A Rice Sandwich

In this chapter, Esperanza wants to be a special kid, and decides to try to get into the canteen, however when she does, she is thought of as a financially unstable child, and is pitied into the canteen. I thought the theme was that simple misconceptions hurt the people who are targetted, ultimately making them feel worthless. The nun makes a sincere question about where she lives, and Esperanza says yes, out of shock but also the pressure of the nun. “That one? She said, pointing to a row of ugly three-flats, the ones even the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes, I nodded… I always cry when nuns yell at me even if they’re not yelling.” The simple act of doing so made Esperanza not know what to do and feel as if she was grouped in a certain way just because of how she looked. Vivid imagery I found in this section was “My turn came and I stood in front of the big desk with holy pictures under the glass while the Sister Superior read my letter.” Additionally, I thought that “… lots of boys and girls watched while I cried and ate my sandwich, the bread already greasy and the rice cold.” These both show a lot of setting and the second one shows the sadness of Esperanza.