The Bean Trees Lesson Plan

Esperanza's Voice

Kind of Activity:

Creative Writing

Objective:

Students will write monologues from Esperanza's point of view in order to better understand her experience in Tucson.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3

Structure:

Esperanza is the character whose voice we hear the least in the novel. This is practical—she doesn't speak English as strongly as her husband—but also serves to emphasize her loneliness and the isolating nature of the suffering she has had to endure.

For this activity, students will imagine how Esperanza might tell her own story. What would she say about her journey from Guatemala to the U.S.? Is she happy here? How does she...