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Children of immigrant parents essays
Children of immigrant parents essays
Children of immigrant parents essays
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“Oranges,” “The Seventieth Year,” and “Avocado Lake,” showcase Soto’s ability to move a reader using an emotional story without the use of rhyme or rhythm. Through Soto’s poetry, he indicates the traits that define Mexican-American community
La Migra is a poem written by Pat Mora about the Mexican - American immigration issue. It’s purpose is to acknowledge the emotions and sentiments of the Mexican immigrants who try to come to the United States illegally. The denotation of the poem’s title means immigration and the connotation is referring to the police officers standing at the Mexico-United States border. The poem is divided into two stanzas to acknowledge immigration through the different perspectives of the illegal immigrant and also through the eyes of the border police. The first stanza is through the perspective of the male border cop, who thinks his power and nonessential items make his superior to the immigrants.
The Acceso activity that initially inspired me was the excerpts we read from the testimony of Rigoberta Menchú. I was interested in Menchú’s feminism and also the role of the church in Guatemala. Then I remembered briefly learning about Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz from México last year in my Spanish class. After researching her a little more I became interested in the power dynamic of the church in México and how Sor Juana contradicted it not only as a woman but as a writer.
In the Chicano movement art was used through murals and poems to combat racism. The poem “I am Joaquin” was used to “exemplify the Chicano faith and strength of their community” (Quest for a Home Land). This was a tool to combat racism through the use of creative writing, thus showing the peaceful manner of the Chicano movement. The murals created by Chicano community exemplified their struggle in an Anglo American society and peaceful beauty of their culture that was once thought to be “savage and violent” (Mann, 15). In history our ancestor’s artistic expression was similar to the Chicano art to show our strength and pride of who we are, but early historians showed it as something “violent and uncultured” (Jackson, 10/20/15).
When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.
The Latin and American Culture The poem English con Salsa by Gina Valdes reminds me of my home country. I came to this country from Peru and brought my own traditions with me as well. My life is now a mix of American and Latino culture. Valdes poem identify us the immigrants that coming to the United states does not mean losing your culture, but instead it combines both the American and Latino culture.
Many stories embody the cultural aspects of Mexican-Americans and their struggles with living in a discriminatory society. Stories like With
“The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That 's what we 're all fighting for” - Cristina Saralegui. Judith Ortiz Cofer published the article, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” where she expresses her anger towards stereotypes, inequality, and degradation of Latin Americans. Cofer explains the origins of these perceived views and proceeds to empower Latin American women to champion over them. Cofer establishes her credibility as a Latin American woman with personal anecdotes that emphasize her frustration of the unfair depiction of Latinos in society.
Julia Alvarez, in her poem “’Poetry Makes Nothing Happen’?”, writes that poems do play a role in people’s lives. She supports her idea by using relateable examples of how poems might change someone’s life. Her first example is simple, poetry can entertain someone on long drives. This does not only aply to long dirves however, Alvarez uses this to show that poetry does not have to have a big influence on someone’s life, instead it can affect a person in the smallest of ways, such as entertainment. The second example describes poetry comforting someone after the loss of a loved one.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a self-taught philosopher, poet and forward thinker, wrote many empowering poems that captured how she felt during the time she was living in. Two of which “Foolish Men” and “On her Portrait” express how she didn’t like the stereotypical roles women were put in during her life. These poems show true anguish and express a slight distain for men. In the poem “Foolish Men” Cruz starts off by explaining how men are so quick to blame women for their ailments but in actuality it is themselves causing them.
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston addresses prevalent topics faced in America today. How should women act? Should women be treated differently from men? In her memoir, Kingston faces many obstacles with her Chinese-American identity such as finding her voice as a young woman. In “White Tigers,” Kingston tells her own version of a popular Chinese ballad, “Fa Mu Lan,” while incorporating her own reality back into the section.
José Martí was a brilliant 19th century writer, poet, political and revolutionary leader, and Cuban intellectual; however, above all else, José Martí was a proud Cuban citizen. Though born to two Spanish parents, Martí never waivered in his identity as a son of Cuba, and he would spend—and eventually give—his life fighting for the cause of Cuban independence. Martí loved his native country, and desired freedom and pride for all Cubans. Never was this more apparent, than in his poem, “Versos Sencillos” (Excerpts from Simple Verses). The resistance from oppression infused with Cuban patriotism prevalent in this piece, is central to Marti’s message and to the Cuban Revolution as a whole.
Growing up, I was too young to think or care about race. I always identified myself as a person, not a race. As a child, my mother told me that if anyone asked me what I was to tell them I was the color of love. Poetry has always been a way that I have expressed myself and what I turned to in order to realize I was not alone in this world. Since I have been reading and going to see poetry performed for so long the poem that I connect most with is not a poem that we have read or analyzed in class.
To many people “I am Joaquin” is more than just an epic poem, it is the anthem of the Chicano movement which embodies our peoples struggles and culture. What made the work become the Chicano Movements anthem is the fact that it is a piece that seems to evaluate the Chicanos and their history from the good to the bad. It also seems to emphasize the Chicanos search and struggle for identity starting from the beginning of the Spanish conquest to our modern times. Basically this poem has become such an iconic work because it attempts and succeeds in encompassing as much Chicano history into it and makes no bias choice as it has both positive historical moments and negative, but they all tie back to Chicanos and their history. One of the main aspect that makes “I am Joaquin” an interesting piece of work and an icon for the Chicano movement is how the work seems to
This poem is about a Mexican-American speaker informing the reader about the struggles in which people from different ethnic backgrounds
