How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She turned away, thinking that if Isabel could learn English, then maybe someday she could learn it, too. (7.3)
Here's the thing about dreams. Sometimes, it's hard to come up with them on your own. And it's even harder to pursue them. You need someone to have gone before, to set the example, to show you that realizing a dream is not totally and completely impossible. That's part of what holds the immigrant community together, too. They follow in each other's footsteps, so that they can all move toward a better future.
Quote #5
"We will only be here until Abuelita is well enough to travel. Then she will come with her money and we will buy a big house. A house that Papa would have been proud for us to live in. Maybe we will buy two houses so that Hortensia, Alfonso, and Miguel can live in one and work for us again. And you can visit us, Isabel. You see, this is only temporary. We will not be here for long." (7.30)
Esperanza's plans don't sound very realistic. Little Isabel might believe her, but we don't. Our hunch is that she's just consoling herself with this story because she desperately misses her old way of life. And hey, can you blame her? It's hard to let old dreams go.
Quote #6
She wanted to tell them that her mother was sick. That she had to pay the bills. She wanted to explain to them about Abuelita and how she had to find a way to get some money to her so she could travel. Then maybe they'd understand why she needed her job. (12.8)
When Esperanza's Mama gets sick, Esperanza finally stops dreaming about her old life and starts getting real. She sets herself some very necessary goals. But they're also really, really challenging goals… especially for a thirteen-year-old girl.