Background

Pam Muñoz Ryan, the author of Esperanza Rising, is more qualified than any other author to write this story. Do you wonder why? Ryan is the granddaughter of the real Esperanza. As a child she watched her grandmother crochet blankets and listened to the stories her grandmother told about her life in Mexico and later in California. Ryan wrote down some of these stories, and they guided her in writing the fictional novel Esperanza Rising. Ryan’s grandmother’s family stayed in California, and her father’s family migrated to California during the Great Depression. The author grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and in her writing describes her experiences there and those of her family. She has received many awards for her writing including the Pura Belpre Award. Before you begin the book, complete these activities.

Make a chart about migration. “Push factors” are those factors that force someone to leave a place in order to migrate to a safer place. An example is war. “Pull factors” are those factors that encourage a person to leave one place because a difference place seems to be better. An example is climate. On one side of your chart, list all the push factors you can think of. On the other side, list all the pull factors. As you read the book, see if you can add to your chart.

Write a letter. Think of a time when you had a big change in your life. Did you move to a new school? Live in a new community? In your letter, advise a student who might be facing the same change you faced. What advice could you give him or her? What was hard about the change? What was exciting about the change?

Interview a family member. Ryan’s novel is loosely based on her grandmother’s life. You will be surprised to hear about the experiences of your family members and how they witnessed and helped shape history. Write a short story based on what you discover in your interview. Type and publish this work to share with your classmates.

Locate California and Mexico on a map of North America. Now find Auguascalientes, Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arvin, California.

Research the Great Depression. What was it? When was it? How did it change people’s lives? How did it change the United States? Now research the Dust Bowl. When and where was it? How did it affect migration in America? Write a report about what you discover and share it with the class.

Read the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hess. Write a journal as if you were a character living in one of the camps Hess describes in the book. Tell what your day is like and how camp life feels to you. Share this journal with your class.

The Novel

The Journey Begins
The book begins with Esperanza and her family living a life of luxury in Mexico. One event changes all of this, and Esperanza’s family is forced to leave its home and country for a new life in a strange new country.

Here are some questions to guide your reading:

• How does Papa express his love for the land?
• What evidence suggests that Esperanza’s family is wealthy?
• How does Mama trick Tio Luis?
• During the wagon ride, why does Hortensia recall the story of a train journey that Esperanza made with Miguel and Papa?
• How does Esperanza and her mother earn their living in California?
• Why does Esperanza’s mother say, “Now we are peasants, too”?
• According to Isabel why do the farm workers from different countries live in different areas?

As a class discuss

• The novel says there is a “deep river” between Esperanza and Miguel? What does this mean? Are there deep rivers that separate people today? What are they?
• Mama makes the decision to leave Mexico? Do you think this is the best decision? Why or why not? Find evidence in the text to support your answer.
• How does Esperanza react to the people on the train? How would you react? How does this reaction influence your opinion about Esperanza? Find text to support your answers.
• What is Esperanza learning from the new people she is meeting? Find text to support your answers.

Charting the Course

As the book continues, Esperanza and her family begin to make a new life facing many new challenges. They meet new people, work in new ways, and live in a new culture. But, a crisis challenges the family and their newfound safety.

Here are some questions to guide your reading:

• How does Miguel help Esperanza?
• How has Mama’s appearance changed since the family left Mexico?
• Why is it difficult for Esperanza to perform the new tasks she has been assigned?
• Why aren’t many of the workers eager to strike?
• What happens to Mama? What is the doctor’s diagnosis?
• Why does Esperanza decide to work in the sheds?

As a class discuss

• Why are the rose bushes so important to Mama and Esperanza? What do they symbolize?
• If you were a worker in these conditions, would you strike? Why or why not? Give evidence to support your answer.
• What do you think Mama means when she tells Esperanza, “Do you know I am so proud of you? For all you are learning”?
• What evidence is there that Esperanza is beginning to adjust to her new life in America?
• Esperanza says in the novel that Isabel has nothing but she has everything. What does she mean? Do you know someone like Isabel? Can you think of someone who has everything but has nothing?

Journey’s End

As Esperanza adjusts to her new life, she must accept more responsibility than ever before. She begins to connect to the people around her in many new ways. Miguel continues to help the family and life seems more hopeful.

Here are some questions to guide your reading:

• Why can’t Esperanza visit her mother for one month?
• How does Esperanza help the starving family?
• How does the strike affect Miguel? Esperanza?
• How does the government try to stop the strike?
• How does the arrival of the “Okies” affect Esperanza and the other Mexicans in the camp?
• Why does Miguel take Esperaza’s money?
• How does Abuelita react to the blanket?

As a class discuss

• In what ways do people of Mexican origin face prejudice in the 1930s? Do all immigrants face this prejudice? Why or why not? Does this prejudice still exist?
• Why do you think Esperanza risks her own safety to help Marta? How does this influence your perception of Esperanza?
• Why do some people strike and others choose to cross the picket lines? Which course would you have taken? Why?
• Do you think Esperaza’s predictions or Miguel’s predictions about the future of Mexicans are most accurate? Why?
• Do you think Esperanza will ever learn English? Why or why not?
• Why does the author name the chapters of this book they way she does?
• Why does the author choose to include Spanish words and phrases in the book? What effect does it have on the reader?
• Why is Esperanza now able to hear the Earth’s heartbeat? Explain.

Activities

Literature
Authors use literary devices to write effectively. Some examples of literary devices are foreshadowing, symbolism, personification, similes, and metaphors. Foreshadowing refers to the hints that an author gives to suggest what will happen later in a story. Find an example of foreshadowing in the novel. Symbolism is when an author writes about a person, object, or event that represents an idea or group of ideas. Find an example of symbolism in the novel. Personification is giving human qualities to nonhuman objects such as trees or plants. Find an example of personification in the novel. Similes are figures of speech that compare two unlike objects with the words “like” or “as”. Find an example of a simile in the novel. Metaphors are comparisons of two objects that seem unalike. Find an example of a metaphor in the novel. Discuss your examples with your classmates. Write a short story using some of these devices.

Writing. Imagine you are Esperanza or Miguel. Write a journal entry for a specific time during the book. Describe your thoughts and feelings and also your hopes and dreams for the future. Apply your knowledge of the characters to create your journal. Share this writing with your classmates.

Writing. Write a newspaper article covering the strikes that Esperanza describes in the story. Include a headline and the key facts about the strike.

Science. Research what is probably wrong with Mama. Describe how you arrive at your hypothesis. Also, find out when antibiotics were first used to treat infectious diseases. How did antibiotics change medicine? Why are some people now worried about people overusing antibiotics?

Social Studies. Make a timeline of events in Mexico and the United States from about 1900 to 1950. Include key events that caused migration and immigration during this time period. Think carefully about push and pull factors and how events lead to these factors. Post and present your timeline.

Art. Choose an image the author describes in the book. Illustrate this work with a piece of art. Choose the rose bushes, the train ride, the dust storm, or any other scene. Select the best medium in which to present your work: pencil or chalk drawing, watercolor painting, or a collage.

Math. Find out how many people currently enter the United States through immigration. Make a chart or graph showing how many people of different nationalities enter the United States each year. Which country has the most immigrants to the United States? Discuss why people immigrate to this country. Share your findings with the rest of the class.