1. How does the train ride Esperanza takes with her mother and Miguel's family compare or contrast with the previous train trip that Esperanza and Miguel took together with her father?

2. In the beginning of the story, the reader sees two parents who love their daughter. What kind of life do Esperanza's parents prepare her for?

3. How does Esperanza'a reaction to her fellow travelers on the family trip from Mexico to California compare or contrast to her mother's reaction to them?

4. Although Mama is very patient with Esperanza's huge social adjustment, there is one time when she tells Esperanza that she is ashamed of her. Explain how Esperanza embarrassed her mother.

5. Esperanza meets Marta, a girl they pick up in the truck, who is friendly with Isabel. How is Marta's reaction to Esperanza different from the treatment she had from Isabel?

6. What is significant about Esperanza's reaction to the odors that she now smells among the peasants and on the train?

7. What is the symbolism of the author having Alfonso and his son Miguel be the ones who return to the ranch with the dead body of Papa?

8. What is the purpose of Hortensia's recalling the story of the bandits in the house while they are hiding in the wagon?

9. At the time the fire is discovered, what might be the reason Esperanza is dreaming that a bear is waking her?

10. Every chapter is named after a fruit, and that fruit has a role in the action of the chapter. This chapter is "The Guavas." What role do the guavas play in the action of Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the female characters are crocheting lace, teaching crocheting, giving crocheted gifts. Sometimes it is the actual crocheted article that is important; at other times, the activity itself is emphasized. What might crocheting symbolize, or come to symbolize, to the women of El Rancho de las Rosas?