57 pages • 1 hour read
Pam Muñoz RyanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
“He picked up a handful of earth and studied it. ‘Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel it breathe? That you can feel its heart beating?’”
Esperanza’s father is teaching her that the earth is a living organism. He values it as more than something to be exploited. The cycles of nature provide sustenance and are to be respected. Esperanza will echo her father’s reverence for the land at the end of the book in her new homeland.
“Esperanza preferred to think, though, that she and her someday-husband would live with Mama and Papa forever. Because she couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than El Rancho de las Rosas.’”
At the beginning of the novel, Esperanza naively assumes that her future will unfold in an orderly fashion. She has no idea what fate holds in store for her. At a later point, she bitterly confides to Miguel that she saw her life laid out in straight rows. She eventually learns to value a different course for her future.
“At first, they stayed only a few hours, but soon they became like la calabaza, the squash plant in Alfonso’s garden, whose giant leaves spread out, encroaching upon anything smaller.
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