Legal_Aliens

Ms. Norton English AP November 30, 2010 Two Worlds in Her The poem “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora is written in blank verse. This poem is written to express how she is observed by being Mexican American how she is viewed in distinctive and diverse perspectives and how she feels. It is composed of one stanza with22 lines. Mora inserts many shifts to show her meaning and what she goes through being from two cultures. At the beginning she talks about what she is capable of with a description using a parallelisms. She shift and uses diction that don’t have any relationship to describe how she is viewed by the Mexicans and the Anglos. Using a metaphor she explains how she sees herself underestimating her roots. Finally how she feels and reacts describing it with negative words. Mora starts off talking about what she is capable of doing. She says that they are making her crazy referring to both cultures. Parallelism is included showing exactly what she can do it starts off with “able to…” and shows what she does. Mora seems to be ambivalent and confused because she feels it is much for her and feels idiotic. Exotic, inferior, and different she is viewed by the Anglos. Three words that have no connection they negative and positive. She isn’t sure where she fits both of her cultures seem not to be the same because says Mexicans view her different from them also. She believes by a Mexicans look that they see her different and with that she makes an assumption that they say “you’re not like me.” To show how she is viewed by both sides she uses another parallelism that start with “ viewed by…”She believes both cultures see her different and is why she maybe feels she doesn’t belong in the cultures is left out. Using a metaphor” a handy token” she shift to symbolize she sees herself. When she refers to “a handy token” she feels she is being used and only to gain access. As a bus token or any token that grants you access she feels like alone being to help both culture combine together and be compatible with. She feels weird at the Mexicans view her. Both cultures see here as the opposite culture and leave her out. Lastly she explains how she reacts and also followed by another parallelism. It is “by” inserted twice showing how she feels having no esteem of herself. How she does it she feels she is a double face to herself. She is putting another appearance on her and faking she doesn’t is different to how people view her. She feels discomfort and pre-judged and is not accepted fairly by two sides equally of the cultures. She pretends that everything is normal in her. She doesn’t show her fellings because she wants to fells half accepted by society. She is a woman that worries about fitting in and needs to feels that she is just treated unfairly. This poem was to represent the beings that have both cultures affecting them daily till they get confused on how people view them. She talks about how she works, culture views her, and how she reacts to it and feels about it. She tries to just get along with both and seem normal. It is a straightforward poem about how life is for a person with the same race/ethnicity as others and at the same time, different from others. She is fluent in both, English and in Spanish. Feels American because she is, but at the same time she doesn’t. She is looked at by Anglos as inferior, and looked at by Mexicans like she doesn’t belong. They make her feel like she is not one of them, like she doesn’t fit anywhere. “An American to Mexicans a Mexican to Americans”.