Mango Street Turning Point

A turning point in a novel is often a point when the plot heads in a new direction due to a choice or a dilemma. It’s a part in the story when a character takes an important step toward changing his or her situation. This can cause a change in the character's personality and in the events in her life. In the novel, Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz, the protagonist Esperanza unwillingly escapes her life of luxury to immigrate to the United States. Her turning point is when her mother becomes sick thus making Esperanza take on more responsibility. In the beginning, Esperanza is introduced as a rich, educated girl who is very much sheltered from the harsh realities of the world around her. After moving to the United States, she and her mother are faced with a new and humble lifestyle that Esperanza in particular struggles with. Then, her mother gets sick and Esperanza is faced with a new dilemma: “Ever since Mama had first become sick over a month ago, they had no money coming in. The doctor’s bills and medicines had used up most of what they’d saved. Now there were more bills. Alfonso and Hortensia offered to help but they had done so much already and they didn't have much to spare. Besides she could not accept their charity forever”(Muñoz 165). …show more content…
She realized that her only choice was to start working in order to save up and help her mother. As she started working she developed independence and empathy for others. For example, in the beginning Esperanza was selfish when it came to the doll her father left her. She wouldn't even let a little girl on the train touch it because her hands were filthy. However, after realizing how much she has had and how little her friend Isabel has had, she decided to give Isabel her doll. All the hard work she was putting in to save her mother changed a stubborn, small minded, sheltered girl into a determined, open minded, caring