Race Poem By Karen Gershon Essay

Hitler and the Holocaust is a very informational novel written by Robert S. Wistrich that not only explains this horrible time in history, but also gives us a look into the mind of Hitler and Nazi ideology. This book is not just centered on Hitler and Germany as it my sound, antisemitism spread like a plague all across Europe even before the Holocaust took place. In this work, Wistrich is not making an argument, but is trying to find an explanation on why so many inhumane actions were allowed.

Tato Laviera, a great Puerto Rican poet, writes one of his most famous and prideful poems called "AmeRican" majorly composed of metaphors, where he dreams of a time when his people, the Puerto Ricans, can create, or how as he states in his poem "give birth" to a perfect race in which we live in peace and happiness; where all cultures are welcome because we ourselves are forged by various races and cultures, and we do not judge others by mere race. Hence, comes the name of “AmeRican”, because we can make the American society a better place. The main subjects that I will focus on are the meanings embedded in the poem discussing only the most important parts, the relationship of the American and Puerto Rican culture and the tension that lies between them. I will also focus on one of the main ideas of the author: a utopian society conveyed by Puerto Rican culture.

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.

The background of both narrators of “Mericans” and “In response to Executive Order 9066” comes from a Japanese or a Mexican-decent who are realizing cultural differences from their American life. However, the mistreating of a girl by her best friend compared to a girl who finds significant change between her two worlds that is tested by every cultures costumes of being victims of racial discrimination. The short story “Mericans” and the poem “In response to Executive Order 9066” can be a universal conflict between diverse heritage and cultural backgrounds that are determined by how America sees society.

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 title for this selection of poems, “Old News”, reflects the theme of racism in this section of Miranda’s memoir. This title is ironic because the problems in these newspaper clips show “new” acts of discrimination against Native Americans. However, the violence depicted in these poems has been recurring for hundreds of years. Since the founding of the American colonies in the 1600s, Native Americans have had their land, families, and sense of safety stolen from them. These European settlers did not understand the culture and behaviors of Native Americans, and, as a

Similarly, the poem by Jose B. Gonzalez, Autobrownography of a New England Latino, illustrates the difficulties that Gonzalez lived due to being a brown Latino. He experiences segregation and racism, but fights to become an educated man despite his color and social class. Gonzalez, like

The poem is filled not with resentment but with optimism, the cheerfulness of that “great, silly grin" (21) that he believes will take him to a future where they will be as American as anyone else. But he also understands that people like him, mainly Mexicans who come to the United States to strive for something better in life.

When my family found a new home in Everett, WA we were one of very few Latinos in the area. At the time Everett had become a resettlement city for Iranian, Somali and Southeast Asian refugees, among them were some of my first friends. As a child I transcended language barriers by building friendships with recent immigrant and refugees from other countries. We communicated through our own version of sign language and learned English together. We also supported each other and in unison, protected each other from aggressive and degrading peers. We acted in solidarity. One of my most illustrious poems is entitled “we can be there for each other.” In sequential order, it outlines what I believe to be the work necessary to work in solidarity with

– Let America be America again). The poems display images of hardship and frustration. They both speak of a difference within races and also what the life in America is different from the eyes of someone who isn’t white.

"The Race" by Sharon Olds is an uneasy poem about the situations a daughter has to pass in order to reach her father. The poem is broken into what seems fear and retribution. In the beginning of the poem the author addresses the characters situation, " . . . When I got to the airport I rushed up to the desk, bought a ticket . .

The “Lament for Dark Peoples” exposes the discrimination that is placed against the speaker’s race and ancestry. The poem is called a “Lament” because the speaker expresses grief for the injustice inflicted upon the black race as well as other races of dark skin tones. In the first strophe, the speaker alternates between the voices of two racial identities: the “red man” is a Native-American, while the “black man” is an African (1, 3). Both races are given the ability to have their story heard through the speaker because both have equally lost their home, identity, and culture to the colonization provided by “the white men” (4). The speaker begins by simply expressing what life is like before the settlement of white people. Next, the speaker declares the loss that both races experience because they are stripped of their native homeland and forced to living in the confinement of American society.

This assignment consists of five questions relating to the poem ‘The Negro’s Complaint’ by William Cowper.

Taught Racism, a poem by Willow Moon Pearce, illustrates the naivety of the Invisible Man and his desperation for wanting to be accepted by white society. As a result of his naivety, the Invisible Man is molded into a stereotypical black person. Although he is a very intelligent and reflective person, he is easily manipulated by the prejudice that surrounds him and becomes subservient. He is convinced that by abiding by the rules enforced by white people, that he will eventually be accepted by them.