In the hope of seeking better works, opportunities, freedoms, and pursing the American dreams, Mexican migrant workers decide to come to the United States, leaving behind their family and living across the border. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for Mexican migrant workers. Migrant farm workers today still do not receive a chance of getting equal wages, good living, and good working conditions In the to the novel “Under the Feet of Jesus,” Viramontes states that "It was always a question of work, and work depended on the harvest, the car running, their health, the conditions of the road, how long the money held out, and the weather, which meant they could depend on nothing" (Viramontes 1996, 4). Viramontes defines the life of Mexican migrants’ worker …show more content…
as unstable. Laborers are paid by piece work which depends on how much produce they harvest and are only given short-term work. Low-wages, menial work, and unprotected conditions, Mexican migrant workers allow farmers and heavy agribusiness to undermine ongoing attempts to organize farm workers. The researchers also reveal that the living and working conditions of Mexican migrant workers in the United States are so brutal and lead to hardship. While Mexican migrant farm workers play an important role in the US economy, they face health cares, discrimination, and the inequality of living and working conditions. In the United States, we go to the market and take a cart to go straight to the vegetables and fruits sections to grab some grapes or apples or other fruits.
We examine and check them for quality before we decide to buy it. However, have we ever thought about who picks these fruits and the working conditions these labors? While Americans believe that the United Stated is working to make the environment greener and healthier by using less toxic pesticides, the Mexican migrant labors work on the United States farms face dangerous effects from the use of toxic pesticides. In the novel Under the Feet of Jesus, pesticide plays an important role, and it represents the disregard American society and the health effects for migrant workers. As Alejo and Gumecindo are collecting peaches in the orchard, and the plane swoops down. Gumecindo runs, but Alejo is caught in a rain of pesticides. Poisoned, Alejo struggles to breathe and collapses in the dirt, smashing his face against a tree on the way down (Viramontes 1996, 76). In this key scene from Helena Maria Viramontes's, as young Mexican migrant farm workers get paid starvation wages to perform hard labor, and are killed by toxic pesticides in the field like
Alejo. According to the Environmental Health Institute, “The US uses about 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides each year, representing more than one-fifth of the annual global use of 5.2 billion pounds…While over one billion pounds of pesticide active ingredients are used in the U.S. each year, 80% of these pesticides are used in agriculture” (Sass and Wu 1). Most farmers and agribusinesses spray pesticides to protect plants, but they are less aware of how it will affect the workers in their fields. Eric, Hansen MD and Martin Donohoe MD post in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved: Migrant workers suffer from the highest rates of toxic chemical injuries of any group of workers in the United States; the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 300,000 farmworkers suffer acute pesticide poisoning each year. Chemical and pesticide poisoning may result from direct spraying of workers; indirect spray from wind drifts; direct dermal contact with residues on crops; bathing in, or drinking, contaminated water; or transfer of residues from contaminated hands while eating, smoking, or defecating” (Hansen and Donohoe, 157). The pesticides dribble into worker drinking water and cover the fruits they pick without mask, gloves, or personal protective equipment. However, the lack of health cares and the use of pesticides lead Mexican migrant workers to face a higher rate of tuberculosis, minor symptoms, cancers, and many other illnesses. Moreover, poor living conditions, inadequate medical care and other problems have produced so many cases of tuberculosis among migrant farm workers that the disease should be considered an occupational hazard, researchers said today (Smothers, 1). For children, the risk is even higher, as not only are they exposed to the dangers of pesticides, but they are also born with the toxins in their systems, as their mothers worked in the fields while they were in the womb. In the novel, the narrator asks, “Would the child be born without a mouth, would the poison of the field harden in its tiny little veins?” (Viramontes 1996, 125). This passage shows that migrant labors have seen the harmful effects of pesticide, but they have no option to choose. In addition, farm owners seem don't care about the harvesters to limit their use of pesticides or even adequately inform workers of the risk. Therefore, in the novel Under the Feet of Jesus, Viramontes states that “Carrying the full basket to the paper was not like the picture on the red raisin boxes Estrella saw in the markets, not like the woman wearing a fluffy bonnet, holding out the grapes with her smiling, ruby lips, the sun a flat orange behind her" (Viramontes 1996, 49). Throughout the passage, Viramontes compares Estrella’s brutal labor with the sanitized picture of farming found in supermarkets.
Tomatoland is a book written by Barry Estabrook, an investigative food journalist. Throughout the pages of Tomatoland, Estabrook explores the path of tomatoes, from the seed in South America to the hands of migrant workers in the fields of Florida. Through his exploration he discovers several issues that exist within the fresh tomato industry in Florida. Two of the major issues that he discovers include the use of highly toxic chemicals that cause severe damage to the health of humans and the environment, and the exploitation of migrant workers. Estabrook directly blames the continuation of such issues on those who support the tomato industry, “it’s a world we’ve all made, and one we can fix”; this includes consumers, crew bosses, the government and the corporate farm owners, like the executives and those who work in the business side of farming. Although there are many who are at fault, Estabrook directs his blame more towards the government and the farms corporate owners. Estabrook’s assessment of blame is substantial because the government and owners of the tomato corporations are the ones who have the strongest power towards regulations and production.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
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.
