Esperanza Rising: The House On Mango Street

As I read chapters one and two of the novel Esperanza Rising, I felt nervous and sad because Esperanza’s father is murdered in the first chapter. The author builds tension by foreshadows this event throughout the entire chapter. Therefore, I felt uneasy the whole time knowing something awful was about to happen. Esperanza pricks her finger on a “vicious thorn” which she calls bad luck. This foreshadows that something terrible will happen to her. Therefore, when her father is tragically murdered, this does not seem coincidental, especially after she says that her father never disappointed her.
The second chapter focussed on Esperanza’s grief. I could understand the feeling of having someone important in your family die because I felt