Please Describe Estrella's Character and explain how she changes in Chapter 2.
What is your reaction to Estrella's world/environment? How is it relevant to today?
CHAPTER 5 POST -
1. How do you think Estrella sees herself at the end of the novel?
2.
The title "Under the Feet of Jesus" suggests that religion will play an
important role in the lives of these characters, but it doesn't. Why?
1. In chapter two, Estrella begins to showcase her ability to think without influence from others andmake decisions autonomously and act upon them. When she is asked to help Perfecto tear down the barn, she questions Perfecto's reasoning for tearing it down and decides not to help him. This is a decision/action that an adult would make; it demonstrates that she is evolving into a woman. Estrella's womanhood is also expressed early in the chapter when she is thinking about the woman on the raisin box. She does not have this naive mindset that everything she sees is true. She realizes that people cannot understand the reality of her daily struggle, giving her an aspect of life that only she can understand.
ReplyDelete2. Estrella's world is illustrated in the first two pages of the chapter. Viramontes draws Estrella's world with "the white light of the sun... [that] made Estrella's eyes sting like an onion", "baskets of grapes [resisting] her muscles", and by describing Esrella's activities on the farm: her knees sunk into the hot white soil, her back was aching, and she returned only to experience the pain again. When I read this, the only thing that comes to mind is someone tangled in the grapevines, trying to escape. I cannot imagine how dreading it must be to constantly feel the same thing...all day...everyday. Her world is still seen today in the lives of "pickers" in Mexico, California, and any other crop yielding place.
1) Estrella is showing how she is growing into her womanhood not only by the decision she's making but also by the way she is looking at things. It also shows how fast she has to grow up living this lifestyle in order to support her family just like her parents. And nobody knows how hard this situation is to grow up in; you have to be working all you childhood basically helping your family and trying to provide a better future for your younger siblings. Nobody understand her daily battles she makes unless it someone who has been in her shoes.
ReplyDelete2) Estrella's world is based on her daily routine's by picking fruits and the sun beaming down on her and also many times her being done on the soil working hard for her family. This shows how hard life is when you come to America and you're not an American citizen also shows the struggle many Mexicans faces when they come over here. Many are willing to go through the struggles for a better future not just for them but for their families. So Estrella's work to me is very harsh and hard.
1. In chapter 2, Estrella becomes more in tune with herself and those that surround her. She is very much aware of her duties, and takes it upon herself to assume the motherly position. Working such harsh conditions at such a young age will always take its toll on a person, but her determination helps her push on. That is what Estrella is growing into, a hardwokring young woman, who takes matters into her own hands.
ReplyDelete2. In Estrella's world it wasn't as shocking but more so gave insight to what my ancestors had gone through before. That world is very much relevant in today's, there will always be that group of people who will work hard labor, for little to no pay, in order to make a future for themselves. We all strive to be someone, and we all must make sacrifices to get there.
1. In chapter 2, Estrella becomes more in tune with herself and those that surround her. She is very much aware of her duties, and takes it upon herself to assume the motherly position. Working such harsh conditions at such a young age will always take its toll on a person, but her determination helps her push on. That is what Estrella is growing into, a hardwokring young woman, who takes matters into her own hands.
ReplyDelete2. In Estrella's world it wasn't as shocking but more so gave insight to what my ancestors had gone through before. That world is very much relevant in today's, there will always be that group of people who will work hard labor, for little to no pay, in order to make a future for themselves. We all strive to be someone, and we all must make sacrifices to get there.
1.) Estrella begins to find out that working in the fields is harder than she originally thought. She is set there to work because she is an immigrant she goes from an Estrella that is full of like in ch.1 to one that seems to have been drained of life because of the work that the has to go through because she's an immigrant.
ReplyDelete2.) I was kinda shocked to see how her role as an immigrant changed her as a person. She's starting to slowly turn into a mature adult. Just like seeing immigrants today working all day to provide for their families but in the process get drained of life because of their effort.
1. Estrella seems to be growing up quickly. As she labors in the fields the work seems to be aging her in the progress. She seems tired and exhausted. She seems to be growing into herself not just as a worker but also as a woman.
ReplyDelete2. We all know the harsh conditions of her world but what surprised me was the speed of maturity within Estrella. As the days went on and labor continued she seemed to be drained of her child like spirit and replaced with maturity.
In this chapter Estrella now begins to realize that things are not what she expected them to be, and her attitude and thinking begin to change. Although she accepts the struggles she has to make within working in the fields, she begins to stand up for herself and make her own choices (when she refused to help Perfecto tear down the barn).