The migrants came from the midwest, in search of a job. The foreign workers came from different countries, such as China, Japan, Mexico, and the Philippines. The demand for peon workers was increasing dramatically, foreign workers were just what the farmers needed. The foreign workers were also treated much worse than the migrants. They worked for little pay, but there was not really another way they could get money. The migrants were paid more, possibly because they are foreign born. When foreign workers came to the United States, they had to adapt to the languages, traditions, wages, etc. As for the migrant workers, they were raised in the United States, so they have a better understanding of how to live. Foreign workers had a very poor standard of living and often faced discrimination. In The Harvest Gypsies, the first sentence of the sixth article is, “ The history of California’s importation and treatment of foreign labor is a disgraceful picture of greed and cruelty.” Steinbeck had a strong belief that foreign workers were treated different from migrants, which is true. Another example is when the article talks about how the whites could not compete with the foreign workers anymore. “ Mexicans were imported in large number, and the standard of living they were capable of maintaining depressed the wages for farm labor to a point where the white could not compete.” This quote is saying that the wages and standard of living got so low, that whites gave up on trying to get a job in the fields. Some may say that the migrants and foreign workers were treated very similar, but this is untrue. They both had to live in very poor conditions, but the foreign workers had it much harder than the
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.
Berry does not hesitate in using harsh words and metaphors like “the hamburger she is eating came from a steer who spent much of his life standing deep in his own excrement in a feedlot”(Berry 10). This provokes the readers to feeling horrible about industrial eating. He uses our pride while pointing to the lies of the make-up of industrial foods. He plays on human self-preservation when writing about chemicals in plants and animals which is out of the consumer’s control. He tries to spark a curiosity and enthusiasm, describing his own passion of farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, and gardening.
The satirical tone exemplifies the realization of the paradox towards Mexican prejudice; the author satirizes society’s stereotype against Mexicans. Demonstrating how in reality some individuals view Mexican as robots instead of human beings alike to them. The author criticizes the label of a farmworker and in thus shows how society may perceive Mexican as only being good for fieldwork. Also, Los Vendidos was written around the time frame that Cesar Chavez sparked the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee; in which he and others fought for the rights of Farmers and against the oppression Chicanos faced. The author ridicules how society belittled Mexicans and exploited and enslaved them because of imbecilic reasons; such as lack of education, language, and skin color.
Even though, this is a fictional book, it tells a true story about the struggle of the farm worker to obtain a better life for themselves and their families. There are two main themes in this book, non-violence, and the fight for dignity. Cesar Chavez was a non-violent man who would do anything to not get in a fight while they where boycotting the growers. One, incident in the story was when a grower pulled out a gun, and he pointed it at the strikers, Chavez said, “He has a harder decision to make, we are just standing here in peace…” The picketer were beaten and put in jail before they would fight back and that is what why all farm workers look up to Cesar Chavez , along with his good friend Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violence is the only way to solve anything. The growers in that time did not care about their workers, if people were striking, the growers would go to Mexico and bring in Braceros, mean that they would not have to sign the union contract and not take union workers, who were willing to work if the grower would sign the contract.
...vides insight on a situation that occurred frequently during that time. Most people did not fear the change in environments, but few like Joe Davis’ boy did and could not adapt to the rough life of a migrant.
In the story, Under the Feet of Jesus author Helena Maria Viramontes tells the story of a young laborer named Estrella and her family. The settings are in the Western United States and it is connecting through a summer harvest, the novel characterizes the callous working environment that influence Cesar Chavez to unionize farm laborers. Indeed, Under the Feet of Jesus is dedicated to the representative's memory. In the book, Maria Helena Viramontes tackles themes of marginalization and erasure, listening to the experience of women. The novel is important not only for its content, but for its unique switching perspective and agenda, which allows readers to see events from several perspectives. Estrella and Petra’s statements, actions and attitudes in the story comply with feminist. Feminist is a
The day laborers are too hungry for work to live up to Araceli’s expectations of how they should act. When the day laborers show up at the house, Araceli immediately thinks, “I’m sorry, there is no farm here, there are no cabbages to pick.”(89-90) She judges them quickly on their “eager-to-work peasant expressions” (90) and “their used clothing.” (90) They haven’t assimilated to American culture as much as she expects them to. They
As contradicting as this may sound, there would be no good in the world if it wasn't for anger. Take Martin Luther King Jr. as an example. He was man who wanted to make a difference in the world, but without anger fueling his purpose, would he have succeeded? In the short story “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by A.S Byatt, the reader is introduced to an angry young woman by the name of Dolores. Though she is not beautiful or delicate, it is her anger that pushes her to become a better person. Byatt skillfully demonstrates throughout her story that the power of anger is a strong force that can either diminish a person
In Alarcon’s second stanza, he states,” Mexican is a lifelong low-paying job”(6-10). Mexican’s are generally taken advantage of due to their immigration status and paid at very low-wages. They are mistreated the majority of their lives, “as language poses a barrier to many immigrants seeking to obtain benefits”(Njenga, 2016). “A check mark on the welfare police form”(11-15). According to Walsh, (1999), “n the 1920s, the real problem for growers lay not in the fact that Mexicans relied on the relief system, but in the fact that they did so where they were visible”. This is in reference to the seasonal farm laborers that come to the United States every
Over 900 times in the New Testament, you will find the name, Jesus. Such a sweet and powerful name it is! The name Jesus is known around the world and when His name is spoken, people know who He is whether they are a believer in Him or not. I’ll never forget hearing my husband’s aunt and cousin singing the song Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know to my father in law when he passed away. All the noise and drama in the back of the room hushed to the sweet words of this song.
The Importance of Jesus' Suffering, Death, and Resurrection. C. Lewis wrote these words as he watched his wife die of cancer. Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We can/are like blocks of stone out of which sculptors carve the forms of men. The blows of his chisel, which hurt us so much, are what makes us perfect.