Esperanza Rising is a story written by Pam Muñoz Ryan about a rich girl named Esperanza. Esperanza soon changes her outlook on the world after many horrific events force her to choose what’s most important. At the very beginning of the story, Esperanza was a spoiled girl who had everything she wanted; she thought nothing could go wrong. Esperanza only considered herself, not even thinking of the poor. In fact Esperanza didn’t even want the poor to be near her, let alone touch her. “Mama we can’t sit here papa would never allow us to sit here, the people are poor and dirty.” After Esperanza loses her father, she and her mother decide to flee to America. Esperanza shows that she still has not accepted the fact that she is now poor. She still