Under The Feet Of Jesus Flashcards

Questions and Answers

Describe Perfecto.

He is old, wears bifocals, balding with sparse silver hair.

Who is in the peach tree and what are they doing?

Gumicindo and Alejo are in the peach tree stealing peaches.

What does Petra first consider upon arriving at the migrant camp?

She thinks about cooking and preparing to live there. She also wants to protect her family from scorpions by etching a circle in the dirt around the bungalow.

What does Estrella remember most about her father?

The way he peeled an orange. Signup and view all the answers

What does Estrella do to take the twins' minds off their hunger?

She grabs the empty Quaker Oats box and bangs on it while dancing around the room. Signup and view all the answers

What does Alejo do to keep the young boy from entering the barn?

He creates shadow puppets, culminating in the eagle which he chases as it flies away. Signup and view all the answers

What does Estrella remember about Mrs. Horn?

Her nose and her cruelty - she asks Estrella why her mother never gives her a bath but refuses to help her understand letters and reading. Signup and view all the answers

What did Perfecto teach Estrella and what effect did this have on her?

He taught her to use the tools in the toolbox. She understood then that things have purposes and she learned to read. Signup and view all the answers

Describe Maxine Devridge.

Skinny, tall, blond hair, quite crude. She is illiterate. She and her family are trashy. Signup and view all the answers

What is most appealing about Maxine for Estrella?

Maxine has magazines/comics that her brother stole. She has Estrella read them to her. Signup and view all the answers

What was floating in the canal and what is the most likely explanation?

There is a dead dog - most likely killed by pesticides. Signup and view all the answers

What does Estrella fear would happen after her fight with Maxine?

She will get into trouble because they will have to leave the camp. Maxine's family will come after them. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Estrella make a circle with a stick around the bungalow?

To keep the scorpions out - like her mother. Signup and view all the answers

What gift does Alejo bring to Estrella and Petra and why does he do this?

Alejo sees Estrella swimming in the canal at night. He is struck by her. He brings them peaches. Signup and view all the answers

How did Perfecto pay for the beans?

He snaked a man's toilet (unclogged it). Signup and view all the answers

What comparison does Estrella draw between herself and the woman on the raisin box?

The woman on the SunMaid Raisin box does not resemble Estrella - she is fresh, clean, smiling. Signup and view all the answers

Why is Alejo working in the fields? What is his dream?

Alejo is working in the fields to earn money. He wants to go to college to become a geologist. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Estrella repeatedly have to try not to cry?

She is in intense pain and she believes that her life will be the same whether she is 4 or 14 or 40. She is hopeless. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Estrella stay outside the fence at the baseball field?

Despite being an American citizen, she is an outsider and she doesn't feel she would belong. Signup and view all the answers

Where does Petra keep the birth certificates?

On the doily crocheted by her grandmother under the feet of the statue of Jesu Cristo. Signup and view all the answers

What questions does Alejo ask Estrella in the truck that upset her?

He asks about her father. Signup and view all the answers

What do Alejo and Estrella share in the evening?

A blue bottle of cola. Signup and view all the answers

What two things does Petra fear at this point?

Estrella growing up, perhaps becoming pregnant, and Perfecto leaving the family. Signup and view all the answers

What does Perfecto ask Estrella to help him with?

He wants her to help him tear down the barn. Signup and view all the answers

What happens to Alejo while Estrella is talking to Perfecto?

A biplane sprays him with pesticides. Signup and view all the answers

Why does he think of the tar pits?

The remains of those who died there go unremembered. Signup and view all the answers

Who was Mercedes?

Perfecto's wife when he was young. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Mercedes believe the baby died?

Perfecto's Catholicism prevented the women of the village from helping her with their non-Catholic practices. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Perfecto want to tear the barn down?

He wants money to go back home (to die). Signup and view all the answers

What do Alejo and Estrella discuss while taking shelter under the truck?

They talked about the tar pits. Signup and view all the answers

What change is evident in Estrella when she enters the barn at the end of Part 2?

She is no longer afraid of the barn. Signup and view all the answers

As Part 3 opens, what does Perfecto think Alejo should do?

Perfecto thinks Alejo should go back home. Signup and view all the answers

How old is Gumicindo? How old is Alejo?

Gumicindo is 15. Alejo is almost 16 (but still 15). Signup and view all the answers

What were the twins playing with at the start of this section?

