Josef Reuther
Martin Espada
All of
Martin Espada's poems talk about discrimination in our world and try to raise
awareness to this subject specifically for Latin Americans. Espada's poems talk
about the injustices done to Latinos and how in some cases others are denying
even their culture.
One piece
of evidence that substantiates this claim about the discrimination found in
Espada's poems is his poem called "The New Bathroom Policy at English High
School." In this poem Espada focuses on a High School where a principal
hears Spanish being spoken amongst boys in the bathroom and cannot understand
anything besides his own name. "The boys chatter Spanish in the bathroom
while the principal listens from his stall / The only word he recognizes / is
his own name," as Espada writes. As a result the principal decides to
abuse the power entrusted in him and bans Spanish from being spoken within the
bathroom of the school. This principal is denying these Spanish boys a part of
their culture and is discriminating against their race simply because it is
different from his and because he cannot understand what they are saying. As
can clearly be seen this poem focuses on the discrimination of Latinos and the
attempt at removing a part of their culture like their language.
Another piece of evidence
that supports this claim about discrimination being featured in Espada's poems,
is his poem "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson" which focuses on what
Martin Espada would like to do every time his name is mispronounced and not in
the authentic Spanish way. "I want to buy a toy pistol, / put on dark
sunglasses,/ hijack a busload/ of Republican tourists," Espada writes. He
targets Republicans, for he feels they tend to discriminate and show less
kindness to Latinos. "And wait/ for the bilingual SWAT team / to
helicopter overhead, / begging me / to be reasonable," Espada adds. Rather
ironically the people discriminating against him have the SWAT acting as their
little protective angels when he himself has no protection against discrimination.
As can be seen the discrimination that Martin Espada and other Latinos face
clearly frustrates him to the point where he thinks about going to such
extremes.
One last piece of evidence that corroborates this claim
about discrimination in Espada's poems is his poem called "Two Mexicanos
Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" which focuses on the
hanging of two Mexicans by "gringos" in 1877. "When forty gringo
vigilantes / cheered the rope / that snapped two Mexicanos / into the grimacing
sleep of broken necks," as Espada wrote. These Mexicans were killed for no
apparent reason by whites who overpowered them. The fact that Espada uses the
word gringo for whites expresses a certain dislike he has towards them.
Espada talks about the injustice and brutalities done to these Latinos
merely because they looked different from the whites doing this to them.
Espada's poetry tries to get people to think of Latinos
who are being discriminated against. Discrimination and the denying of a
certain culture is a common global issue and Martin Espada's poems raise
awareness to this pressing topic.
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