And The Earth Did Not Devour Him

The narrator questions religious faith at various points throughout the book, beginning with the first vignette, when he drinks the water his mother leaves for spirits but does not tell her. She continues to leave out water because she believes the spirits are drinking it. However, the boy knows it is he, not the spirits, who is responsible for the water disappearing. Though not explicitly stated, this event may represent a moment of realization, where the narrator recognizes his mother’s belief conflicts with his experience. In Cchapter six6, the boy attempts to summon the devil, and nothing happens, leaving him to conclude there is neither devil nor God. The boy and his siblings overhear, in Cchapter six6, their parents discuss whether to tell the children there is no Santa Clause, another faith figure, while in Vvignette 11, a priest fails to understand the congregation he serves.

Perhaps the most explicit instance of religious skepticism happens in Cchapter seven7. The boy sees his mother crying after an aunt and uncle have died of tuberculosis. Shortly after, his father falls ill to sunstroke. The narrator notes that his father began working in the fields at the age of five and has toiled ever since, with no reprieve.