Sabrina Akbar

AP Literature
CAHS
March 5, 2019

Timed Writing: Prose Passage #1

In the novel, ​Under the Feet of Jesus​ by Helena Maria Viramontes, Estrella is
considered a “migrant child” who overcomes the difficulties of learning English in a new country.
In school, Estrella struggles with understanding the English alphabet and immediately
expressed that she dislikes when things are kept from her. Instead of learning, she is constantly
ridiculed by her teachers for a “lack” of cleanliness, and this begins to affect her perception of
like at home with immigrant parents. Over the course of the passage, Estrella’s character
develops as Viramontes uses discrete organization, pathos, and imagery as techniques to a
gradual tell a story about how and when Estrella first begins to read.

In the beginning of the excerpt, Estrella confesses that the Perfecto’s red tool box
angers her. Through this organization, the reader is given little evidence as to why Estrella is so
upset about a little red tool box, filled with regular tool appliances such as iron bars and …
However, the reader is given the insight of Estrella’s perspective as she doesn;t understand
what to call each item, nor what their uses are for. She describes the items as, “funny shaped
objects, [seeming] as confusing and foreign a the alphabet she could not decipher.” Then in the
second paragraph, after the introduction of the English alphabet, it is understood that Estrella is
upset because she believed people keep things from her. Not because she cannot physical
touch the tools in the red box, but because she has true knowledge associated with the tools.
The third paragraph illuminates a key change in Estrella character; her realization that perhaps
she isn’t clean because all the teacher tell her she isn't. Estrella feel as though she is missing
recognition and respect, and thus she feels as though she is being deprived of meaning and
language. It isn't until Perfecto Flores, assumed to be another immigrant like Estrella, is
introduced in the fourth paragraph that Estrella finds comfortability. The organization of the
passage allows a gradual development of Estrella to grow; blossoming from an uninterested
oblivion to a character who has the will to learn to read.
 The introduction of Perfecto Flores develops Estrella’s character as he brings a sense of
emotions to a language she cannot read in. Before Flores, Estrella has created a definitive line
between objects and words, and she could not connect the two to further her understanding
about the world. FLores however, allows Estrella to feel the objects and show the purpose of
each tool through observation. He allows her to see how each tool functions as he “opened the
tool chest...pliers with your hammer.” Then, Flores teaches Estrella the meanings of each object
and expanding her knowledge in a more literal way. He connects with her through Spanish, a
language she knows, and this further relates the sense of comfortability that Flores brings. He
begins to illuminate a contrast between the teaching styles of the teachers who first ridiculed
Estrella, and provides a much more stable learning environment for her.

Estrella development of language also develops over the course of the passage. In the
third paragraph, Estrella describes Mrs. horn as a teacher who “had the face of a crumpled
Kleenex and noose life a hook-” She uses words from imagery she can find in her daily life;
words with little advanced vocabulary and of knowledge. However, in the sixth paragraph, a
sharp contrast is shown in Estrella’s knowledge as she describes the tools in Flores’ red box.
She can now describe each and every tool with adjectives such as “crescent” and “looped,” and
she understands the significance of giving objects names and meanings. Estrella can open an
entirely new doors of opportunity as she grows more philosophical, literal, and descriptive. This
prompts her to begin reading, and further expand her ability to relate her personal life to
language. The obstacles she had to overcome with prejudice teachers seems miniscule
because now, Estrella’s mind has been freed to a world full of words.