Ready Reference Treatise: Under the Feet of Jesus

By Raja Sharma

“Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes was first published in 1994. The story revolves around the lives of Estrella, her siblings, her mother Petra, and Petra’s lover Perfecto. Estrella is a thirteen years old girl.

The story also describes the lives of the cousins Alejo and Gumecindo. It also describes the lives of the Latino migrant workers who live and work in the California grape fields.

Ready Reference Treatise: Under the Feet of Jesus
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Aug 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310642692

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: Under the Feet of Jesus

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: Under the Feet of Jesus

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes was first published in 1994. The story revolves around the lives of Estrella, her siblings, her mother Petra, and Petra’s lover Perfecto. Estrella is a thirteen years old girl.

The story also describes the lives of the cousins Alejo and Gumecindo. It also describes the lives of the Latino migrant workers who live and work in the California grape fields.

The Latino workers live and work in a beautiful landscape, but they have to go through several hardships. The novel describes their loves, their friendships, and their family relations. As the story progresses, the love between Estrella and Alejo unfolds.

The novel has an omniscient narrator. The viewpoint is limited. The narrator keeps entering and coming out of the consciousness of the main characters in the novel. Through this technique, a reader can view characters’ motivations. The author explains that she has tried to present the story as the characters of the novel happen to have told her.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Estrella is the central character of the novel. She is the protagonist of the story. As the novel opens, Estrella and her family happen to be driving down the road. All of them are crowded into an old car.

Looking at a distant barn, Estrella begins to wonder whether that is their destination. There are five children in the family. Estrella’s siblings are her brothers Ricky and Arnulfo and her twin sisters Perla and Cookie.

The children live with their mother Petra and their mother’s boyfriend named Perfecto. Two young boys, cousins Alejo and Gumecindo, are watching the family from a nearby orchard. They are stealing peaches from that orchard to sell in the market.

Having reached the barn, Estrella and her siblings begin to explore the barn. It is quiet place with some kind of spiritual feel.

Estrella recalls their journey. At one place, the family stops for a break. Their mother, Petra, sees some large oranges in an orchard. Estrella goes to the orchard and brings an orange to her father and he peels it.

Eventually, their father leaves the houses and goes away, leaving the family to literally starve. The family is compelled to become migrant workers. They begin to live in temporary makeshift camps, moving from place to place.

It becomes difficult for Petra to feed her children. Estrella begins to take care of her siblings while Petra is working to earn their bread.

Alejo notices a young boy near the barn. The boy has a cleft