Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Roses

Roses often symbolize love and peace in literature, and while they do so again in Esperanza Rising, they are also a symbol of home. The Ortega family’s land in Mexico is named El Rancho de las Rosas—the Ranch of Roses—and Papa has planted several rosebushes, including two side-by-side inspired by Esperanza and Miguel. The two rosebushes have grown alongside both young people. Even after most of Esperanza’s home and garden are destroyed, Miguel secretly brings cuttings back from the charred roots to grow their roses again in California. The small shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe and its roses are a reminder of their former lives and a symbol of the hope that they can flourish in their new home. Roses make yet another appearance when Mama returns home from the hospital. These roses, now grown, symbolize Mama’s homecoming to her family.

Abuelita’s Blanket

The blanket Abuelita hands off to Esperanza to finish in California is a symbol of the work that Abuelita knows will come soon. The zigzag patterns Abuelita has taught Esperanza to crochet represent the peaks and valleys of life, while the blanket itself will bring comfort and distraction when both are most needed, especially during Mama’s illness. The pride Esperanza displays as she brings the blanket to Abuelita during their reunion in California is immense, even while she recognizes its lopsided, overlong weight. The blanket represents something beautiful that Esperanza has been able to create, despite her enormous stress and fear, something that ties her past to the present in a practical, protective way.

Hands

Striking descriptions of hands appear throughout the book and symbolize the physical and emotional changes Esperanza and Mama experience in California. Mama’s hands in particular, once soft and elegant, quickly grow rough after hours in the fields. Once she begins to work in the fields as well, Esperanza finds her own hands unrecognizable as they become swollen. She acquires cuts and scars that are beyond help from the avocado lotion Hortensia once made to soften Mama’s hands in Mexico. Esperanza thinks of her mother’s hands while Mama is in the hospital, and Esperanza is drawn to the sight of the typically combative Marta gently holding hands with her mother as they walk together. The touch and feel of women’s hands represent comfort even as their skin hardens and cracks.