Mericans By Sandra Cisneros Essay

In both works, "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros and "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita, they both speak about their belonging in America. Okita talks about the Japanese-Americans forced relocation during World War 2 while Cisneros speaks about life as a Mexican-American trying to figure herself out in a dominantly white American society. Both stories develop the theme of American identity as a non-American. Both authors use common literary devices to get their points across while sharing their stories.

The main theme of the poem, "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Otika is the discrimination towards Japanese-Americans. The poem is about a young girl, Ozawa, who faced a cultural difference between where she came from and the place she grew up in. The poem uses common literary devices to develop the theme of American identity. One literary device that Otika uses is symbolism. This is shown when the poem stated, "I gave her a packet of tomato seeds and asked her to plant them for me, told her when the first tomato ripened she’d miss me." The seeds symbolize Ozawa's love for her friend, Denise, and that Denise would miss her when she was away.

The story's protagonist, Micaela, wants to embrace both her cultural group and America's cultural group. Micaela identifies with her heritage in a different way than her grandmother. Cisnerous uses common literary devices to develop the theme. One literary device she uses is slang. Slang is shown when Micaela's brother says, "We're Mericans" referring to being a Mexican and an American at the same time. This supports the theme because it shows that Micaela's brother and herself both embrace American and Mexican