Under the Feet of Jesus
The theory of Bildungsroman defines a genre that has been employed in several literature pieces albeit most novels have employed the framework partially. The Bildungsroman literary genre convention dwells on the growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood morally and psychologically. Works that have employed the literary genre can also be referred to as coming of age genres. The novel by Viramontes entitled Under the Feet of Jesus gives an account of the plight of a family that lives as migrants. It has aspects that indicate similarities with the theories of the Bildungsroman. The essay evaluates how and to what extent the events of the novel fit the genre conventions in the Bildungsroman. Furthermore, the essay will delve into the justification behind the choice to use or not to use the genre conventions to enhance the theme of struggle as Estrella and her family experience hardships, focusing on migration and adolescence which characterize the life of the protagonist, Estrella, and her family.
Estrella and her family are traveling on the road once again heading to another destination. Estrella, the protagonist sits among her four siblings, her brothers Ricky and Arnulfo and twin sisters Perla and Cookie in a crowded car (Viramontes 32). The illustration above paints the picture of a struggling family. The seven members are squeezed into a car described by the author as old. They bear the tough conditions as they move from one place to another,
The excerpt from the novel Under the feet of Jesus, by Helena Maria Viramontes, shows the development of Estrella from being angry to understanding what she needed to accomplish to succeed. Viramontes uses figurative language, selection of detail, and tone to show the changes Estrella’s character goes through to figure out how beneficial it is to know what the letters in the alphabet looked like in order to be able to read and to be interested in wanting to read.
The contemporary texts, See you at Harry’s by Jo Knowles (2012) and Wonder by R.J. Palacio (2012) explore the common concerns that young people may face whilst growing up. The universal theme of the Human Condition involves the stages of life and the issues everyone must go through to develop a sense of self and purpose that define us from being social beings. These novels explore the Human Condition through discovering self-identity, relationships and loss. These novels are examples of bildungsroman as they are relevant to today's society and the children living in it. Young readers can relate to the struggles and feelings expressed by the characters, based off the composer's perspective of youth.
Words are strong; they can build, tear down, or repair; they have a purpose, much like tools in a tool chest. Using a distressed and then confident tone, the author of “Under the Feet of Jesus,” Viramontes, details the progression of Estrella’s character from a confused and hostile girl to an empowered and knowledgeable young lady through the use of repetition, an epiphany in the form of a potent simile and diction. The epiphany that words hold immense power and the key to success in life completely transforms Estrella’s character as she learns to grow stronger from her troubled childhood experience. Viramontes emphasizes how much power we give words when we use them to support or tear down each other and how we should carefully direct that power of words to give a voice to an underprivileged individual whose experience and potential in life would otherwise remain hidden and unknown.
In the book Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright makes three different claims throughout. N.T. Wright's first claim is about the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” takes up a large section of the first few chapters, and in those chapters N.T. Wright writes about that to enter the “perfect storm” you must step out of your own storm that is happening in your life, you must jump back into the “perfect storm” just as Jesus did in his own life. N.T. Wright fails to fully support the idea of the “perfect storm” throughout the book. Wright writes about the two myths that create the “storms”, the first is “… the high-pressure system of conservative Christianity” and the second is “... the new classic modernist myth…”. N.T. Wright loses his credibility to his claims by never giving evidence that disproves they myths. N.T. Wright states that the stories in the bible “...’really did happen’. And there the matter ends…. Facts or no facts”. N.T. Wrights claims are never fully
“Finding One’s Self in Times of Trouble”: An explication of the Helena Maria Viramontes’ novel
The development of characters transpire as a result of significant events in their lives. Events such as learning a new skill have the ability to transform a character’s life. Estrella in Helena Maria Viramontes’ novel Under the Feet of Jesus flourishes into an individual who once got upset over skills she did not have and was upset at the process of learning, but now understands how vital education is. Estrella was infuriated by her lack of understanding about the Perfecto’s tools and the letters on the chalkboard. She was especially agitated when the educators would not give her the answer right away The selection of detail shows the connection between two things she overcame. The tone and figurative language shows more detail about Estrella’s transformation.
