Breaking Through

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“El Nuevo Coloso: Another Look at Emma Lazarus”

In this activity, students will revisit the poem “The New Colossus” in light of what they’ve read in Breaking Through, considering it from a lens that takes into account more recent immigrant stories, like Panchito’s and other Mexican American immigrants.

The 1903 poem “The New Colossus” by poet Emma Lazarus is perhaps most famous for being inscribed on a bronze plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The Statue of Liberty is located on Ellis Island, which was the hub for migrants making their way into the US from Europe in the early 20th century, and the poem is often regarded as emblematic of the American “melting pot.” In this exercise you will read “The New Colossus,” and assess how this poem relates to the experiences of migrants like the Jiménez family who did not pass through Ellis Island. Is this poem still relevant to them?

• Reflect and Analyze. Reflect on this poem after learning about Panchito’s story—a story shared by many Mexican immigrants. How does this poem reflect the Jiménez family’s experience? How is it different?
• Write and Imagine. From the Panchito’s point of view, write an imagined scene (1-2 pages) where he responds to the poem. You can use as much creative license as you’d like, placing Panchito into an extended scene from the book—perhaps a school scene or moment at home. Alternatively, you can place Panchito somewhere else entirely. No matter what you choose, reflect at least one of the book’s core themes into your imagined scene.
• Research and Share. Beyond “The New Colossus,” there are many poems that deal with the American immigrant experience. Select a poem from the Academy of American Poets’ collection “Poems about Migration,” and select one that captures something about the Jiménez family experience that might not be reflected in “The New Colossus.” Read the poem aloud to the class, and explain why you chose this poem or share your imagined scene from the second part of the exercise and discuss how you portrayed the selected themes.

Teaching Suggestion: Particularly for the “Reflect and Analyze” portion of this exercise, it may be helpful to review the basics of analyzing poetry in Teach for America’s “How to Analyze a Poem in 6 Steps.” You may want to ask a few leading questions about “The New Colossus” to help get students into the mindset of conducting a deeper analysis on poetry. For example, you might ask what students think Lazarus meant when she refers to the Statue of Liberty as the “Mother of Exiles”? What does she mean by “huddled masses yearning to breathe free”?

Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced learners—or students interested in poetry—you may want to spend more time discussing and researching as a class the large wealth of poetry that reflects the American immigrant experience and the experience of Mexican immigrants crossing the border without documents or authorization. There are many collections that you could opt to explore/discuss as a class, including We Had Our Reasons by Ricardo Ruiz, Like a New Sun: New Indigenous Mexican Poetry edited by Víctor Terán and David Shook, and Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa, among many others.