Under the feet of Jesus

Who is Helena María Viramontes?

Mexican American (Chicana) writer

grew up in agricultural communities; writes about migrant labour, poverty, women, and environmental injustice.

Where is the novel set?

California’s Central Valley, the agricultural “breadbasket” of the U.S.

What kind of bildungsroman is the novel?

An ethnic and environmental justice bildungsroman.

What makes this bildungsroman different from classic ones?

Development happens through labour, poverty, racism, and environmental danger

not education or individual freedom.

What does “double bildung” refer to?

The parallel coming-of-age of Estrella and Alejo.

Who is Estrella?

A 13-year-old migrant girl who grows into a figure of resistance and responsibility.

What does Alejo represent?

Youth, hope, and the bodily cost of environmental injustice.

Who is Perfecto Flores?

An elderly carpenter; represents memory, exhaustion, and generational trauma.

What does Petra symbolize?

Maternal endurance and generational survival of migrant women.

How does the novel portray migrant labour?

As essential but exploitative, dangerous, and undervalued.

What is hygienic racism?

Discrimination based on perceived dirtiness, used to deny dignity and education.

How does racism appear in healthcare?

Through dismissal, lack of care, and making patients feel unworthy.

Why are food metaphors important?

They connect survival, love, memory, exploitation, and consumption.

What do pesticides symbolize?

Invisible, systemic violence against marginalized bodies.

What do the tar pits represent?

Entrapment, ecological memory, and the circular system linking oil, pesticides, and food.

What kind of focalization is used?

Multiple internal focalization.

Why are there time jumps?

To reflect migrant instability, memory, and lack of a fixed home.

What does the title Under the Feet of Jesus mean?

Migrant workers are oppressed and overlooked;

faith offers comfort but not salvation

Why is the final scene important?

Estrella stands above the Jesus statue

symbolizing empowerment, resistance, and self-trust.

Is the ending hopeful?

Yes

hopeful but unresolved; it marks the beginning of Estrella’s adulthood, not a solution