Immigration_and_Exclusion_in_Writings

Alice Thurm Professor Miller Eng-102-027 04/04/2012 Immigration and Exclusion in Writings Many poems and short stories are written about the subject of immigration and exclusion. The pieces evoke the feelings of isolation and hopelessness of the writer or the subjects they are writing about. These poems and stories show how society treats people who they believe to be different or inferior. “We Wear the Mask” is a poem about oppressed black Americans that have to hide their pain, frustration and fear by showing that they are happy and content. The speaker in the poem could be talking of other ethnicities, also. Many ethnicities hide their feelings to get by in the world. This poem wears its own mask because it does not state blacks or racial prejudice. The mask covers what is really beneath the facade and hides the true feelings of desperation or disappointment for survival. The words in the poem speak of hiding behind a mask not daring to even speak or behave unusually to avoid being out of line according to the whites and possibly being retaliated against. “We Wear the Mask” is a form of poetry that uses rhythm and rhyme to intensify the meaning of the poem. When we see a pattern in sound we expect it to continue on through the rest of the poem. The result of a regular pattern is called meter. “My Mother Sews Blouses” is a poem about over worked and underpaid people in factories with dreams of getting out but never are able to. Black usually signifies death in our Alice Thurm-page 2 culture and the black lint in her eyes may be symbolic of no future. The mother had a glimmer of hope but it was dimmed and she talks of going to night school but will not ever attend. She will never attend because she will never obtain the money to do so. She will always be poor and there is no future for her. She will be one of the exclusions in society. “My Mother Sews Blouses” is an example of free verse poetry. Free verse generally has no rhyme scheme or meter for the whole poem. There is rhyme and rhythm but not in a fixed pattern. In the short story “Geraldo No Last Name” there are many insinuations that Geraldo is another illegal immigrant working in America to help his family in Mexico. He is shown as just another face among many that are excluded from “normal” society. His name isn’t important because he is not wanted here. He is stereo-typed as probably another gang member or drug dealer. He does not get the medical care that he requires because the staff and the doctors do not care. He is just another forgotten face and when he dies; his family will never know what happens to him or where he is. This story is told with informal language to create a tone of conversation. The sentence structure gives the story a feeling of confusion. The conversation tends to give the story tellers point of view. Simple words are used so it is like carrying on an everyday conversation. Making the sentences choppy adds to the tone of how Marin is experiencing the event. The wording of the story makes it sound like Marin and Geraldo are uneducated. The author is assumed to not be Alice Thurm-page 3 Mexican because of the statement “just another wetback, you know the kind.” This is an informal story and the language plays and important role conveying the story. The short story “Love in LA” is about a young man named Jake who is in love with himself. He wants a better car and fantasizes about being better off. He hits the back of a young lady’s car and proceeds to ask for her phone number. He is more interested in dating her than the fact that he damaged her car. He lies to keep from giving her his information about insurance. He tells her he is an actor and tries to get out of having to report the accident. The story is a satire on love. Jake will never find love with this young lady. She is out of his league both in age and economic status. He is lazy and irresponsible. He is in his own fantasy world. The title of the story tends to make you think it will be a love story. Then the story goes on to never really become a love story that you thought it would. All of these poems and stories imply some type of exclusion whether it is immigration, racism, gender or age. We are all excluded in one way or another, in some shape or fashion. Excluding people is discrimination.