The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them. The book exemplifies the failure of religion especially in minorities. Any religion that has a “better afterlife” like heaven for …show more content…
Although Petra is left powerless by the end of the novel, Estrella is unstoppable. In the final section of the novel there is a lot of language that compares Estrella to Christian images. When she climbs onto the roof of the barn she is compared to her mother’s statue of Jesus. “She stands over the barn like the figure stood over a green serpent” (175). She also compares Estrella’s leadership to the “chiming bells of great cathedrals” (176). After Estrella comes out of the hospital she holds her hands out as if parting the hospital doors with magic which is reminiscent of Moses parting the red sea. Viramontes does this to showcase Estrella’s growth in terms of self-empowerment while suggesting that she has filled the void of religion with
In the article, Jesus is a Brand of Jeans, by Jean Kilbourne, we get an insightful look into the effects of advertising on us, as human beings. As we all know, humans let us down. We are imperfect beings, going about life interacting with each other, good and bad. It seems though, over the past 50 years advertising has taken away from human value, and brain washed us into thinking stuff is more important than people.
In this first chapter of Jesus and the Disinherited , the author Howard Thurman describes
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
Warner's book details the special importance of the Virgin Mary throughout Christianity and explores her religious and secular meaning. She discusses such things as the Church's attitude toward virginity, the role model of the Virgin martyr, the Virgin's relics, and her role as an intercessor with God.
Supporters of this book also claim that people should have the freedom to read what they want. ¨ What are these people afraid of ?¨ (Anaya). Anaya questions this because he wants to know why people want to ban this book and what book are going to be banned next. Anaya states that if they keep banning books for what it contains the society will start to suffer. Teachers´ fear that if they banned this book what book will banned next.
... their time of need. This book shows what Christianity did for Mommy, and what good came of all the Jewish friends she had from before leaving the religion.
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
A common topic of artwork throughout history has been the crucifixion of Christ. Since it is such a common topic, it makes it very easy to see how artwork changed and developed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The painting on the left, The Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti, shows the usual characteristics of a painting from the Middle Ages. The facial expressions are not varied or very in depth, Jesus and the other saints have the typical halo that is used very often, and the colors are mostly all bright, making nothing in particular stand out. The second painting, on the right, is by Caravaggio and is titled The Flagellation of Christ. There is an obvious shift from one painting to the next. Caravaggio’s piece is much more realistic.
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
These school boards and parents can claim that banning this classic will protect their children from these subjects and these thoughts, and that by doing so, they can create the world to be a perfect place with love and harmony. The religious can claim all the righteousness they want, that God made the civilized man and that without religion, we wouldn’t be where we are today. However, the true nature of these subjects isn’t in that they exist, but the fact that we simply just don’t want to think or admit that they exist within ourselves. We need to use this book as a textbook to life, or a sort of guiding hand that tells us we need to realize that without our civilizations and without our rules, the world would be a much ruthless place than it is today.
and I was looking forward to reading and learning about it. I am still not disappointed, but I would have liked the book better if it was expressed. I never knew that, “ Buddhism is sometimes called a non historical religion. In other words, it does not tell a story of creation, or speculate that we are heading toward a heaven or afterlife of some kind” (p.10). For me it is hard to imagine not believing in any of this like people who practice Buddhism do.
It is a book that my child may never be able to read. It seems that the only logical reasoning to aid in what offends people is to completely eliminate the book from the library. A better approach is to understand that this book may help them examine other beliefs, attitudes, values, and traditions and to accept, tolerate, or even reject these ideas without prejudices against people who hold particular views. In the democracy In which we live, where regularly all ideas are debatable. A wide range on all points of view should be available to the public.
...ctions by stating, “The Devil struts his wide estate, and the law of God are mocked”, (pg 20). All his decisions are made upon his religion no matter what it may be. Also those who looked different were judged upon religion and not by whom they really were in the inside, but instead a Deviation. Through these examples it clearly shows that religion often influences one’s point of view.
The ugly and lazy daughter, represents how following in God’s light can lead into consequences of going against Christianity. If a person is kind, thoughtful, hardworking or selfless in anyway, not seen as being of the children of the God of light. This religious contrast is upheld through the tale as each task asked upon the daughters is a test of
The movie The Gospel of John (Seville, 2005) is a visual representation of the accounts of Jesus Christ life on earth. The big picture is that of God’s plan for a personal relationship with us. When God created humans, he put them into relationships, first with him and then with each other. The strength of the movie is how Jesus core values of truth, love and compassion are portrayed through his relationship with his disciples. Jesus fostered the relationships with his disciples, showing love through his teachings and interactions with societal outcast. He displayed his value system through the use of parables and commandments, and performing miracles.