In the excerpt from the novel Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes the protagonist Estrella goes through various changes as an outcome from prior experiences. To convey those changes Viramontes uses some literature elements such as tone and paradox. Things starts when Estrella comes upon Perfecto’s red tool chest. When she opened the box she was disoriented because she did not understand what were the functions of the the tools. The words “funny-shaped” and “foreign” reveals that she was unfamiliar with the objects inside of the box, and it also gives to the reader a tone of confusion. “Estrella hated when things were kept from her.” she disliked the fact that she was ignorant to the things she wanted to know. She desired to learn and when she became aware that she was far from it “For days she was silent with rage.” Estrella was eager to get academic knowledge but unfortunately her teachers were more concerned in her hygiene and her appearance than in giving her the education. “Teachers were more concerned about the dirt under her fingernails.” “They inspected her hair for lice…” …show more content…
Perfecto showed Estrella the tools, since Estrella did not understood what they were used for he mimed it’s function. That way it would be easier to Estrella to comprehend. Perfecto was a big help to Estrella and maybe Perfecto didn’t gave her the academic knowledge she wanted to get but he showed her the manual education that she might need as a child of migrants. In the final analysis Estrella’s experiences with her teachers are a big part of the changes of her character, she became conscious on her look and was denied of her education. She also was able to meet an amazing worker called Perfecto, who showed her the values of the tools. The uses of tone and paradox in Viramontes novel helps to understand how the experiences that Estrellas went through changes her