Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

"He who falls today may rise tomorrow."
Mexican proverb










Summary:  Esperanza is a privileged teenage girl growing up in Mexico during the 1930s.  When her father tragically dies, Esperanza and her mother lose everything and must travel to America to live and work.  They are lucky and find jobs as farm workers in the fields of California.  The dramatic change in their situation is hard and this story is about Esperanza’s learning that both her father and her grandmother are right; have hope and never be afraid to start over.   

Themes:  Hope, Mexican/American Culture, Family Relationships, Dust Bowl, Farming Communities, Social Classes

Grade Level: 5^th to 8^th grades

Possible Student Reaction:  It is a sad story because Esperanza is so young and must face so many difficult situations.  A student may have a hard time seeing past the sadness.  A teacher needs to be ready to discuss how Esperanza became stronger and more capable and with her new found confidence in her abilities she learns how to have hope in her future.   

Analysis:  This book begs for research projects into the 1930’s and the migrant workers during the dust bowl.  One the surface it is a book about the difficult changes in Esperanza’s social and emotional life.   This theme of the book reinforces the lesson of never giving up on hope when confronted with change.  But beyond that lesson are the facts and realities of her situation.  Upon further study in these areas a class could have a very interesting Socratic seminar on the subjects of farm laborers rights, immigration, and the dust bowl.   This book works on many levels and opens up opportunities to learn about history that is relevant today.

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 Learning Objectives

• Analyze and identify the structural elements of the novel.
• Describe Esperanza's growth in maturity and understanding.
• Recognize the social distances that separate Esperanza and her family from their farm workers and peasants in Mexico and the migrants from other citizens in the United States.
• Understand some of the reasons for Mexican immigration to the United States after the Mexican Revolution and during the Great Depression.
• Appreciate why some of the farm laborers want to strike, while others do not, even when they are sympathetic to the strikers and their goals.
• Describe the working conditions for farm laborers in the 1930s and explain why the farmers and growers do not pay more or provide better living accommodations.
• Understand the competition for work among the various groups of farm laborers.
• Explore the attitudes in the United States toward the farm laborers and especially toward those from Mexico.
• Analyze the role of the Great Depression and the internal migration of farm laborers in the development of the U.S. Government policy of repatriating Mexican Workers during the Great Depression

These learning objectives were found on the website EDSITEment! at the following link: Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over

Also found on this site is some wonderful information on the Mexican Revolution, immigration, the Dustbowl, the depression and timelines for these events.