Unquestionably, Tomas Rivera is criticizing the role that religion plays in the lives of the migrant workers. Since religion is an inherent part of the lives of the characters, it is inevitably a part of almost every story. And Rivera seems to think that religion is one of the oppressive factors keeping the migrant workers in the vicious cycle of a troublesome life full of exploitation and suffering. He criticizes the Church on a moral level: the chapter in which the protagonist sees the nun and the priest making love in the sastreria puts emphasis on its hypocrisy. The young man is trying to find out who he is, his place in society, and religion is a huge obstacle to this. Taught that sex is a sin, something dirty and base, he is told to deny himself and one of the core elements of his identity. He criticizes religion at a grassroots level - where priests find it more important to take donations for the parish fund than to address problems in the community, the problems that Rivera is describing for us.
Rivera takes a very existentialist view on life: the protagonist must make his own live, take control of his own destiny, and break away from the vicious migrant cycle which is partly imposed by religion.
The protagonist questions good and evil...he asks: what is good? what is evil? He curses God and calls out for the Devil, and sees that life is arbitrary, that religion doesn't have control of his life. He questions his mother's belief that there is really a God out there who will grant your wishes if you are good and punish you if you are bad. What kind of God is that, he asks?
In the very end, when he climbs out from under the house, he is free from this oppression...he smiles because he realizes that he is free, he is in control, it is his life to live and no one else's...that he hasn't lost anything, and that everything is related....therefore that everything is in his control.
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This sort of reminds me of some William Blake poems I'm reading in english lit. These people are so overcome with thoughs and promisses of what's to happen in their afterlife pending on their behaviour in this life. I dont know what everybody's belief is on this topic, but I dont think thats the way to live.
Religion is definitely a part of almost every story. Religion's hypocrisy reminds me of the Canterbury Tales where nuns and monk are more concerned about their personal benefits than well beings the people they preach for. My favourite chapter in the book was "y no se lo trago la tierra" because he wonders what will happen to him if he were blasphemous towards god.
I agree, he examines every component of religion, even at the microscopic level. With "Antes de que la gente se fuera...", uses situational irony to crticize the church. The priest, who is supposed to be God's earthly representative, has forsaken the Chicanos. He used their monetary donations from blessing their cars and used it to visit Barcelona. One would assume that the donations were for the betterment of the people who need it the most. Perhaps he criticizes the ability of the church to actually help the people as well.
The protagonist's conscious critique of religion is what made me think of this book less as based in reality and more like folklore. I would seem most uncommon to have a boy of his age analyzing religion in the way you describe, and thus parts with realism somewhat. This is not a critique, however, and I think the folklore side allows the story to be told in a non-chronological manner and for it to offer more aggressive commentary.
I found Rivera's criticism of religion to be satisfying instead of frustrating. I'm glad that the boy came to his own realization of how to perceive religion instead of following tradition. I was pleased that the boy developed his own individual thought at the end of the book.
I just find it curious that I'm studying religion in the 16th century right now, and in that class we always discuss how corrupt the church was in that time. Reading this book...well, it seems that though a hundred years have passed, the church is still corrupt.
Well there will always be a minimal level of corruption in any institution that concerns itself with power. We can't deny that the Church is not only a religious organization that helps people understand their spirituality, but also a social, political and economic institution. As long as the Church is in a position of power, people within it will abuse this power. (Absolute power corrupts, period.) On the other hand, the hope that people in Rivera's novel get from the Church (although not highlighted) is maybe a good thing...even if it is false hope, isn't ignorance bliss? Isn't it better for Chuy's mother to think that he is in heaven or alive than to imagine his painful and lonely death? It is for the peace of her soul. People who suffer find a lot of solace in God. There are two sides.
Well there will always be a minimal level of corruption in any institution that concerns itself with power. We can't deny that the Church is not only a religious organization that helps people understand their spirituality, but also a social, political and economic institution. As long as the Church is in a position of power, people within it will abuse this power. (Absolute power corrupts, period.) On the other hand, the hope that people in Rivera's novel get from the Church (although not highlighted) is maybe a good thing...even if it is false hope, isn't ignorance bliss? Isn't it better for Chuy's mother to think that he is in heaven or alive than to imagine his painful and lonely death? It is for the peace of her soul. People who suffer find a lot of solace in God. There are two sides.
I believe Rivera does make a lot of accurate criticisms of the christian church, but I feel he paints a bit of a biased picture. I would have liked to have learned more about the individuals in this book who were able to maintain a strong faith despite certain hypocritical aspects and teachings of the church.
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