Under the Feet of Jesus Themes

In Under the Feet of Jesus, a family of Latino migrant workers travels through California in search of work on commercial farms. For Petra, her partner Perfecto, and her daughter Estrella, each day is consumed by backbreaking work, in both the fields and the decrepit bungalow they call home. While constantly emphasizing the grueling nature of their labor, Viramontes also presents it as ennobling, a source of dignity and pride for…

Under the Feet of Jesus chronicles a Latino family’s struggle to escape poverty and establish a secure life. In particular, the novel focuses on the challenges of motherhood amid the abysmal working conditions that prevail for migrant workers. For Petra, newly pregnant with her sixth child, and her oldest daughter Estrella, who has become a surrogate parent to her younger siblings, motherhood is a source of pride and strength. However, the women’s devotion…

Under the Feet of Jesus centers around Estrella, a thirteen-year-old migrant laborer in California. Despite her young age, Estrella’s abundance of younger siblings and impoverished circumstances mean that she has to take on an adult role in her family. Estrella’s few typical teenage experiences, like her romance with Alejo (a teenager new to fieldwork), are fraught and short-lived; for her, becoming a woman means taking on more and more responsibilities, especially as Petra and…

In Under the Feet of Jesus, a Latino family of migrant workers ekes out an existence in rural California. Given their lack of economic resources, the family relies on the natural world for both shelter and sustenance; their understanding of the environment allows them to survive and emphasizes their lack of consumption of material goods. The family’s respect for the natural world contrasts with the agricultural industry’s rampant exploitation of the land, especially their…