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Chapters 12 & 13

Summary: Chapter 12: Los Duraznos (Peaches)

Isabel prays that because of her good grades, she may be named Queen of the May at her school’s May Day festival. Girls who speak English and wear nice dresses are usually chosen, but she is the only female student with straight As. Isabel tells the family that there is a new camp for workers from Oklahoma with inside toilets, hot water, and a swimming pool. Mexicans will be allowed to use the pool only on the day before it is cleaned. Esperanza is angered by the idea that Mexicans are considered dirtier than other workers. When Miguel arrives home, he says the railroad has hired men from Oklahoma to work on the engines for half the money, and that Mexicans could dig ditches or lay tracks instead. Miguel chose to dig ditches rather than take no pay. 

Esperanza is furious, wondering why the new workers couldn’t dig the ditches instead. She tells Miguel that their lives are no better than they were in Mexico. Miguel explains that at least in the United States he has a chance to become more than a servant. He reminds Esperanza of her father’s words about patience: to wait and the fruit will fall into your hand. Esperanza bursts into tears remembering her father, and cries that she can’t stand how hopeful Miguel still is. She tells Miguel that he is still a peasant, and he angrily tells Esperanza that she still thinks she is a queen. Miguel leaves the next morning to look for work in northern California. 

When Isabel is not chosen Queen of the May, Esperanza feels sorry for her. She gives Isabel her porcelain doll, telling Isabel that it is a gift to last for more than one day. 

Esperanza’s mother is finally able to come home from the hospital, but she is still depressed and needs to build up her strength. Mama comes home to see that Papa’s roses are blooming and the family has prepared her bed and a special chair for her outside. That night, Mama tells Esperanza that it is not all her fault that Miguel is gone, and that he will come back. Esperanza tells her mother that she has saved almost enough money to bring Abuelita to them and goes to show her the money orders. But when she opens her bag, she discovers that the money orders are gone.

Summary: Chapter 13: Las Uvas (Grapes)

The family is certain that Miguel took Esperanza’s money orders, but his father Alfonso promises to pay back the money. Esperanza is furious, but she focuses on how her mother appears to be getting stronger every day. 

Alfonso comes one day to take Esperanza with him and Hortensia to pick up Miguel at the bus station in Bakersfield. Miguel hugs his parents, then tells Esperanza that he has brought her proof that things will get better. He turns to help an old woman down from the bus. It is Abuelita. Miguel has used the money to bring her from Mexico to California. Esperanza is overwhelmed and grateful, laughing and crying with Abuelita.

At the cabin, Esperanza leads Abuelita to Mama. Abuelita wakes Esperanza’s mother gently, and as the two women cry, Esperanza retrieves the crocheted blanket she has been working on for Mama. Abuelita tells Esperanza how she knew something was wrong with her daughter, and she prayed every day for the family’s safety. Esperanza tells Abuelita everything that has happened, explaining her story by the seasons of fruits and vegetables that have passed.  

Later, Esperanza and Miguel go to the foothills beyond the farm and lie down on the grass there. Esperanza tells Miguel to listen for the sound of the land’s heart beating. They are quiet until they hear it. As the sun rises, Esperanza feels like she is rising, too, high above the valley. She remembers that she has her family, her garden of roses, her faith, and her memories.

The family celebrates Esperanza’s birthday with fruit and her favorite cake. Later, Esperanza watches as Abuelita teaches Isabel how to crochet. Isabel is impatient, upset that her rows of crocheted yard are uneven, but Esperanza gently unravels the yarn and tells Isabel never to be afraid of starting over.

Analysis: Chapters 12 & 13

Esperanza’s anger at the poor perception of Mexican people underscores the reality of racism in their new home. The assumption by the white employers that Mexican people are dirty and do not deserve the same quality of housing as the workers from Oklahoma reinforces the systemic nature of the racism that the Mexican people must face and the profound affect on their quality of life. This information leaves the family hurt and shaken even before Miguel returns home with similar news of injustices at his workplace. The fact that those in charge allow white workers to unseat Mexican workers, which limits or flat out denies their chances of advancement, illustrates that their racist practices not only make the Mexican workers’ lives uncomfortable in the present, but they also ensure that their futures remain bleak.

