ipl-logo

Seeking Acceptance Poem Pat Mora

1285 Words6 Pages

Seeking Acceptance
Brief Introduction of the Poem Seeking acceptance from others is what most people search for in life. The narrator is conflicted by the fact that she is seen as less than “an American to Mexicans / a Mexican to Americans” (Mora 14-15). Being born legally in the United States has actually set her apart from her heritage. Being different pushes her away and she finds herself having to change her personality depending on the situation that she is in. She finds herself living almost a double life trying to fit in while feeling like she is being judged by Americans and Mexicans; hence the name, Legal Alien.
Information about the poet Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas where she was raised in a bilingual home by her parents. While attending an English speaking school she noticed that there was something missing in her life. Mora explains that even though she was raised in a bilingual community, “Spanish and being of Mexican descent and being part of the border experience was never part of my educational experience” (Colorin Colorado). It was in her writings where she could show her appreciation of her heritage and educate others on welcoming their culture with pride. It was a great feeling to be different and being able to speak and write in two languages was something that she appreciated. …show more content…

The fact that she has to switch the way that she acts around different people depending on her surroundings is what makes her uncomfortable. Having to act a certain way in order to not be seen differently is both physically and mentally draining. At a certain point it can feel confusing and depressing for not being able to find an own personal identity. Jumping back and forth from two different personalities, when all she wants is to feel welcomed and not seen as different because she can speak English or because she looks

Show More
Related

Analysis Of Luis Estable's Poems

272 Words | 2 Pages

Immigrant from Cuba Speaks His Mind through Poetry Luis Estable’s poems are simple yet thought-provoking and fun to read. Cuban immigrant Luis Estable offers his gift of poetry to America, and what a wonderful gift it is. Over the years, he has written hundreds of pieces of poetry, in styles ranging from free verse to sonnet. Estable covers a wide range of topics and themes, and he conveys different thoughts and emotions between the lines. Such poems are found in his first published book of poetry

Read More

Nieves Sanchez Case Study

82 Words | 1 Pages

Nieves Sanchez became an ‘illegal alien’ at the age of seven. Encountering the normal language and culture barriers that every immigrant faces. She grew up hearing the stereotypes and stigma what an illegal ‘alien’/immigrant is and what they represent. Now she has no country to really call her own, because this country won’t recognized her and her home country most likely reject her. Mostly all her life she has lived has an illegal immigrant and the burden of being an illegal alien.

Read More

Summary Of The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents By Julia Alvarez

494 Words | 2 Pages

For immigrants, it is hard to be accepted in America, in this case, "Latino/ Hispanic" immigrants. Not only do they have to face the struggle of living in America but face all the cultural aspect as well. In The Garcia Girls lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez shows many adversities in forms of literary devices. Immigrants go through many hardships such as dual identity, gender inequality, and cultural expectation.

Read More

Avocado Lake Gary Soto Analysis

1578 Words | 7 Pages

“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

Read More

Gloria Anzaldúa Identity Analysis

226 Words | 1 Pages

Gloria Anzaldúa's personal experience growing up in the Rio Grande Valley was inspiration for Borderlands, which was published in 1987. In this highly acclaimed work, she explores the effects of the Mexican-American border on her self-identification as mixed race, Chicana, a woman, and a lesbian. Shunned from each of these groups, Anzaldúa creates a new mestiza identity which both allows for and encourages a synthesis of disparate elements of identity into a synergistic whole. A mestiza is a woman of mixed Caucasian, Hispanic, and Native American descent. This consciousness which encourages opposition and contradiction is made necessary by the conditions created by the geographical, political, and psychological border.

Read More

Summary Of Real Woman Have Curves By Richard Rodriguez

698 Words | 3 Pages

Born in San Francisco and raised in Sacramento by immigrant Spanish speaking parents Richard Rodriguez, obtained a catholic education in primary and secondary schools. As a young child Rodriguez struggled adapting to an English speaking environment at his catholic school. His parents had to learn English in order to help him practice the language at home. On the other hand, Josefina Lopez’s parents were not undocumented but she was. Lopez was raised in Boyle Heights with her seven siblings.

