An Analysis Of Moora's 'An Encounter'

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When confronted with the unknown we feel a sense of confusion or a yearning to learn more. A crucial part of growing up is learning about yourself and finding an identity, one that you may not have previously known. In this essay I look at Joyce’s “An Encounter” through the lens of Mora’s “Legal Alien.” This is important because it shows us how difficult it is to grow into a new identity. When looking at Mora’s “Legal Alien” we can see her struggle of fitting into a certain group, which helps us to understand the young boys struggle of growing up and his reaction to facing the complexity of the real world throughout his encounter. Mora’s “Legal Alien” captures the important quality of our evolving and multi-ethnic culture. In her poem specifically, …show more content…

When asked in English “How’s life?”(2) she responds in Spanish “Me’stan volviendo loca”(3) which translates to “They are making me crazy.” By using the repetition of “American” and “Mexican” Mora highlights the cultural difference and the tension she may feel. Even though the law considers her legal, she feels like an alien because her roots single her out, thus making her identity torn between two worlds. The speakers in a state of an identity crisis, because of society she feels uncomfortable with herself. The overbearing force of society challenges her to pick a side of either Mexican or American. “Sliding back and forth”, “between the fringes of both worlds”(17-18), these lines perfectly describe her current state and feelings. The impossible standards each community puts on her to be one way over the other makes her feel lost. Instead of feeling comfortable in herself she tries to conform to one …show more content…

Without Mora’s poem we would not be able to understand his emotions of feeling confused and wanting to better understand this strange man. We all yearn to feel accepted into a group or society. In addition, we also yearn to feel confident in ourselves. When transitioning from one age to another we often feel a sense of loneliness and eagerness to fit in. Both narrators are going through a struggle of finding their identities in their own ways. However, they connect with the same emotions that they feel. This is what makes each reading so powerful and allows us to use them as a lens into each

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