LITR 4332: American Minority
Literature
Student Poetry Presentation 2005
Jimmy Santiago Baca, “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans” UA 115-116.
Reader: Rosa Ortiz
Respondent: Irving Peralta
Jimmy Santiago Baca
BIOGRAPHY
Jimmy Santiago Baca was born in New Mexico and was first
raised by his grandmother because his parents abandoned him, but later
he was sent to an orphanage. He ran away at 13 and lived on the streets.
At age 21, Baca was sentenced to an Arizona maximum security prison for 5 years
on drug possession and served 6. Prison life caused him to change his life
around. He learned how to read and
write and found his passion for poetry. His first poems were published while he
was still in prison. Baca has a BA in English and PhD in Literature both from
the University of New Mexico. He
has won the Pushcart Prize, the American Book Award, the National Poetry
Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award, and, for his memoir A
Place To Stand, the prestigious International Award. He also
wrote the screenplay for 1993’s Bound by Honor (Blood In Blood Out).
OBJECTIVES
1c.
To observe alternative
identities and literary strategies developed
by minority cultures and writers to gain
voice and choice:
“double
language” (same words, different meanings to different audiences)
·
using the dominant culture’s
words against them
·
conscience to dominant culture
(which otherwise forgets the past).
3c.
Mexican
American narrative: “The Ambivalent Minority”
("Ambivalent"
means having "mixed feelings" or contradictory attitudes. Mexican
Americans as a group may feel or exemplify mixed feelings about whether they are
a distinct, aggrieved minority group or an immigrant culture that will
assimilate. As individuals or families who come to America for economic gain but
suffer social dislocation, Mexican Americans resemble the dominant immigrant
culture. On the other hand, much of Mexico's historic experience with the USA
resembles the experience of the Native Americans: much of the United States,
including Texas, was once Mexico. Does a Mexican who moves from Juarez to El
Paso truly immigrate? In any case, it’s not just another immigrant story.)
Objective
4
To
register the minority dilemma of
assimilation or resistance—i. e., do you fight
or join the culture that oppressed you? What
balance do minorities strike between economic
benefits and personal or cultural
sacrifices? In general, immigrants assimilate, while minorities (esp.
African Americans) remain distinct.
5a.
To
discover the power of poetry and fiction to help
"others" hear the minority voice and vicariously share the minority experience.
Interpretation
The poet seems to be sarcastic at first because he doubts the validity of such a
statement. Then he seems to become
a little more offended by the idea of the statement even being true.
He questions that if Mexicans are responsible for taking American jobs
then why are Mexicans still poor? There
are Mexicans out there that are trying their hardest to stay alive. They seek
jobs and will take anything they can get. These
Mexicans accept jobs that no one else is willing to work because of the labor or
money. It seems Mexicans are being blamed, so there can be justification to
getting rid of them.
Questions
1)
What do you think the poet means in the third stanza by “a
tongue paddles through flashing waves of lightbulbs?”
2)
Do you see any reference to the “American Dream” in the poem?
3)
Why does he he start the second to last stanza with “the
children are
dead already?” What does he mean by that?
4)
Does this poem have any personal impact on you after reading it?
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