Esperanza and Miguel’s argument over how they will improve their lives is a breaking point that threatens to derail the emotional progress that Esperanza has made. Miguel’s use of her father’s words to rationalize his own stance causes Esperanza to regress into childish patterns of petulance, blame, and cruelty. Instead of seeking solace in her father’s words or looking for the wisdom in them to move forward, she instead looks back to focus on how difficult her new life has become. When Miguel calls her a queen, he too regresses, and this return to the motif of royalty and fairytales throws Esperanza’s background in her face more hurtfully than Marta’s previous taunts of “Cinderella.” 

Racism and the unjust systems in which Esperanza and her family live cause further conflicts and realizations for them. The family is still absorbing the loss of Miguel’s easygoing presence when Isabel loses the honor of being named Queen of the May to a blonde, blue-eyed girl, further exemplifying the favored treatment of Americans over immigrants. A previous discussion between Josefina and Esperanza foreshadowed this disappointment, but the event provides Esperanza with another opportunity to display her maturity as she comforts Isabel. Part of Esperanza’s emotional growth has included learning generosity and responsibility. By telling Isabel that there are better, longer-lasting rewards in the future, she convinces herself of this belief, too.

The strengthening of family ties and a feeling of renewed hope accompany Mama’s return from the hospital. Once again, roses return as a symbol of love and home. This time the care that the family shows when they welcome Mama back and the fact that Mama chose to visit the roses as soon as she arrived home exemplify the significance of the blooms. A mature, optimistic, and loving conversation between Esperanza and her mother reinforces the story’s theme of the bonds between strong women and illustrates how far Esperanza has come with regard to accepting and thriving within their new reality. Regardless of the setback losing the money brings, the family focuses on Mama’s strength returning. All is still not lost because their family is mostly together again.

The final chapter of Esperanza Rising ties previously separated bonds of family back together again. This chapter shares the same name as Chapter 1: Las Uvas (Grapes), a callback to the family’s vineyard, and a demonstration that Esperanza and her Mama have come full circle from losing everything except for each other, to re-building their family and re-defining what true wealth means. In a flurry of events, the family is reunited with Abuelita, and the descriptions of Esperanza’s and Mama’s reactions to Abuelita crystalize the importance of Abuelita’s presence. The reappearance of Abuelita’s crocheted blanket, now large and uneven but threaded with love, bonds the three women together even more closely. Esperanza herself has endured the ups and downs of the mountains and valleys of the stiches in the blanket; she has cobbled together a life, much like she has added yarn of different colors to complete the blanket. Crocheting the blanket has allowed Esperanza to stay connected to Abuelita in her absence and now that they are together again, the blanket is a tangible reminder of their collective journey. 

Esperanza assumes the role of storyteller as she describes the last year to Abuelita in the context of the farm’s seasons, mirroring the beginning of the book. In a nod toward the chapter titles, Esperanza also uses the fruits and vegetables they harvested to outline what has happened. With each new season, the land has produced a new bounty, which parallels the theme of not being afraid to start over. The land, just as in the beginning of the book, returns as a strong force in the characters’ lives. 

The symbolism of the title of the book, Esperanza Rising, is evident as the story closes with portrayals of a mature and forever changed Esperanza. She now takes charge of her own healing, which includes leading Miguel to join her as they listen for and feel the land’s heart beating, ushering in a new season of her life with her extended family. This moment brings her closer not only to the memory of her father but also to her faith, and these values are as solid as the land on which she lies. Esperanza’s sensation that she is rising high above the valley symbolizes that she has finally risen above her circumstances, and back on the ground with her family she will have roots wherever she goes as long as they are all together.

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