ReplyDeleteTo me, Estrella has gone through some rough things and the world she lives in is very tough. So I wasn’t very surprised when she soon developed or matured into who she is now, it was pretty much expected. This situation is very relevant to today’s world because there are many people who choose to migrate in order to have a “better life” but things end up being more difficult than expected and they have to go through many struggles in order to provide for their families.
-Noelia
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ReplyDelete1) Chapter 2 signifies a shift in Estrella’s personality. In Chapter 1, Estrella has the strength and resolve of a child. When her step father, Perfecto, tells her to leave the barn, Estrella did not fight back; instead, she “stomped away” (15). However, in Chapter 2, Estrella stands up to Perfecto regarding the same subject of the barn. Perfecto wants Estrella’s help tearing it down, but she stands up for herself and tells Perfecto that she “can’t do it” (76). But Estrella gains something even more profound than just strength; she finds her voice. Estrella points out the hypocrisy of Perfecto when before Perfecto said that she “had no business in the barn” and now he wants her help (74). Not only did Estrella stand up for herself, she also used logic and reason to support her position. This is something that she did not have the capacity or maturity to do in Chapter 1.
ReplyDelete2) Estrella’s world is horrific. She and her siblings, not even adults, are forced to work to survive. This is not the life of a child. Childhood is for playing, learning, and schooling. It is not for manual labor. Unfortunately, Estrella’s story is still present today. While America has child labor laws, there are still immigrant communities, particularly on the border with Mexico, that live in the shadows and aren’t protected by the law. In the developing world, in nations like China, children are sent to recycle computer parts and breathe in the toxic and poisonous fumes. Estrella’s experience is not an outlier; it is the norm in too many places and for too many of children whose futures have been stolen from them by the rich and powerful.
Estrella vegans to blossom into more of a mature person. She realizes how hard it is to work in the fields and also how not to fall under someone else's influence or in other words be her own persona. You see her grow from a child to a woman she is opposite of a static character because she evolves and changes. That is what a lot of us kids lack now days, the ability to mature and not be a static character.
ReplyDeleteEstrellas world is similar to a world of my ancestors, slaves. Not saying she is,but the first Africans taken to the new world may have thought maybe we'll go somewhere better, yet that wasn't it. Estrella and her family migrated for a better life she didn't exactly get it. People try to leave one school maybe because they think the other one will be better, yet it's not. That's just life sometimes. She learns that.
-Jocelyn
Estrella vegans to blossom into more of a mature person. She realizes how hard it is to work in the fields and also how not to fall under someone else's influence or in other words be her own persona. You see her grow from a child to a woman she is opposite of a static character because she evolves and changes. That is what a lot of us kids lack now days, the ability to mature and not be a static character.
ReplyDeleteEstrellas world is similar to a world of my ancestors, slaves. Not saying she is,but the first Africans taken to the new world may have thought maybe we'll go somewhere better, yet that wasn't it. Estrella and her family migrated for a better life she didn't exactly get it. People try to leave one school maybe because they think the other one will be better, yet it's not. That's just life sometimes. She learns that.
-Jocelyn
With so much moving and working, Estrella has to learn to grow up quicker that what we are use to. in chapter 1, she refused to accept the idea that her father was gone and she was stuck with Perfecto. she soon realizes that he isn't as bad as she thought and maybe a father daughter relationship could work between them. She begins to blossom some knowledge and recognize that the world doesnt revolve around here likes and dislikes. To this day, there are still many cases like Estrella's situation were as kids they are forced to work in order to survive and have a meal for the next day. Estrella lives an experience that she shouldn't have to, but she is strong enough to work with it. Our generation lacks the ability to realize that receiving an education and having our basic needs are an advantage to us but we fail to use them properly. Estrella would be very happy to take our place and most likely use it to her advantage.
ReplyDeleteWith so much moving and working, Estrella has to learn to grow up quicker that what we are use to. in chapter 1, she refused to accept the idea that her father was gone and she was stuck with Perfecto. she soon realizes that he isn't as bad as she thought and maybe a father daughter relationship could work between them. She begins to blossom some knowledge and recognize that the world doesnt revolve around here likes and dislikes. To this day, there are still many cases like Estrella's situation were as kids they are forced to work in order to survive and have a meal for the next day. Estrella lives an experience that she shouldn't have to, but she is strong enough to work with it. Our generation lacks the ability to realize that receiving an education and having our basic needs are an advantage to us but we fail to use them properly. Estrella would be very happy to take our place and most likely use it to her advantage.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the chapter, Estrella is working in the fields. She realizes that it is so much work in fields. She began to feel the pain of working, and she understood the stress that adults experience. She is slowly forming into a woman.
