Week 5 Question 11:
Explain what the title “Legal Alien” has to do with the poem’s content; this term appears to be an oxymoron on the surface. Explain also the different connotations of the word “alien” as implied in the poem.
Basically the poem describes the type-casting which Mexican-American people endure and argues that this type-casting places them in a class of there own. Perhaps line 14 and 15 put it best: “an American to Mexicans – a Mexican to Americans.” The term Legal Alien is arguably the best title for this poem. Legal refers to the idea that Mexican-Americans are here legally; naturally born, visa, green-card, etc. The term Alien is in reference to the fact that they are different from stereotypical ‘white’ Americans and also different from stereotypical ‘brown’ Mexicans.
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I definetly agree. It shows how Mexican-Americans are here legally, but yet they still feel foreign. I am Mexican-American and I am as Americanized as one can get, but my house hold is mostly a traditional Mexican house hold. I have never really felt typecast by my origins so I cannot fully relate, but it's a very true scenario. They have as much right to be here because they are legal, but do they really get those rights because of who they are?
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