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Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

Crochet

Women and girls crochet throughout Esperanza Rising. Crocheting is most prominent in the work Abuelita and Esperanza begin on a blanket as the women nervously wait for Papa to come home. The blanket is completed when Abuelita is reunited with Mama and Esperanza at the book’s conclusion. Over the course of many months, tears, strands of hair, memories, and love are woven with yarn into the blanket in zigzag patterns, as uneven and unplanned as the events of Esperanza’s new life. The blanket is a metaphor for Esperanza’s existence as she uses any yarn she can find; she is doing the best she can with the resources she has. In a commonality Esperanza finds comforting, the women of the camp often spend their evenings crocheting, as Mama and Abuelita did in Aguascalientes. During her illness, Mama has Esperanza bring her Abuelita’s blanket, and as she sleeps, Esperanza adds row after row of yarn to the material. She does this as if attempting to create a blanket large and warm enough to protect her family from all trouble. The end of the story finds Abuelita teaching little Isabel to crochet, bringing this craft of love to another generation.

Royalty and Fairytales

Esperanza Rising is a reversed rags-to-riches story. The novel references princesses, queens, and Cinderella, underscoring how elements of Esperanza’s former life seem like a fairytale to other characters. Mama is frequently described as regal in looks and behavior. Miguel calls Esperanza a queen as a gentle, respectful tease until he is forced to remind Esperanza that she can no longer see herself as such in California. Isabel continues to beg Esperanza to tell her stories of her life as a queen or princess in Mexico, while Marta has no patience for Esperanza’s snobbery, calling her a “princess who’s come to be a peasant” and mockingly labels her as “Cinderella.” The reality of her new, lowered position takes a long while for Esperanza to accept.

Mothers and Daughters

The power and bonds of maternal love feature strongly in the story, beginning with Abuelita’s clear influence on her daughter, Ramona (Esperanza’s Mama), and Esperanza herself. Esperanza consistently looks to her own Mama as inspiration and ideal. She deeply understands the need Mama has for her own mother while they are separated. Even the prickly, angry Marta adores her mother, who in turn prays for Esperanza’s mother during Mama’s illness. Esperanza recognizes and understands how Marta desperately needs and fears for her lost mother after a raid by immigration police. This moment creates empathy between Esperanza and her antagonist. Abuelita’s reunion with Mama is a beautiful moment near the end of the story, bringing together Esperanza and the two most important people in her life.
 

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