Week5Q11

Legal Alien
Week 5 Question 11
I enjoyed this poem it has a strait forward approach on a generally controversial subject, but it also is expressed in a non- offensive way. This poem includes stereotypes that are easily relatable to anyone who has been in similar situations. The title Legal Alien initially caught me off guard; I was expecting the writing to have a different approach. In this poem the narrator whom seems to be the author Pat Mora is alienated by both sides of here culture (Anglos and Mexicans). In lines nine and ten the reader is able to identify directly to the narrator, the narrator introduces personal moments that she has experienced from Anglos. The character says, “viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic, perhaps inferior, definitely different”. These to me seem like personal incidents that at one time she personally experience. Ironically, not only is the character an alien to the culture she is currently around (American Culture) she is also an alien within her own culture (Mexican Culture). What I interpret after reading lines eleven through thirteen is that perhaps the Mexican’s whom were not as fortunate as her feel she is a sellout. “Viewed by Mexicans as alien (their eyes say, “You may speak Spanish but you are not like me”). The title of this poem is Legal Alien, and in this particular writing it has more than one meaning and is directed to more than one group of people.