Analyzation of "Earl of Tennessee" to "Sally"

"Earl of Tennessee"

This vignette is devoted to describing one of Esperanza's many neighbors, Earl. Earl is a peculiar man in Esperanza's eyes, and he provokes some curiosity within her. Esperanza puts him in a very solitary light, claiming that his blinds are always closed and that he doesn't talk much. This detailed description of Earl takes up four of the five paragraphs in this vignette. The last paragraph, however, is the most significant. It is implied that Earl, to put it in appropriate terms, spends a lot of time with prostitutes. Esperanza and Nenny do not understand this, providing an obvious display of their sheltered naivete. This is articulated in the lines, "Edna says she saw [Earl's wife] once....Mama says she is a skinny thing...And the boys across the street say she is a tall red-headed lady...We never agree on what she looks like, but we do know this. Whenever she arrives, he holds her tight by the crook of the arm. They walk fast into the apartment, lock the door behind them and never stay long." (Earl of Tennessee, 71)


"Sire"

This chapter is extremely important to the book, as it shows Esperanza's development as a young woman. She has noticed time and time again that a boy, Sire, has been looking at her every time she passes his house. This excites her, and the reader can tell she has happy, excited butterflies floating in her stomach. This is made quite obvious in the line, "It made your blood freeze to have somebody look at you like that. Somebody looked at me. Somebody looked." (Sire, 73) Esperanza likes Sire, yet she is scared of him and his friends because they are boys, and they are probably older than she is. This is articulated when she remarks, "They didn't scare me. They did, but I wouldn't let them know." (Sire, 72). In this situation, she forces herself to be brave, to look at Sire, to meet his stare. This is a great example of how Esperanza attempts to prove herself and prove that she is brave. She states, "I looked too long when he rode his bike past me. I looked because I wanted to be brave..." (Sire, 72). Her happiness quickly turns to jealousy, a trait we have not really seen before in Esperanza, when she discusses Sire's girlfriend, Lois. She describes Lois as a perfect, beautiful girl, someone she could never compare herself to. This diminishes her hopes of being with Sire. But, Esperanza claims she can tie her shoes while Lois cannot, and this makes her feel a little more worthy, a little better about herself. Then, quite quickly, this jealousy turns into longing. The last three paragraphs are extremely important, as she says "I want to sit out bad at night, a boy around my neck and the wind under my skirt...Not... leaning out the window, imagining what I can't see." (Sire, 73). Esperanza wishes to truly live, to have new, mature experiences with boys and freedom. She wishes to be with Sire, to have a boy hold her in her arms. One cannot help but feel sympathy toward Esperanza when she says this, as she may not ever get the opportunity to truly live and truly be free.

"Four Skinny Trees"

In "Four Skinny Trees", Esperanza is inspired by four particular trees on her street. She appreciates their strength, power, and fighting spirit. In a peculiar way, she empathizes with the trees, stating "I am the only one who understands them...Four [trees] who do not belong here but are her." (Four Skinny Trees, 74). These beautiful trees do not belong in this city, confined by concrete, forced to keep going, to keep being. Esperanza understands this. She understands that these strong trees have to fight, and they teach her to keep being. They inspire her, at this sad time in her teenage life, to "keep, keep, keep" (Four Skinny Trees, 75)

"No Speak English"

The prominent theme in this chapter is the longing for home, which corresponds perfectly with Esperanza's constant search for a real home and a house of her own. Mamacita does not like America, this is evident from the beginning of the chapter. She misses her true home, the place where she can feel comfortable and happy. This is articulated in the lines, "She still sighs for her pink house, and then I think she cries. I would." (No Speak English, 77). She is proud of her homeland, much like Esperanza's family. Mamacita is so proud of and so tied to her Spanish home, in fact, that she becomes tremendously upset when the 'baby boy' whom she brought to America with her begins to sing a song from a television commercial in English. "No speak English, she says to the child who is singing in the language that sounds like tin. No speak English...and bubbles into tears. No, no, no, as if she can't believe her ears." (No Speak English, 78). This chapter speaks to the love of home and the fear of change and the unknown.

"Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays"

Living your life, having freedom, dancing the night away, drinking the sweetest drinks. These are the things people must do before they are too old. Rafaela, yet another one of Esperanza's neighbors, is not able to live her life. She is "getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at." (Rafaela, 79). She is suffering, condemned to a window and a wish, a wish to "dance before she gets old." (Rafaela, 79). Rafaela should serve as a lesson to young Esperanza to go out, be free, and live before she is shut off from the world by an overprotective husband. Esperanza already wishes for freedom, but her observation of this poor woman will most likely push her desire and motivation to be free even further. Rafaela also knows that life has so much more, that there are "sweeter drinks", and, unfortunately, her drink, her life, is bitter "like an empty room" (Rafaela, 80).

"Sally"

"Sally" is very powerful. First, it is interesting to notice that though the chapter starts speaking in third person, it switches to the second person after the second paragraph and remains in the second person throughout the remainder of the chapter. Sally is what Esperanza wishes to be, utterly beautiful. What you must notice, however, is Esperanza's desperate questions to Sally. These questions are actually Esperanza's feelings, her thoughts, her questions to herself. She is asking these questions because, maybe if she asks someone else, hopes someone else is asking the same questions, she won't feel bad, she won't feel crazy, she won't feel like she does not belong. Esperanza does not know Sally, she has crafted this person that she sees, that she looks up to for some reason, into herself, into someone she can share her deepest thoughts with. This is shown when she asks "Sally do you sometimes wish you didn't have to go home? Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking...and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows...(Sally, 82). This is exactly what Esperanza longs for and dreams about. She, as a teenager, is misunderstood and alone in this world, and she feels and hopes that Sally feels the same and can possibly be a kindred spirit to Esperanza. The chapter finishes with a startling paragraph that articulates just how misunderstood Esperanza truly is. This quote is Esperanza putting her thoughts, wishes, and woes into writing, this is her cry for help. "And you could laugh, Sally...You could close your eyes and you wouldn't have to worry what people said because you never belonged here anyway and nobody could make you sad and nobody would think you're strange because you like to dream and dream. And no one could yell at you...when all you wanted, Sally, was to love and to love and to love...and no one could call that crazy." (Sally, 83)