Sandra Cisneros provides a story of a young Latino girl, Esperanza, who dreams of distancing herself from an oppressive family and community network in the inner city of Chicago. At the same time, she knows she will never really be able to completely do so. And yet, this young girl achieves a certain redemption by affirming her female and creative self through her artistic expression. This essay will discuss this issue by examining certain parts of Cisneros’s text, as well as the criticisms of Ellen McKracken and Julian Olivares. The paper will argue the thesis that Esperanza’s story is very much about class liberation within a female perspective, yet that such liberation ultimately occurs within the artistic imagination of Esperanza herself.