What motivates Esch into being her?

I'm not sure what you mean by "her". The main character and narrator of the novel (age 15). Esch is the only girl in her family and one of few women in the novel in general. Growing up solely around men has lent her a sense of independence and a tough exterior, and Esch bears the hardships of falling in love and pregnancy without complaint or weakness. She is athletic and in touch with her own body, but only to the extent that it is non-feminine; as she witnesses her body becoming more anatomically feminine, she attempts to distance herself from it. Prone to daydreaming, Esch is obsessed with Greek myths and uses them to make sense of her world, obsessively comparing herself to the sorceress Medea. She frequently consults memories of her mother for guidance and strength, giving her mother’s character an almost embodied presence in her life. Esch is fiercely loyal to Skeetah and cares for Junior as if he were her own child. She fears her father and strives to stay out of his way.