In the poem So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans , Jimmy
Santiago Baca uses many ambiguous words and phrases. The first one that I noticed was when he used 'gimme' instead of regular English. I think this is supposed to amplify our negative thinking about this situation, and to set a tone for the poem. They are obviously not coming to specifically take your job, we're looking at the irony in this piece. Another ambiguous phrase that caught my attention was 'And do you, gringo, take off your ring, drop your wallet into a blanket...and walk away?'. Gringo obviously is showing that they are degrading us while taking our personal possessions and our money (our ring and our wallet). Yet another example is 'Even on TV, an asthmatic leader...leaning on an assistant,
and from a nest of wrinkles on his face, a tongue paddles through flashing waves of lightbulbs, of cameramen, rasping “They’re taking our jobs away.”' that no matter where you turn, everyone believes the same thing. It is repeated and repeated until the new generation just accepts it as true. This media portrayal is very visual, obviously to exemplify how much the media really affects our lives.
This is a good point because most Americans relay on the media to get their ideas and it’s how they form their opinion on what is going on in the world; when the media can be very biased.
ReplyDeleteVictor Bustos
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about the language he used. I think the authors description and word choices for the Mexicans and Americans are used to show that people have a distorted image for both.
I totally see what your trying to go with this, and agree that the media does affect our lives. Maybe some of us don't see it but it really does, so its a very valid point you pointing across the poem. I do recommend that you try to avoid "I think" phrases just so your writing can be affirmative because its your analyses meaning that you cant be "all" wrong but overall good job! :)
ReplyDeleteI really like how the media was brought up in this discussion. The language also used in this poem does play a very key role.
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