They are playing with ladybugs. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Petra want to take care of Alejo?

She wants to care for Alejo because she is a mother and would want someone to care for her children were she unable to do so. Signup and view all the answers

What are some of Alejo's symptoms?

[Missing Answer] Signup and view all the answers

What internal conflict does Perfecto feel?

He wants to go back home to Mexico, but he does not want to abandon Petra and the children. Signup and view all the answers

Why is the car battery a problem?

It is almost dead, and he needs the car to get to Mexico. Signup and view all the answers

The episode from pages 103-115 is called what?

It is a flashback. Signup and view all the answers

What difficulty does the family have in the first few pages of that section?

They are trying to cross the highway to get to the store, but the children are small, and the cars are fast. Signup and view all the answers

What does Petra envy and why?

Petra envies the man with the lime green car. He could travel easily, knew his neighbors well because he didn't have to constantly move. Signup and view all the answers

Why doesn't Petra allow the children to go into the store?

There were too many things to touch, and there was candy she could not afford to buy them. Signup and view all the answers

What food does Petra decide to buy?

6 cans of Spam, onions, and garlic. Signup and view all the answers

Describe the posters in the store. How are they positioned?

There were 3: A lopsided poster of the Virgin Mary decorated with Christmas lights was positioned between posters of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Signup and view all the answers

Whom does Petra first meet there?

She meets Perfecto. Signup and view all the answers

What does this person give the children?

Ice. Signup and view all the answers

Describe the conversation Petra overhears.

She overhears the conversation between Alejo and Estrella as everyone is waking up. Estrella asks about his dreams, and Alejo tells Estrella he'd like to spend a whole day with her. Signup and view all the answers

What does Petra make for lunches?

She makes potato burritos. Signup and view all the answers

Why is Petra upset?

She is afraid for Estrella, she is worn out, and she is pregnant. Signup and view all the answers

Why does Estrella want to tear the barn down now? What is she afraid will happen?

Estrella agrees to tear the barn down in exchange for Perfecto taking Alejo to the doctor. She is afraid the job will be given to someone else. Signup and view all the answers

What happens when they try to get to the medical clinic?

They get stuck in the mud. Signup and view all the answers

How does this section of the novel end? Why might this be significant?

[Missing Answer] Signup and view all the answers

How did Perfecto feel when they arrived at the clinic?

He was exhausted. Signup and view all the answers

How did they get the car out of the mud?

Other piscadores passing by stopped to help. Signup and view all the answers

How does Estrella know that the clinic is still open when they arrive?

The fan was on, the door was unlocked, and there was a car parked outside. Signup and view all the answers

What do the cotton balls and scale remind Petra of?

Cheating on the weight when she picked cotton in order to make a little more money. Signup and view all the answers

What lies does Estrella tell the nurse?

Alejo is Petra's nephew. Perfecto is Petra's husband. Alejo has been sick a few months. He's the spelling bee champ of Hidalgo County. Signup and view all the answers

How does Petra feel about the nurse and the clinic?

She doesn't trust either. Signup and view all the answers

What does the nurse do to/for Alejo?

She weighs him and takes his blood pressure. Signup and view all the answers

What does the nurse charge for her 'services'?

$15.00. Signup and view all the answers

What does Perfecto offer the nurse?

He offers to fix the toilet, recement the poles in the Folger's cans, and sand and paint the walls. Signup and view all the answers

What action does Estrella take and what is the result? Why does she do this?

She takes the crowbar from the tool chest, brings it in, and smashes it on the desk. She then removes exactly the amount of money that Perfecto had given the nurse. Signup and view all the answers

What does Estrella remember about the ranch store?

After Alejo tells her that he is not worth their efforts, she recalls the beautifully arranged bell peppers. Signup and view all the answers

How does Alejo get into the hospital?

Estrella helps him. Signup and view all the answers

Why is Perfecto Flores moved by Estrella's gratitude?

In all the time he has been in the US, no one has ever thanked him. Signup and view all the answers

What do the twins think when Estrella comes out of the hospital?

That she has the power to open doors without touching them. Signup and view all the answers

What allusion is made as Estrella comes out of the hospital?

Moses parting the Red Sea. Signup and view all the answers

What does Petra do once the family arrives back home at the bungalow?

