When he begins the poem you can feel his passion with the precise words, ones that are both specific and concrete that he put in this poem (Alarcon, n.d.). He dedicates this poem to forty-six US Santa Cruz students and seven members of staff who were arrested by supporting workers who worked in a canning factory with most of them being Mexican women (Alarcon, n.d.). This poem speaks not only the words but the feelings and opinions that come with it (Alarcon, n.d.). He talks about it is a way of life and that one feels pain when they hear the words (Alarcon, n.d.). He speaks of how “Mexican” is a “lifelong low-paying job” for they will never be able to outlive the discrimination by society that they face on a daily basis. “A check mark on a welfare police form”, is a way to alienate as well as being singled-out on any paperwork that must be filled out; characterized as just a check mark. “More than a word a nail in the soul” is a metaphor meaning “Mexican” is an action of a nail that strikes to the core of their character. In the next stanzas, he uses “it” followed by powerful connotation of their emotional states. Followed by the verse that uses action words like “strikes” and “burns” demonstrates how hard it is to be Mexican-American in the United States because of the rage American demonstrate toward them. It shows that we who are white or American can see it a way of naming people (Alarcon, n.d.). In the eyes of Mexicans this
The poem opens a thought of the American Dream, about what he wants America to be, and his hope for the country. The beginning line of the poem entails that America has to be the same America it once was, to me it’s a lie. America back then practiced slavery and oppression, it destroyed the lands of people to build their own homes. The ideal of an “America” was all a dream. It’s what they wanted for their America to be. We as people should be able to rise up and redefine the American equality and take back our land. The poem serves a powerful message of equality. The theme of this poem is against injustice and inequalities that exist in America and that can corrupt the American dream. All characters in the novels we read for the semester i.e. The African, Quick skills, and Tucker, have a lot of similarities with the poem, “Let America Be America Again”. They led their people to freedom by fighting against slavery and restrictions. The African escaped from his master. The African vowed to be free and never be enslaved again. Quickskill came to liberate the fellow slaves, who were enslaved in his master 's plantation. Tucker realized that he had some worth, and wanted freedom for his family. All three of these characters laid their lives on the line for their fellow men. They would rather prefer to die with dignity rather than become a white man’s property. They wanted
Maintenance or Heritage Language programs serve the purpose of preserving the ethnic identity, culture and language of minority group members. Immigrant communities in particular have a need to maintain communication channels with first generation immigrants and people in their country of origin. Through bilingual education their children can cope with the majority
...otional assurance over many years or decades. Poetry imparts the comforting sense that we are on familiar ground, that we have the perceptual tools to make sense of what we are encountering. The essential social function of poetry is first, the most obvious function, – to give answers. A poem must perform this function if it is to perform any. Poetry occurs between primaries, the page and the mind, and the world and the word. More than a thing, it is a transference of energy between poles. Poetry’s task is to mitigate but to mitigate by way of accelerant: it too becomes primary in range from rivaling the world to near exclusion and or/ creation of it, to a humble transparency that adds nothing but clarity. Behind every question and thought in uncertainty we can still hold on to some meaning through poetry. What passes for answers? Poetry is what passes for answers.
In the poem “Mexican is Not a Noun”, it seems as if the author, Francisco Alarcon, is letting the readers know that the word “Mexican” depicts an action word instead of a person, place, or thing. The structure of the poem is parallel. Up under the title of the poem, there is information regarding how some Mexican women were arrested for showing solidarity. I perceived this information as a reason why the poem contained short lines as if Alarcon’s view of the cannery workers were short and to the point. It seems very obvious that the writer is upset and wrote just what his thoughts were about the strike at the cannery. The Mexicans do not seem to be treated fairly. It seems as if Alarcon writes the poem to tell how Mexicans had to live a life
Poetry may be the hardest form of literature to examine, at least for me. After reading some of our assigned poems this semester I was left completely confused, as to not only the authors purpose, but also the relevance and importance of the poem; None ...
Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “A Valentine for Ernest Mann” tells the reader: “You can’t order a poem like you order a taco. / Walk up to the counter, say, ‘I’ll take two’.” This shows that poems cannot be written or interpreted perfectly on the first try or on demand; you have to dig a little deeper to discover them. Naomi Shihab Nye also shows readers that poems hide in everyday things that we might not think to notice. She also tells about a serious man who gave his wife two skunks for Valentine’s Day because he thought they had beautiful eyes. His wife was upset about the gift because she did not see the skunks the way her husband did. Through voice, figurative language, and theme, Naomi Shihab Nye shows us that if we try hard enough, we can see things from a different perspective, thus allowing us to find poems in the most simple, everyday objects.
I think that Alarcon chose to structure his poem in a distinct way with line breaks placing the word "Mexican" line by itself. Alarcon's word choice and word order to draw attention to illustrate that this minority doesn't have any control over what happens in their lives. In the beginning of the poem Alarcon says that "Mexican is not a noun or adjective but it is a lifelong low-paying job" (Alarcon,1985). Alarcon uses these phrases to show that Mexican's low paying jobs are for their entire lives due to the fact they have hard time getting
In a time of virulent debate in the United States over Mexican immigration, the poem, “Mexican is Not a Noun” speaks volumes. Regrettably, many individuals have a distorted view of Mexican people and tend to marginalize them by categorizing them as “illegals” and “aliens” simply because of how they look or the sound of their name (Villegas-Gold and Yoo, 2014). Therefore, Alarcon is very emphatic in his writing about what the word “Mexican” means. Alarcon emphasizes what “Mexican” means by using carefully chosen words, line breaks and stanzas. For example, in the first three stanzas of the poem, Alarcon is trying to emphasize that the word “Mexican” is more than just a title or a description of a race of people. Rather, “Mexican” is being discriminated
Bilingual education gave ELLs the opportunity to develop their native language academically, ELLs are now able to succeed by being fluent in English but with their native language as well. Being in a Bilingual educational program does not just mean to be fluent in two languages, but to understand, integrate, and appreciate other cultures and languages with meaningful
A second step in analyzing a poem is to identify the main idea or point of the poem. In “The Author to ...
This essay will treat some of the many interpretations concerning the themes of the poem.
Bilingualism is commonly defined as the use of at least two languages by an individual (google). In education, it truly has more benefit to it than harm. Scientists all over the globe have proof that bilinguals are smarter than the average monolinguals. For one, being bilingual heightens the ability to monitor the environment. Two, it shows better executive control such as multi-tasking, memorization, and high-level thinking. Richard Rodriguez, writer and author of “Aria” mentions the use of multilingualism in school. He refers to the concept as, “bilingual education”, which is define as “an education in an English-language school system in which students with little fluency in English are taught in both their native language and English” (google).
Poetry is a lot of things to a lot of people, but can be characteristically described as an unwillingness to be defined, nailed down or labelled. The poet user words to create art instead of using the traditionally clichéd examples of art. In poetry the canvas the poet uses is the reader itself. Poets go beyond writers and consider a words emotive qualities, its values and even the spacing in relation to the page to create an emotional resonance in the reader. Poetry is an evocative art form able to inspire strong emotions in the reader such as happiness and anger while retaining the ability to surprise a reader. This essay focuses on poetry as a way of "showing, not telling", what the emotional response poets can create through their use of language is. How this affects the reader as well as the images a poet creates in a person's mind through their use of language.
“The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher…”(Keller, par. 1). These words hold true to me as well. Mrs.Heathcoat, my 8th grade teacher, had sparked a fire inside of me and introduced me to a world of poetry. Of course I had been familiar with it before, but Mrs.Heathcoat was the one that piqued my interest in the art form. My persona has been molded by poetry. Helen Keller similarly was introduced to a world that was new to her as well, a world of written language, where words existed. Our similar introduction to a new “language” also led us to have almost identical writing moments. Writing moments that had special meaning to us.