Abstract

This paper explores how Helena Maria Viramontes deconstructs the myth of paradise in her novel, Under the Feet of Jesus. California, the setting of the novel, has been portrayed as “a Second Eden,” or “paradise” on earth, through American mass media and culture. What is problematic is that it effaces exploited Mexican migrant workers. This study demonstrates that Viramontes deconstructs the myth by offering the reality of Mexican migrant workers’ hardship. Furthermore, it demonstrates that through Estrella, Viramontes shows the potential of building a new paradise. In the refashioned paradise, Viramontes presents Estrella as a Christ-like figure. And it is a cosmopolitan paradise in which the citizenship is extended to Mexican and other non-white migrant workers without suffering exploitation and racial discrimination.

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