Read More

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Essay

565 Words | 3 Pages

On one hand, she is proud of her Mexican roots and is frustrated by the way her family and community are treated in America. She is constantly reminded of the prejudice and discrimination that Mexican-Americans face, and this fuels her desire to challenge the stereotypes and expectations that are placed on her. On the other hand, she is also excited by the opportunities that America offers and is eager to explore the world beyond her family and

Read More

Skin Color In Reginald Mcknight's The Kind Of Light

663 Words | 3 Pages

With Reginald McKnight's The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas, Clint Oats is not only a new student but he’s also “colored”. Due to his skin color, others around him think profoundly little of him, which pushes him to be victorious. Although his actions show that he can keep up with his classmates, the other two “colored” children make it difficult for him to be taken seriously. While he arranges every effort to show that he cares for his education, the other two children form no effort at all. As a result, Clint feels as if he has to put in extra work not only for himself, but for the other two children in the class.

Read More

Literary Analysis: The Myth Of The Latin Woman

969 Words | 4 Pages

“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan depict the endeavors people take on in an attempt to integrate into society. Cofer demonstrates how stereotypes of Latina women have led others to misjudge her and explains the difficulty she had disassociating herself from those stereotypes. Tan demonstrates that the “broken” English her mother speaks has led others to think less of her and disregard her. One’s appearance instantaneously causes others to judge them. For some it is easier to blend in and be accepted by their community, but what is it that keeps some people from assimilating, and what effect does their otherness have on them?

Read More

Espadas Bilingualism

601 Words | 3 Pages

He shows this through his many experiences with bilingual court and education. At the end of his essay, Espada concludes with a basic summary of what he has learned. Espada claims “The repression of Spanish is part of a larger attempt to silence Latinos, and, like the crazy uncle at the family dinner table yelling about independence or socialism, we must refuse to be silenced.” Through the summary the reader understands despite English being the prevalent language the in the U.S. today the Spanish culture is still being preserved through bilingualism. On the other hand Rodriguez argues that in order to gain a public identity, one must be willing to sacrifice some part of their own cultural identity.

Read More

Form Shadow Spirit By T 'Ao Ch' Ien Summary

198 Words | 1 Pages

The overriding emotion of this poem is acceptance, but while at the same time it feels opinionated. Most of this poem is related to accepting one thing or another, but opinions start to come in when it comes to what you're accepting. The cultural distinction of this poem is that each of the lines has the same number of words and syllables, whereas in our culture

Read More

Analysis Of Gloria Anzaldua's To Live In The Borderlands

1054 Words | 5 Pages

In the poem “To live in the Borderlands means you”, the borderlands become a place of change, such as changing from just one culture or race into a diverse culture or race and not-belonging. (Singh, A., & Schmidt, P. 2000). The poem describes how the author’s own background ethnicity people, mixicanas, identifies people like her, chicanas, as “split or mixture that means to betray your word and they deny “Anlo inside you.” (Anzaldua, F. 1987). The poem describes that the borderland is a place of contradiction, such as of home not being a home.

Read More

American Literature: Literature Changed Over Time

1749 Words | 7 Pages

This poem is about a Mexican-American speaker informing the reader about the struggles in which people from different ethnic backgrounds

Read More

Rebels In Today's Society Essay

1185 Words | 5 Pages

The poem's title reminds us of how quickly we dismiss those who we categorize as different from us or as said in the poem, the others. The protagonist of the poem often wonders where this “other” country is. A country where people with other interests, orientations and skin colors go? Are our difference’s challenges or gifts? The questions this poem asks are huge and fit extremely well into today’s refugee crisis and trumps narrow-minded statement on transgendered kids earlier this year, or how homosexuals are being treated in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Read More

Difference Between Mother Tongue And Mother Tongue

918 Words | 4 Pages

For a long time, the American people have looked at immigrants through their own eyes and perspectives but never do they think to change gears and walk in the footsteps of a stranger. In this case, people need to look through the eyes of an immigrant and see that one immigrant family is not the same as the other. The different people may have connections with the same or different cultures, however, they have different obstacles and hardships with adjusting to a new way of living. The "Public and Private Language", by Richard Rodriguez and "Mother Tongue", by Amy Tan are great examples of how two immigrant families can have their similarities and differences.

Read More

More about Seeking Acceptance Poem Pat Mora

Related Topics

Open Document