Poetry presentation: Pat Mora, “Immigrants,” UA 119
Reader: James Hood
Respondent: Michelle Fichera
Recorder: Meghan Patterson

Immigrants

wrap their babies in the American flag,
feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie,
name them Bill and Daisy,
buy them blonde dolls that blink blue
eyes or a football and tiny cleats
before the baby can even walk,
speak to them in thick English,
                   hallo, babee, hallo,
whisper in Spanish or Polish
when the babies sleep, whisper
in a dark parent bed, that dark
parent fear, “Will they like
our boy, our girl, our fine American
boy, our fine American girl?”

                                                           Pat Mora

Background information on Pat Mora:

Pat Mora’s maternal and paternal grandparents migrated to America early in the 20^th century to escape the revolution (one may wish to visit http://www.mexonline.com/revolution.htm for an overview of that era in this neighboring country’s history) in Mexico, yet her father was born in Chihuahua, which indicates that at least her grandmother, if not both paternal grandparents, returned to Mexico for an indeterminate period of time. Since her grandparents were the first of her immediate family to have migrated to America, they may have returned to their extended families in Mexico during that time when her grandmother was expecting, which illustrates other cultures’ dependence on that type of support structure, as opposed to the American “nuclear” family unit, which might be described as independent and isolated. Like her mother, however, Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas, which makes the author third generation, or assimilated, with concerns to American culture.

Mora is bilingual, yet claims to feel more comfortable writing in English, the language of her formal education, having taken bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso. 

She writes fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books, as well as poetry, and is the recipient of several awards in recognition of her efforts. She was instrumental in developing “El día de los niños: El día de los libros,” a nationwide program that promotes bilingual literacy and language skills for children. However, she states that her own three children do not speak Spanish, which is interesting, since it seems that although Mora seeks to reaffirm her ethnic identity, her children are content, at least for the time being, to embrace “American” culture, here meaning “United States of America,” since Mexico is itself part of the Americas, a fact that “Americans” often overlook when referring to or identifying themselves.

Literary Objectives:

2a. narrator or viewpoint: Who writes the immigrant narrative?

·         The “voice” in this poem is that of an observer, therefore it is written in third person.

2b. setting(s)

·         The geographical setting for the poem’s characters is in America, and since the poem makes no reference to past events, one may infer that the temporal setting is the present.

2c. character by generation

·         The subjects of the poem are themselves first generation immigrants, the “heroic” characters of the immigrant narrative, while the poet, Pat Mora, is third generation, or assimilated.

·         One will note from the biographical information on Pat Mora that she is actively involved in efforts to preserve the fundamental elements of various cultures, particularly traditions and languages.

·         This desire (with regards to the poet) to rediscover or reassert ethnic identity is representative of Stage 5 of The Immigrant Narrative, while the subjects of the poem illustrate the characteristics of Stage 4, assimilation to dominant American culture and loss of ethnic identity, which differs from the minority experience.

Cultural Objectives:

1a. American Dream versus American Nightmare:

·         Immigrants sometimes suffer discrimination and marginalization by the dominant culture.

·         Pat Mora is identified as being Mexican American, , which is sometimes referred to as “the ambivalent minority.” The members of this group of society come from a country that originally held much of the land that the United States now “owns,” which leaves Mexican Americans struggling for an identity that reconciles their two worlds, old and new.

Interpretation:

The parents in this poem, first generation immigrants, are willing to sacrifice not only money to provide their children with the trappings of American culture such as blond dolls, footballs, and cleats (probably Nike), but also to sacrifice their ethnic identity by adopting American customs and food, as well as “All-American” names for their children, such as “Bill” or “Daisy.” Despite making these sacrifices, the parents still fear that their children will not be accepted by society, whispering and wondering if “they” [meaning those members of the dominant American culture] will like their “fine American boy” or their “fine American girl.”

Vickie, a student in Dr. White’s class two years ago, also states that “The poem poignantly captures the insecurity of first generation immigrants striving to build a better future for their children. The cost of achieving the American Dream involves the inevitable suppression of ethnic pride and identity.”

One is inclined to agree with Vickie’s observation, and in doing so, it also gives one pause to reflect on American values as well. This poem is a touching reminder that those who sacrifice most are often the forgotten heroes whose names are never whispered.

Literary terms:

Connotation: “The association(s) evoked by a word beyond its denotation, or literal meaning. A connotation may be perceived and understood by almost everyone if it is a product of or reflects broad cultural associations…” (Bedford 73-4).

Discussion:

1)       What images or ideals does this poem evoke?

·         Associate certain words with the sort of sacrifices that are being made.

·         Is there a loss of identity in this poem?

2)       Discuss Mora’s own “ambivalence.”

·         How does one explain Mora’s attempt to reaffirm her ethnic identity through developing programs that celebrate bilingual culture when her own children do not speak Spanish? Is there a conflict here?

·         If Mora is at Stage 5 (rediscovery of ethnic identity) of “The Immigrant Narrative,” are her children at Stage 4 (assimilation to dominant American culture and loss of ethnic identity) of the narrative?

·         If her children are at Stage 4, what “loss of ethnic identity” did they suffer, if they had never had a “Mexican identity” to lose?

For more information on Pat Mora, you may wish to visit the following links:

http://web.nmsu.edu/~tomlynch/swlit.mora.html

Biographical / anecdotal information about Pat Mora

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=297

The Academy of American Poets website

http://www.mesalibrary.org/espanol/cafe/mora.asp

Una página de información de la vida suya en español

http://www.patmora.com/

Pat Mora’s personal website (highly recommended, and it also gives information on how to contact Pat Mora to have her speak at your campus)