The Use of Spanish in Viramontes

This week I will write about the use of Spanish in Under The Feet of Jesus. Viramontes use of Spanish in Under the Feet of Jesus has a jarring effect at first if you do not know Spanish (or even if you know some Spanish but cannot speak it that well like myself). Even though I am an English major I have plenty of trouble with the English language so  any additional languages lead to doubts about being able to relate to the text, but it will be argued here that this may be a desired effect.   It seems that the result of combining two languages seems to alienate the reader who does not know Spanish, unless they spend time researching what these passages say. Yet the use of English as the main text does give insight into these experiences, so for the English speaker, Spanish seems to be used as a method  of saying while you can relate to these people in the text, they are also part of a different world that you can only relate through by a translation. From what I have learned about Spanish a translation may suffice, but it is not the same as knowing the language as something always seems lost.

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Life of a Piscadores

Under the Feet of Jesus brings the reader into the world of a migrant worker family suffering through the many hardships of poverty stricken piscadores. In this book author Helena María Viramontes exemplifies the struggles that these families must go through. A passage from the first chapter of this book truly made me picture what this family must be going through. This book was also very captivating due to the austerity of this migrant family. In this passage by Viramontes she explains how everything that happens to these people will affect them in the long run and are all important aspects for survival. Continue reading