Knowledge is a powerful thing. Additionally, knowledge can give a person an advantage in many aspects of life. Knowledge can help an individual get a job, it can help one get ahead in a class and it can help an individual understand what happens around them and why. Moreover, the wiser one is the more successful they can be. In the excerpt from the novel Under the Feet of Jesus, Helena Maria Viramontes describes how and why Estrella began to read and what provoked this change in her development. In order to convey Estrella’s development, Viramontes uses literary devices such as selection of detail, figurative language and tone to describe Estrella’s development from being puzzled and vitriolic to being educated and astute.
In essence, the novel “Under the Feet of Jesus” is well-developed. Author Viramontes used three literacy devices which were selection of detail, figurative language, and tone. Selection of detail gave the reader more understanding. Figurative language gave the story a little humor and interest. Lastly, tone was used to set the mood of the excerpt. Using those three literacy elements the reader can analyze Estrella as curious, sensitive, and
In Helena Maria Viramontes Under The Feet Of Jesus, the protagonist, Estrella, transforms from being confused and filled with rage towards her lack of understanding of objects with simple but significant means to a more mature, and improved grasp of the importance of this knowledge. Additionally, Estrella exemplifies curiosity and perseverance in her surroundings. Her development is revealed through the use of literary devices such as tone, selection of detail, and figurative language.
In Helena Maria Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus, a young girl struggles to find importance and meaning in anything that she does or is ‘wanting’ to do. Additionally, her not being able to understand the language of this country, she struggles to understand and find meaning to things she does not yet understand. The protagonists’ character begins to slowly comprehend and unearth meaning in a simple tool box, which is a mere representation of herself; as she then tries to learn new things, causing her character to grow significantly. The author uses a strong selection of detail, figurative language and macaronic language in order to show the growth of Estrella’s character.
Knowledge is a powerful thing. Knowledge can give a person an advantage in many aspects of life. Knowledge can help an individual get a job, it can help someone get ahead in a class and it can help an individual understand what happens around them and why. In the excerpt from the novel Under the Feet of Jesus, Helena Maria Viramontes describes how and why Estrella began to read. Viramontes uses selection of detail, figurative language and tone to describe Estrella’s development from being puzzled and vitriolic to being educated and astute.
In Helena Maria Viramontes’s, “Under the Feet of Jesus,” the description of tools within a tool box, their significance to the protagonist, and disrespect of the main character, Estrella, is described. These descriptions are brought through the intention that the reader will apply meaning to the tools, having a purpose within their toolbox. In this passage from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus,” Viramontes uses selective detail, figurative language and tone to develop Estrella’s character. In the beginning of the passage Estrella is portrayed as an indecent character through the use of selective detail.
Discuss how the title helped to explain some aspect of Jesus’ character or role and why that would be attractive to the audience of the writer.
Arguments can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes no matter how accurate a particular perspective appears to someone, it may be impossible to convince another to feel the same. The differences in fundamental values between people are responsible for the differences the formation of opinions. The manner in which people adopt these core beliefs is no mystery, and is explored in the documentary Jesus Camp. Humans are social animals, and cultural systems have been established since the beginning of humanity to strengthen the quality of interactions. Human babies are unable to raise themselves, and require the care of adults to foster. Throughout the process of development, children adopt the culture presented to them by adults. Children, who are psychologically developing, are extremely malleable in comparison to adults. This makes them an important focus for an adult generation looking to succeed their beliefs. This film inspects the strong Evangelical upbringing several families practice with their children, portraying this in an unflattering manner. All cultures are different, and these differences should be praised as well as made compatible with modern society as much as possible.
With the knowledge that the human form was fit for Jesus, now the focus can shift to the evidence that he was human and his human form was humanizing. Jesus lived a life on earth and suffered like every other person does. As mentioned previously, Jesus experienced temptation by the Devil as seen in Matthew 4. He experienced hunger as seen in Mark 11:12. He experienced weariness as seen in John 4:6, “So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well” (). He experienced sorrow many times as seen when Lazarus died in John 11 and several other places. He also experience pain and suffering on the cross and he died just as everyone on earth does as well. By every standard Jesus was a human being. He lived and died as everyone else on this planet does. His humanity was humanizing. He was a human being and demonstrated all the characteristics of being one. The only difference is that he was able to live a life without sin. So Jesus’ human nature was in no way dehumanizing; he exhibited every characteristic that humans face and conquered every struggle.