The Tools of Literacy

Literacy, as defined in lecture, is "the ability to read and discern meaning using communicative tools." In Under the Feet of Jesus, Estrella begins the story as an illiterate child who struggles with the frustration of learning a new skill. Instead of merely explaining the process of learning to read, Viramontes uses a metaphor comparing gaining literacy to a toolbox. In doing so, she explores the frustration that comes with being "locked out" of a whole other world of literature, and the foreign nature of language before one learns to conquer it.

Upon seeing the toolbox for the first time, Estrella "became very angry" (pg. 24). She approached the box, opened it, and found numerous tools she had no idea how to use. To Estrella, the tools "seemed as confusing and foreign as the alphabet she could not decipher" (pg. 24). Much like many children who have yet to learn to read, the idea of not being included on such a major part of our world frustrated Estrella immensely. In fact, "Estrella hated when things were kept from her," (pg. 24) concerning both her literacy and her knowledge of the tools in the toolbox.

Once Estrella gains access to the inside of the toolbox, she pieces through the tools with the same frustration, and Viramontes continues her metaphor. To Estrella, "the script A's [of the alphabet] had the curlicue of a pry bar, a hammerhead split like a V" (pg. 24). "The curves and tails of the tools made no sense and the shapes were as foreign and meaningless to her as chalky lines on the blackboard" (pg. 25). This shows that she saw both entities as foreign, but she is trying to work out their significance.