19 June 2008

Pat Mora ~ “Immigrants”

Poetry Reading by Connie Bares

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, babe, 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

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Objective 3 – To compare and contrast the immigrant narrative with the minority narrative

·        Overlap between immigrant and minority identities:

o   Immigrants may suffer discrimination and marginalization by the dominate culture on account of racial and cultural differences as long as those differences are visible or audible.

·        “New World Immigrants,” including Mexican Americans, other Latinos, and Afro-Caribbeans, may create an identity somewhere between the immigrant and minority patterns.

·        “The Color Code”

o   Western civilization associates “light and dark” with traditional values of good & evil, rational / irrational; these values are transferred to people of light or dark complexions, with implications for power, validity, sexuality, etc.

My interpretation:

The beginning part of this poem describes how the parents want their children to be accepted as Americans.

·        “wrap their babies in the American flag,”   - they want them to be seen as American and lose or minimize their ethnic background.

·        “feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie” – two foods associated with being American.

·        “name them Bill and Daisy, buy them blonde dolls that blink blue eyes or a football and tiny cleats”  - Common Anglo-American names and “light” colored dolls and sports associated with America

·        “speak to them in English” – Dominant language

The last part of the poem is more about the parents’ fears.  They want their children to fit in to what they believe to be “American” but also express doubts and fears of rejection.

·        “that dark parent fear, “ Will they like our boy, our girl, our fine American boy, our fine American girl?”

Connection to the “Color Code” - Western civilization associates “light and dark” with traditional values of good & evil, rational / irrational

“buy them blonde dolls that blink blue eyes”

“whisper in a dark parent bed, that dark parent fear,”

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Discussion:

1.     How does this poem resemble or differ from the immigrant narrative and/or the minority narrative?

2.     Is this a legitimate interpretation of “the color code?”