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Summary Of The Poem XX By Jimmy Santiago Baca

966 Words4 Pages

Life is more of a story of our struggles and recollections for our past. In the midst of Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem “XX,” the poem bares great significance to the imperfections of life and how our contributions to our past affect the outcome of the future. Life is a game were there is a winner and loser and to win the game one must display certain attributes in order to survive. Santiago’s poem reiterates the attributes that are being depicted through the viejos which are death, honor, and freedom. Although the depiction of death is controversial towards many religions, the elderly individuals in the poem see death in a newer light. For example, when the viejos were waiting for their moment of death, La Muerte arrives “ in black cape,red feathered …show more content…

For example, in preparation for their passing the elderly people “pulled their rosaries out / and put away their pictures / of women in bathing suits” (10-12). As individuals, we dwell on all earthly possessions that create the illusion of comfort, reality, and our own existence. The viejos are removing themselves from all temptations and comforts that became the part of their lives on earth but as they draw near to death, none of that matters. The viejos wanted to die with honor by removing all their earthly treasures and past emblems to be granted a place in the next life. This is testament to the fact that death symbolizes the rebirth of individuals from being a person of the past to being a person of the future. In addition, the elderly people “strip off the paper / from their Arm suits in closets (17-18). The army suits represent their achievements and by wearing it to their burials, it only shows that a person should live with dignity and die with dignity because we are all worth it. The viejos fought with honor and instead of dying in battle, they put their uniforms on to give respect to themselves. The bottom line is that everyone would live with a sense of worth and carry on a reputation that will last beyond death. A person should not be remembered by who they are, but what they did for others. Honor is not received but earned,

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