounded

throughout her whole life. Until her day before her 13th birthday; “Esperanza felt her heart drop.

A noise came from her mouth and slowly, her first breath of grief grew into a tormented cry. She

fell to her knees and sank into a dark hole of despair and disbelief” (Ryan, 2003, 23). Her father

had been killed along with some of her other workers of the ranch, this made a huge shift in the

story and made everything different.

​ As the death of Esperanza’s father was the hardest pill to swallow for her, there were

more heading her way. Her uncle, Luis, tried to marry her mother as soon as her father died, they

had to prepare an escape plan because there was no way that her mother, Ramona, would ever do
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such a thing; “Hortensia went to Mama’s side and touched her arm. “You should know that we

have decided to go to the United States. Alfonso’s brother has been writing to us about the big

farm in California where he works now. He can arrange jobs and a cabin for us, too. We are

sending the letter tomorrow””. (Ryan, 2003, 39). Moving to the United States was not easy for

Esperanza, there were multiple culture changes that occurred and lots of emotions that Esperanza

didn’t understand.

​ Getting to the campsite in the United States was a challenge, there were many people

along the way that made Esperanza question if moving to the United States was a good idea.

Being that she wasn’t used to being in a cart filled with people who weren’t the cleanest, there

were some problems that Esperanza had to overcome; “Esperanza had never been so close to so

many peasants before. When she went to school, all of her friends were like her. When she went

to town, she was escorted and hurried around any beggars. And the peasants always kept their

distance. That was simply the way it was. She couldn’t help but wonder if they would steal her

things” (Ryan, 2003, 50). There was nothing wrong with how she was thinking, to her, it wasn’t

normal being around “peasants”, she wasn’t old enough to understand that everyone is the same

no matter where they came from.

​ Living at the campsite was a wake up call for Esperanza as she had to learn how to do

many tasks that en El Rancho de las Rosas would’ve never occurred. She had to babysit, sweep,

clean, cook, and eventually work. There were multiple instances that she experienced being

embarrassed how little she knew compared to everyone around her, even having her very first

encounter with a bully; ““So you’re a princess who’s come to be a peasant? Where’s all your

finery?”
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Esperanza stared at her and said nothing. “What’s the matter, silver spoon stuck in your mouth?”

Her voice was smart and biting.”” (Ryan, 2003, 67). This encounter was nothing like how she

had been treated in Aguascalientes en El Rancho de las Rosas, because there she was treated like

a queen. This reality hit her especially hard, being that there was someone around that would

always call her out on everything she didn’t know how to do, there was an added pressure upon

Esperanza’s knowledge of simple things other girls and women on the campsite were able to do.

​ Esperanza was far too young to work in the fields, so taking care of the twins was her

only choice to distract her and teach her a few things. She learned from Isabel, the twins’ sister,

on how to properly take care of them since she had to stay with them alone as the twins’ mother

and father had to work and Isabel had to be at school. This showed Esperanza responsibility and

motherly instincts that she grew up with; “What did Hortensia give her when she was a child and

was sick? She tried to remember. Rice water! But how did she make it? Esperanza put a pot on

the stove and added a cup of rice. She wasn’t sure how much water to add but she remembered

that when rice didn’t come out soft Hortensia always said it needed more water” (Ryan, 2003,

95). Having these memories helped her a lot throughout the story. It shows the reader

Esperanza's growth showing the more and more the chapters go on.

​ As soon as Esperanza is getting used to her schedule and also getting used to the twins,

her mother turns to be very sick. This shifts Esperanza’s character development because she now

has to become the provider of the family, which wasn’t a regular occurrence. Since her Papa had

passed, her mother was the one Esperanza relied on in order to eat and survive but, since her

mother was deadly sick, there was no way that Ramona was able to work; meaning that

Esperanza had to step up. Frantically looking for a job, she finally did; “Anza, if you’re good at

cutting potato eyes, they will hire you to tie grapes. If you are good at tying grapes, they will hire
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you for asparagus. That’s how it works. If you’re good at one thing, then they hire you for

another” (Ryan, 2003, 110). Esperanza learned very quickly how to work and how to be good at

it, she watched everyone around her and learned from their ways so she was able to work longer

since there were medical bills coming in from her mother being very sick. Esperanza was saving

money to bring her abuela over to the United States since she has stayed in Aguascalientes since

the doctors were telling Esperanza that her mother was depressed along with being sick; there

was something that Esperanza knew would cheer her up, her mother.

​ Getting her abuelita over to the United States wasn’t exactly the easiest task, there were

many countless days of work that went into saving up enough money to get her grandma into the

states. This pushed Esperanza more and more to work and learn as much as she could in order to

continue working; this shift in her demeanor was clear as day. She was starting to grow up

differently than how she was raised and she was starting to realize the importance of not being

afraid to start over and keep going. Esperanza is an inspiration to everyone, as she never gave up

no matter how many complications came her way she knew to keep pushing and keep striving

for more. She never settled for less and continued to have the same drive and dedication to what

she knew was right, taking care of her mother and making sure she was happy. This was

something she never had to worry about being that her father was always making sure they were

both okay, this truly shows the difference in Esperanza from the beginning of the story til the

end.
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References

Ryan, P. M. (2003, September 23). Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Apple Books.

Retrieved April 4, 2025, from

[Link]