Hairs
Summary
Esperanza describes the hair of each member of her family, paying special attention to her mother's hair.
Analysis
Esperanza only briefly describes the hair of most of her family members, but she lovingly lingers over her mother's hair, using richly descriptive language that culminates in a sense of security: "my mother's hair. sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe." As much as Eperanza longs, as most adolescents do, to be a free and unique individual, she is also attracted to the known security her mother represents. Teenage readers will empathize with and adult readers will remember this tension between dependence and independence in their own experience of growing up.
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