Literary Devices In Mexicans Begin Jogging By Gary Soto

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

In “Puerto Rican Obituary” by Pedro Pietri, the author takes his readers on a journey of the oppressive life of a Puerto Rican immigrant. He describes a vicious cycle of stagnancy in which immigrants work endlessly without reward. Hopeful every day that the American dream they once imagined would come to fruition, but instead they are continually faced with trials and turmoil on every hand. Instead of uniting as a body to work towards greatness, the immigrants grow envious of each other, focusing on what they lack instead of the blessings that they currently attain. Contrary to the ideals of early immigrants, Pietri portrays Puerto Rico to be the homeland. The ideals of early immigrants have drastically changed throughout the development of America. Petri paints a completely different picture of America throughout his poem. Early immigrants describe an America that is welcoming, with endless opportunities, and a safe haven. Despite earlier depictions of the immigrant experience, these ideals are challenged because they weren’t integrated into society, were inadequately rewarded for hard work, and were disadvantaged due to their socioeconomic status.

Soto’s use of imagery serves as an aid to the reader to better understand the author’s perspective, which is that of a six-year-old boy. Prior to stealing the pie, the author uses imagery to describe his temptation to steal. “My sweet tooth gleaming and the juice of guilt wetting my underarms” (Soto 1). The imagery here illustrates both the irresistibility of the temptation to steal and the immaturity of the young boy as he can’t take his mind off of anything but what is in front of him. After stealing the pie, Soto

“ In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes” by Eduardo C. Corral is a poem about the speaker's father who was smuggled into the State. Coming into the State the speaker's father faced many hardship and struggles to make a living in the desert, the mountain, and Oregon. Corral the speaker shows empathy toward his father because he see’s all of the struggles that his father had faced and the speaker couldn’t do anything to help the father out. Corral used code-switching, diction and symbolism to show the hardships and struggles the speaker and his father faced as being Mexican American due to their identity. The struggles to survive when they don’t have money, family support, and also trying to fit in even though he is being disrespected because of his cultural background.

Pat Mora’s “Fences” deals with the timely issues of class division and privilege. She begins her poem on a positive note, saying “Mouths full of laughter,” which creates a safe and harmless tone; in the next line, Mora uses the Spanish word ‘turistas’ (tourist in English) to indicate possibly the ethnicity of the speaker. It is not until the last few lines of the poem, however, when the reader can also detect the class and likely status of the speaker, when the speaker’s mother says, “It’s their beach,” after seeing the speaker’s younger sister running across the sand where the affluent tourists are, thus opening the door for a Marxist reading of the poem. And at only 19 lines, “Fences” is a relatively short poem, but Mora’s use of

They are obviously used to show that Soto is nervous and moving around quickly because there is a lot of action going on at the time. However, in the some of the last paragraphs there are many more complex sentences, which are used to show that Soto has returned to his state of boredom and also to express that there is not much going on inside Soto’s head..

The use of imagery builds the story and expresses how important Dillard's childhood was in shaping the women she has become today . The excerpt begins with a reflection upon her childhood and growing up a tomboy. Dillard set the stage for “the chase” by explaining the day as “cloudy but cold” (5) with cars lining the snow covered street. Imagery is used not only to set the stage for the day of “the chase” but it is also used to describe the man chasing them as a city man dressed in “a suit and tie, street shoes” (10). Using imagery to describe the man’s appearance helps the reader to understand how unusual the man's appearance was and that the man was chasing them through the city. Dillard builds the suspense of “the chase” by taking the reader through the motions, past a “...yellow house...under a low tree, up a bank, through a hedge…” (12), she builds an image in our minds of the neighborhood. The imagery is used to build up the scene, convey suspense and create emotions for the reader.

Pat Mora’s “Fences” is a delicate poem that deals with the timely issues of class divide and privilege. She begins her poem on a positive note, saying “Mouths full of laughter,” which creates this safe and harmless tone. The next line, she uses the word “turistas,” which is interesting; Mora uses a Spanish word (tourist in English) to indicate possibly the ethnicity of the speaker. It is not until the last few lines of the poem, however, when the reader can also detect the class and likely status of the speaker, when the speaker’s mother says, “It’s their beach,” after seeing the speaker’s younger sister running across the sand where the affluent tourists are. At only 19 lines, “Fences” is a relatively short poem, but Mora’s use of

As I begin this essay comparing two separate cultures I feel it is necessary to first describe what exactly culture is. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." It includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief.

Pat Mora is an award-winning writer that bases most her poems on tough cultural challenges and life as a Mexican American. She was born in a Spanish speaking home in El Paso, Texas. Mora is proud to be a Hispanic writer and demonstrates how being culturally different in America is not easy. She explains this through her experiences and the experience other’s. In her poems “Elena”, “Sonrisas”, and “Fences”, Mora gives you a glimpse of what life as a Mexican American is; their hardships, trials, strength that make them who they are.

In “Illegal Alien” Pat Mora writes about the problem of the difficulty people have communicating when they are of different backgrounds. For years now people have been judged by their skin color, their race, or where the originally come from. In “Illegal Alien” Pat Mora gives us a good example of this as the character in her poem goes through this trial of being from both the Mexican and the American cultures. Pat Mora indicates her difficulties that she is going through being born into two different cultures.

     The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly

In the poem “Behind Grandma’s House”, Gary Soto writes about an experience he had as a young boy. He speaks of himself as being a nerdy Spanish boy who wants attention. He screams out for attention by acting out in negative ways. Most know, to bring attention to one’s self, one can acquire it by acting negatively or positively, but negative attention brings punishment. Soto obtains his grandmothers attention at the end of the poem, but he may have regretted it. Gary Soto’s “Behind Grandma’s House” is a 1952 free verse poem that uses imagery to suggest the speaker’s perspective of the story.

Gary’s Soto “Mexicans Begin Jogging,” describes an event that happened when he worked in a factory where illegal Mexican workers were employed. Although the poem is simple, Soto brings identity, ironic, drama, and imagery to his audience. The narrative reflects irony the speaker went through and the dilemma that Mexican Americans go through. The poems tone is ironic and not taking too seriously.

Sitting quietly at a table, pouring over poem after poem, has led to this point. Two are left, but which to choose. On one hand there is “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen?” by Marge Piercy, but on the other is “So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans” by Jimmy Santiago Baca. The others have cast their vote one and one; the final judge will make the decision. Although the two poems are both good poem, only one can be chosen to win. “So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans” is a better poem for three reasons; it addresses a more important issue, the use of a sarcastic anecdote makes it more sophisticated, and it uses stronger hyperbole.