Sundaramoorthy 1

Lily Sundaramoorthy

Szwajkowski

Freshman Honors English, Period 5

21 September 2022

The Pains of Growing Up Religious (As Told by Xiomara)

In the novel The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo shows the concepts of coming of age and

religion through Xiomara’s experiences.

Xiomara struggles with the control religion has over her life. One example of this is

Xiomara interpreting the story of Genesis (Adam and Eve specifically) as another example of

misogyny in the Bible. During one of Xiomara’s confirmation classes, the priest notes the point

of this story is to resist temptation, or straying from the path of God. Xiomara sees not only that

story in particular, but “that church treats a girl like [her] differently” (Acevedo 14). This flips a

switch in Xiomara's mind, allowing her to stand up and say so to the priest. Throughout the

book, she struggles with trying to make herself fit in the bible’s image of the ideal woman, and

doesn't understand why she needs to be a certain way just to earn God’s approval. The story of

Adam and Eve is all about resisting the temptation of the apple, which in this case is an analogy

for straying from the path of God. Xiomara shows clear distaste for the story, as it lacks the

answer to why God gave Eve curiosity, which she sees as an analogy for her personality traits if

she couldn’t use it. Moreover, Xiomara’s priest, Father Sean, prompts her to wait another year

before truly devoting herself to Catholicism much to her mother’s dismay, because even he can

see that Xiomara struggles accepting some themes of the Bible. When Xiomara goes to

confession, she tells Father Sean that she isn’t sorry for kissing Aman, or disobeying her parents.
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Before that, Xiomara spoke out about the story of Genesis because she believed that this was a

prime example of the fact that “[the] church treats [women like her] differently. (Acevedo 14)”.

Since Xiomara just wants to be herself and do what she wants to, she isn’t really sorry about the

so-called ‘sins’ she supposedly commits. Thankfully, Father Sean sees this, and gives her a little

more time to figure herself out before she is forced into something she isn’t sure about. Father

Sean saw a bit of himself in Xiomara, so he could see where she was coming from. Even he

could see that Xiomara doesn't fully understand and accept why the rules of Christianity exist.

In addition to religion, The Poet X also shows that Xiomara’s response to difficult

situations results in greater maturity and knowledge. To specify, Xiomara’s choice to join the

poetry slam club helps her express her feelings and allows her voice to be heard. When she joins

the slam club, she notes that she can finally express herself freely without being scared of

discovery. She loves the club because she sees poetry as “[a] way the words say what [she]

mean[s], / how they twist and turn language [to] connect with people [to] build

communit[ies],”(Acevedo, 287) and a way to release pent-up feelings. Because of joining the

poetry club, she develops a support system of kids in her school that have the same interests as

her. She also meets Mrs. Galiano, who later in the book influences Xiomara’s decision to

confront her mother about the unreasonable expectations and rules she has for Xiomara. Joining

slam also permits her to feel beautiful in her own skin and mind for once. Furthermore, one of

Xiomara’s big decisions leads to a healthier relationship with her mother. After Xiomara’s

mother burnt her notebook with the poems she wrote, Xiomara ran to Mrs. Galiano, who gave

her the support and inspiration to face her mother. Some time later, after the poetry slam,

Xiomara and her mother finally decide, “Que para atrás ni para impulso”, which roughly
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translates to there will be no more backwards steps. (Acevedo, 355) Without a doubt, Xiomara’s

maturity is brought about facing her mother, and expressing herself without fear. If she didn’t go

to the poetry club, she would have never had as big of a connection with Ms. Galiano. And if she

didn’t know Ms. Galiano, she wouldn’t have had the stability and confidence in herself to

confront her mother. So Xiomara’s decision to join the poetry slam club both indirectly and

directly led her to a better relationship with herself and her mother.