She gets the children into the house and then retraces the circle in the dirt around the bungalow. Signup and view all the answers

What does Perfecto think about when they get back to the bungalow?

He imagines that the nurse will have called the police. He considers leaving. He thinks about Petra's pregnancy. He struggles with decision making. Signup and view all the answers

As Petra looks at the statue of Jesucristo, what does she think about? What exactly is under the statue?

She thinks about her grandmother who crocheted. The children's birth certificates, baptismal certificates, a social security card, an ID, her marriage certificate, and an award given to Estrella. Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the statue? How does it happen?

As Petra struggles to get up from the floor, she leaned on the crate holding the statue, it falls, and the head comes off. Signup and view all the answers

What does Estrella first think about when she returns to the bungalow?

She recalls leaving Alejo at the hospital and considers that she may never see him again and that he might even die. Signup and view all the answers

Where does Estrella go after they return to the bungalow?

She goes to the barn. Signup and view all the answers

What does she believe by the end of the novel?

She believes that she can evoke change - a vast change from the hopeless girl in the vineyards. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Character Descriptions and Actions

Perfecto is an elderly man described as old, wearing bifocals, with sparse silver hair.
Gumicindo and Alejo engage in stealing peaches from a tree.
Estrella initially thinks about cooking and protecting her family from scorpions upon arriving at the migrant camp.
Estrella's strong memory of her father is tied to how he peeled an orange, signifying her connection to him.
She distracts the twins from their hunger by banging an empty Quaker Oats box and dancing, symbolizing her relationship with America.

Symbolism and Themes

Alejo keeps a young boy out of the barn by creating shadow puppets, with the eagle representing the American dream.
Estrella's recollection of Mrs. Horn highlights feelings of cruelty and the lack of support in her education.
Perfecto teaches Estrella about tools, leading to irony as he trains her in reading instead of her teacher.
Maxine represents a crude lifestyle, and Estrella finds appeal in the magazines Maxine possesses.
A dead dog floated in the canal, likely due to pesticides, reflecting the environmental dangers faced by the characters.

Family Dynamics and Challenges

Petra worries about Estrella facing trouble after a fight with Maxine, fearing they might have to leave the camp.
Estrella makes a circle in the dirt around the bungalow to protect against scorpions, emulating her mother’s behavior.
Alejo gifts Estrella and Petra peaches after being mesmerized by Estrella swimming at night.

Struggles and Aspirations

Alejo works in the fields to save for college, aspiring to become a geologist.
Estrella experiences intense emotional pain and feels hopeless about her life prospects.
Estrella’s outsider status is emphasized when she refrains from entering the baseball field, despite being a citizen.

Key Incidents

Birth certificates are kept by Petra under a doily crocheted by her grandmother and a statue of Jesucristo.
Conversation between Alejo and Estrella reveals their close bond and desire for companionship.
Petra bears the weight of worries about Estrella growing up, pregnancy complications, and fears about Perfecto leaving.

Conflicts and Resolutions

Family faces difficulties crossing a busy highway to reach a store due to the children’s small size.
Petra ultimately prioritizes necessary food purchases like Spam, onions, and garlic over sweets for the children.
Estrella confronts her feelings about a barn and expresses a willingness to tear it down in exchange for help with Alejo’s doctor visit.

Health and Sacrifice

Alejo is subjected to pesticide spraying while discussing plans with Estrella and Perfecto.
Estrella lies to a nurse at the clinic about Alejo’s relationship to cover for their undocumented status, exhibiting desperation.

Catalysts for Change

Estrella's actions at the clinic, including smashing money onto a desk, symbolize her fight for Alejo’s well-being.
The family receives assistance getting the car out of the mud and arrives at the medical clinic, revealing communal support among piscadores.
Perfecto feels moved by Estrella’s gratitude, contrasting his experiences of never having received thanks in America.

Reflections and Realizations

Upon returning to the bungalow, Petra retraces protective circles around their home, showing her protective instincts.
Estrella’s journey leads her to a newfound belief in her ability to evoke change, marking significant character growth from despair to hope.
The novel closes on Estrella's recognition of her own strength, transitioning from the hopelessness of her earlier conditions.

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Test your knowledge of key characters and themes in 'Under The Feet Of Jesus'. This quiz features flashcards that delve into the lives of the characters and their experiences. Perfect for students and readers looking to deepen their understanding of this important work.