19 pages • 38 minutes read
Pat MoraLegal Alien
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1985A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Form & Meter
“Legal Alien” is a 22-line poem consisting of a single stanza written in free verse. The poem is written in English but contains a single line of Spanish. It lacks any rhyme scheme or formal meter and employs enjambment in which each line runs into the next.
Most contemporary poetry is written in free verse, which follows humans’ natural speech patterns and rhythms. This form (or lack thereof) gives the writer freedom in choosing words and constructing lines without having to conform to a specific meter. Similarly, this unconstrained form reflects the story of “Legal Alien,” in which the speaker refuses to be placed into a specific box to be considered acceptable to others.
Repetition (Anaphora)
Anaphora, a type of repetition where words or phrases are repeated at the beginning of a line, appears several times throughout this poem. Lines 2, 4, and 6 are parallel, all beginning with the phrase “able to,” and Lines 9 and 11 repeat the phrase “viewed by.” Anaphora can be used to create rhythm or emphasis, but here it is mainly used to contrast ideas. Lines 2, 4, and 6 create contrast between the two cultures of the speaker and emphasize their ability to easily slip between the two. In Lines 9 and 11, the two cultures are again compared, but this time to show their similarities in how the speaker is treated with suspicion by each.
Paradox
In a literary context, a paradox is a statement that seems to contradict itself, but upon further inspection, also communicates a deeper truth. Mora uses this technique in Lines 14-15 when the speaker says they are “an American to Mexicans” and “a Mexican to Americans.” At first, these lines seem conflicting: If the speaker is considered an American to Mexicans, how can they also be a Mexican to Americans?
This paradox sets up a conflict that cannot be resolved without deeper level thought and consideration. The underlying—and seemingly obvious—truth of the two statements is that the speaker is both American and Mexican. However, since people around them refuse to give their identity consideration, the speaker remains a paradox.
Mora creates this paradox to challenge the reader’s assumptions and to highlight the injustice of the discrimination the speaker faces based on their identity. Paradoxes are initially difficult to understand, which is exactly the problem the speaker faces when interacting with others.
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