Then, They Continue Their Journey on a Train

Guiavas

•Esperanza and her mother, Hortensia, Alfonoso, and Miguel begin their journey to California in the United States

•Esp. and her mother and Hort. have to hide underneath the guavas in the covered wagon

•Then, they continue their journey on a train

•Esp. is upset b/c she thinks the train is dirty and filled with peasants

•Esp. takes out the doll that Papa gave her. A young peasant girl tries to touch the doll and Esp. pulls away

•Mama scolds her for being selfish and rude

•Mama makes a yarn doll for the little girl

•Miguel says he wants to work on the railroad

•Esp. notices that Miguel and Alf. are up to something secretive

•Mama talks to Carmen on the train, a peasant woman with chickens

Cantaloupes

•Esp. and the others arrive in the US.

•They meet Juan, Josefina, and their daughter Isabel (8), and twin babies, who they will be staying with. Juan and Josefina are Miguel’s uncle and aunt. Isabel and the babies are his cousins

•Isabel is fascinated by Esp. because she was rich in Mexico

•Isabel is excited to go to school and learn in English

•Esperanza meets Marta, who is rude and does not like the fact that Esp. was rich

•Marta says that her father died too and that he fought rich land owners in Mexico like Esp.’s father

•Marta thinks the Okies will get hot water and says that if they do, she will participate in a strike.

Onions

•Esp. is disappointed to find out that she and Mama will have to share a cabin with Alfonso, Hortensia, and Isabel because there is no housing for single women

•Esp. is upset b/c Mama is singing and doesn’t understand how she could be happy there

•Mama, Hort., and Josefina will go to work in the sheds

•Esp. must watch the babies with Isabel

•Then, Esp. will have to sweep the platform

•Esp. does not know how to change or wash diapers

•When Esp. tries to sweep, she does not know how to use the broom

•Marta and the other women and girls laugh at her

•Miguel shows sympathy for her

•Miguel was not able to get a job working on the railroad as a mechanic because Mexicans were only being hired to lay track and dig ditches

Almonds

•*Miguel and Alfonso plant Papa’s roses

•*Esperanza does not want to attend the Jamaica (party)because of Marta but Isabel convinces her to go

•*Esperanza wants Hortensia to dress and bathe her for the party like she used to but things are different now

•*Marta tries to rally strikers at the Jamaica. She compares the kitten to the workers

Plums

•*Esperanza babysits Pepe and Lupe and feeds them raw plums. The babies get sick from the plums.

•*She then feeds the babies rice water, which makes them better. This shows she is learning.

•*There is a dust storm.

•*Mama is working in the fields during the storm. When she comes back she is sick with Valley Fever.

•*Because of the dust storm, the strike is called off.

Potatoes

•*Mama is sick and depressed in the hospital

•*Esperanza wants to go to work to get money to bring Abuelita to the United States, hoping it will help Mama get better

•*Miguel tells Esperanza to go to work cutting potato eyes.

•*Esperanza continues crocheting Abuelita’s blanket. She remembers that Abuelita told her the stitches are like mountains and valleys. This symbolizes the changes in Esperanza’s life (the ups and downs).

•*The potatoes represent Esperanza working and taking responsibility. They represent her growth into adulthood as she is taking care of Mama instead of having others take care of her.