ReplyDeleteThrough all the misery that Estrella must go through in terms of working and her family, she becomes aware of what it is like to be in a new environment. Estrella and her family assumed that they would have a great life in America; however, it was the opposite of what they expected. People can see through Estrella and other immigrants what hard labor they had to live through.
1)In chapter 2, Estrella finds her role in her community. She begins to mature. She is showing the people around her that she is not a child anymore, she is becoming a strong woman. Estrella begins to experience the hardships of working.
ReplyDelete2)Estrella’s environment allowed me to appreciate my environment. Every day we complain about where we are, and what we are doing, but we don’t realize that there are people facing hardships like Estrella. There are still people who are in pain to help their family survive. This allowed me understand how Estrella matured so quickly.
Now that Estrella is getting older, she is maturing into a young woman. And in chapter two that's exactly what she's blossoming into, she's more independent, mature and responsible. It shows in her actions and with her reactions towards things. Her point of view is slowly shifting.
ReplyDeleteI honestly feel bad for Estrella's environment and what kind of work she has to do on a daily basis just to survive. No young girl her age should have to be doing that, just to help her family out. Even though, I know children, young children today do do that and that is the situation sometimes in certain countries. The children also have to work to help their mother and father out
-abby
In chapter two Estrella started to develop herself as a independent woman. She also becomes more mature and finally realizes the reality of her life as being an immigrant. From chapter one to chapter two she transitions from being in the clouds (dreamy/beyond expectations) to reality. She also begins to have aching muscles due to hard labor and also begins to learn that life isn't as she expected.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't surprise me on what Estrella does because you can still see what she's doing working hard on the fields till this day by many immigrants. They either work on the fields or in construction. Also Estrella's work to me sounds very harsh and tiring. They don't do it just because they seem interested to do it the majority of them do it because they want to help out their families and don't want their families to suffer from poverty. Many immigrants are willing to go through the struggles for a better future not just only for them but for their families too.This reminds of my grandpa how at the age of 11 he started to work in the fields to help out my great grandpa to not wanting their family to suffer from hunger or suffer from poverty. He didn't have a childhood his childhood was spent mostly working hard by helping out his dad out in the fields. He also matured quickly just like Estrella and started to become more independent of himself. He worked for almost his entire life from the age of 11 till the age of 65. He stopped working in the fields around the year 1990 or 1991 and started to work in PEMEX which is Mexico's state oil monopoly which he retired a year ago.
-Jazmin Moreno
1. Estrella displays to be a very dreamy, curious and determine girl who shows interest in learning, as in chapter 1, the author, Helena Maria Viramontes, emphasize the devotion Estrella felt to learn how to read, as well as her fascination to help out Perfecto tear down the barn, even if Perfecto didn't allow her. She also showed to have a certain acknowledgment of the bitterness life can present people with since she experience the abandonment of a father and undergoes the hardness of life as an immigrant. However, as the story proceeds to chapter 2, Estrella's perspective towards the world advanced to a more "grown" mindset, meaning that she visualizes her way of living in a more realistic and mature way. In pages 59-60, when Viramontes says, "The border patrol, she thought, and she tried to remember which side she was on and which side of the wire mesh she was safe in.", Estrella displays to have the acknowledgment of her situation and the possible consequence of being catch by the "border patrol", showing she is aware of the life changes her choices can cause.
ReplyDelete2. Estrella's world shows to be dreadful as her life revolves around her having to live in fear over a "border patrol" being able to capture her for doing a job that consists of harsh labor and unfair judgment by others. However, her world also seems to be presented with a touch of happiness as she shows to have an attraction towards Alejo, displaying her life to have the typical experience mostly every person feels at least once in their life, an experience that is still relevant to today. Her world can also be relevant to today's world in many other ways as certain children still experience now in a day the unfair treatment by higher authority, preventing them to live the "normal" life, and of the greater challenge to obtain an education due to living as an immigrant in a foreign country.
1) in the novel we see how Estrella's working environment is extremely tough. She undergoes numerous things most people her age would have never gone through. She begins to feel the pain of being a young person working and becomes aware of how tiring it can be. This work and responsibility she's having to do for herself is shaping her into s hard working young women.
ReplyDelete2) Although the harsh conditions Estrella was placed lead to a feeling of misery, they also lead to a sense of happiness. The relevance from her conditions to today's world simply are how many families come in search of a new world and are put to work for a better life, now although it can be hard sometimes they always end up with the gratitude of having a huge success toward the end of the work. Just as Estrella knows that the work is harsh and time consuming, she is at one with her new environment and is okay with the work she puts herself through.