Characters
Littlest/Gossamer: Littlest is the name of the young dream-giver at the beginning of the book. She is quite carefree, and is curious about everything. She gains the name Gossamer for her gossamer touch.
John: John is the young boy that Littlest and Thin Elderly receive as their assignment. Ever since he was little, he had been abused by his father. His mother did not agree with it, but could not stand up for him because she would get beat or screamed at too. He is eight years old. He is resentful at first, but softens towards the end of the book.
John's Mother: John's mother is not explicitly named in the book. She had led a hard life with John and her husband, Duane. She was an intelligent woman, but was forbidden to participate in social and intellectual events by Duane. After her divorce, she becomes a secretary at John's school.
Mellissa: Toby's owner is Mellisa in the book. She is an old woman, being about sixty or seventy years old. She used to be a schoolteacher, but retired a while ago. She lives a happy life with her dog, Toby, and is sweet in every way. She had a sweetheart who died in a war that may be the First or Second World War.
Thin Elderly: Thin Elderly is the dream-giver that is Littlest/Gossamer's instructor. He is quite experienced, and patiently answers Littlest's questions without taking offence. He takes care in his dream-giving, and is quite happy with it.
Most Ancient: Most Ancient is the eldest dream-giver of Gossamer's Heap. Although he has a faltering memory, he is wise in many ways.
Strapping: Strapping is a young dream-giver from a different Heap than Gossamer's. He was careless in his dream-giving; however, after he was assigned to John's mother as punishment, he becomes more affectionate and caring.
Fastidious: Fastidious is another dream-giver of the Heap. She is extremely irritable and impatient. She was introduced as Littlest's mentor, but gave the task thereof to Thin Elderly. She is hinted to be quite old.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Plot
Esperanza Ortega is a young girl who grows up in Mexico in the 1920s on Rancho de las Rosas, a vineyard her family owns. The Mexican revolution
produced conditions of violence, uncertainty, and economic hardship in many regions of the country. Unemployment was high and times were difficult for many families. Mexico is still recovering from the revolution, and there is still a great deal of animosity towards rich landowners, who seem to be uncaring of the peasants.
The story opens, as Esperanza is anticipating the harvest of the grapes from their vineyard that always coincides with her birthday. At the end of the harvest, there is always a wonderful fiesta attended by the servants, vaqueros, campesinos, and many of the wealthy families in the area. The afternoon before the La cosecha, or the harvest ceremony, "Anza" cuts her finger on a rose thorn, while she is gathering roses for table decorations the next day. As she is thinking this is bad luck, the plot begins.
That evening her mother Abuelita, who is her grandmother, and Hortenisa, the faithful housekeeper, who has been with them for many years, are very concerned, because her father is late coming home from the fields. Finally, the ranch foreman and his son are sent to look for Papa. Before they arrive back home, two stepbrothers of her father, Tio Luis and Tio Marco, come to the house with Papa's silver belt buckle. It's a very bad sign. Later that night, the ranch foreman and his son return to the house with a wagon carrying the dead body of Papa.
Several days later a lawyer tells Esperanza and her mother that the ranch house and the grapes in the vineyard now belong to them, but, since women are not allowed to own property, the land belongs to the bank. The bank president happens to be Tio Luis, who is not liked, as he is a crooked businessman and has been unfriendly to the family. He is also an aspiring politician trying to gain credibility in the community.
Tio Luis offers to buy the house from Mama, but at an amount much lower than it is worth. When she turns him down, he has a second proposal, this one of marriage. She loathes the idea and tells him so, but he reminds her that he is now her landlord, and he can make it very difficult on her if she does not accept his offer of marriage.
The next night, the family wakes to find their house on fire. All is lost, including the grapevines and Papa's beloved rose garden. Tio Luis arrives the next day to repeat his proposal, and to say that more harm could come to them if she doesn't reconsider his offer of marriage.
To avoid the marriage, Mama and Esperanza go to the United Sates with their foreman, his wife (Hortensia), and their son (Miguel). There they must find work in the fields, and Esperanza finds it especially difficult as she has led a sheltered and spoiled life to this point. Their life in a work camp is very hard, and mama becomes ill and must spend several months in the hospital. In order to help her get well, Esperanza must earn money to bring Abuelita from Mexico to be with her. Mexican migrant workers were finding jobs in the United States that would pay them more money than they were able to make in Mexico's struggling economy. The American farm owners were happy to hire the Mexican workers because it was considerably cheaper to pay them than other American workers.
Her friend, Miguel, steals Esperanza's money and he disappears. Esperanza is very depressed at not being able to help her mother. Finally, Miguel returns with Abuelita after having gone to Mexico with Esperanza's money to bring Abuelita to California.
produced conditions of violence, uncertainty, and economic hardship in many regions of the country. Unemployment was high and times were difficult for many families. Mexico is still recovering from the revolution, and there is still a great deal of animosity towards rich landowners, who seem to be uncaring of the peasants.
The story opens, as Esperanza is anticipating the harvest of the grapes from their vineyard that always coincides with her birthday. At the end of the harvest, there is always a wonderful fiesta attended by the servants, vaqueros, campesinos, and many of the wealthy families in the area. The afternoon before the La cosecha, or the harvest ceremony, "Anza" cuts her finger on a rose thorn, while she is gathering roses for table decorations the next day. As she is thinking this is bad luck, the plot begins.
That evening her mother Abuelita, who is her grandmother, and Hortenisa, the faithful housekeeper, who has been with them for many years, are very concerned, because her father is late coming home from the fields. Finally, the ranch foreman and his son are sent to look for Papa. Before they arrive back home, two stepbrothers of her father, Tio Luis and Tio Marco, come to the house with Papa's silver belt buckle. It's a very bad sign. Later that night, the ranch foreman and his son return to the house with a wagon carrying the dead body of Papa.
Several days later a lawyer tells Esperanza and her mother that the ranch house and the grapes in the vineyard now belong to them, but, since women are not allowed to own property, the land belongs to the bank. The bank president happens to be Tio Luis, who is not liked, as he is a crooked businessman and has been unfriendly to the family. He is also an aspiring politician trying to gain credibility in the community.
Tio Luis offers to buy the house from Mama, but at an amount much lower than it is worth. When she turns him down, he has a second proposal, this one of marriage. She loathes the idea and tells him so, but he reminds her that he is now her landlord, and he can make it very difficult on her if she does not accept his offer of marriage.
The next night, the family wakes to find their house on fire. All is lost, including the grapevines and Papa's beloved rose garden. Tio Luis arrives the next day to repeat his proposal, and to say that more harm could come to them if she doesn't reconsider his offer of marriage.
To avoid the marriage, Mama and Esperanza go to the United Sates with their foreman, his wife (Hortensia), and their son (Miguel). There they must find work in the fields, and Esperanza finds it especially difficult as she has led a sheltered and spoiled life to this point. Their life in a work camp is very hard, and mama becomes ill and must spend several months in the hospital. In order to help her get well, Esperanza must earn money to bring Abuelita from Mexico to be with her. Mexican migrant workers were finding jobs in the United States that would pay them more money than they were able to make in Mexico's struggling economy. The American farm owners were happy to hire the Mexican workers because it was considerably cheaper to pay them than other American workers.
Her friend, Miguel, steals Esperanza's money and he disappears. Esperanza is very depressed at not being able to help her mother. Finally, Miguel returns with Abuelita after having gone to Mexico with Esperanza's money to bring Abuelita to California.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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