Legal Alien

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1985

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Otherness

The poetic speaker’s identity as an outsider or “other” is the central theme of “Legal Alien.” Marked as “other” by their existence as “American but hyphenated” (Line 8), the speaker occupies a unique—and therefore misunderstood—category. “Othering” refers to when a society’s dominant group subjugates a minority group by stigmatizing them as “other,” which leads to discrimination against the minority group. In this case, the speaker is othered on both sides of the border, never finding a comfortable place to express their dual identity.

However, Mora does not seem to suggest that the speaker is the one having an identity crisis. Instead, it is everyone around them who are suspect of their Mexican American identity. Mora uses words like “slip” (Line 2), “Smooth” (Line 5), “fluent” (Line 6), and “sliding” (Line 17) to suggest a fluidity in how the speaker moves through life and acceptance of their dual identity. These words contrast with the othering labels people put upon them: “exotic” (Line 9), “inferior” (Line 10), “different” (Line 10), and “alien” (Line 11). These descriptions represent inferred messages the speaker regularly receives about their identity and place in society.

Americans see the speaker as Mexican and Mexicans see them as American, but this is a willful misunderstanding of the speaker who occupies dual identities. An unwillingness to accept the speaker’s multifaceted self puts them in a third “other” or “outsider” category, which is relegated to the margins of society. Attempts to fit in with either side are therefore futile when occupying this third, unaccepted category.

Multiculturalism

Pat Mora has long been an advocate for multiculturalism over monoculturalism in her life and writing. In an analysis of Mora, Patrick D. Murphy asserts that she seeks to “conserve the generative tension of the dynamic plurality that is borderland existence” (60). Mora believes Americans’ strength lies in multiculturalism—not homogenization. Much would be lost without the “generative tension” between two cultures at the border—including Mora’s own writing inspired by this tension.

Belief in multiculturalism is reflected in the subtext of “Legal Alien.” In order to fit into either American or Mexican culture, the speaker must deny half of their identity. However, their identity cannot be understood by eradicating either side, as they exist as an amalgam of both. In this way, the poem rejects the American “melting pot” ideal, which erases cultural differences, in favor of the “salad bowl,” which integrates various cultures into one while allowing them to remain whole and distinctive in their own right.

The dynamic plurality of the speaker’s identity challenges others who want them to fit into one narrow category. It can be inferred that changing the culture to accept the speaker’s multifaceted identity would solve the issue of their being “pre-judged / Bi-laterally” (Lines 21-22).

Isolation

In theory, being fluent in two languages should provide more opportunities for the speaker to widen their social circle and form connections with others. Instead, “Legal Alien” conveys a sense of inescapable isolation due to the speaker’s outcasted status—part of which is their ability to communicate in two languages.

There is an absence of reciprocal conversation throughout the poem, evidenced in the lack of response to the speaker’s dialogue in Lines 2 and 3. The question “How’s life?” goes unanswered, and the line in Spanish adds to the tone of estrangement. In Spanish, the speaker confesses that they are being driven crazy by the people around them, but this is not met with any sympathy or understanding. The poem lacks any other person who may understand the speaker’s struggle, such as a tight-knit community or family. They are always portrayed as alone and misunderstood no matter where they turn.

The speaker’s interactions with other people are indirect, as neither the Anglos nor Mexicans overtly express their suspicions or fears. Instead, these messages are communicated in more subtle ways, such as the look in the eyes of the Mexican people who judge the speaker as separate from themselves. The repeated use of the modifier “perhaps” (Line 9) before “exotic” (Line 9) and “inferior” (Line 10) reveals that these judgments have not been outwardly expressed but are nevertheless felt. The speaker faces such isolation that they have had to become fluent in reading the body language and facial expressions of others to understand feelings in the absence of clear communication.

Finally, the settings mentioned in the poem add to the overarching sense of isolation. Both an office and restaurant are transactional and impersonal, never allowing for the speaker to find solace nor community within them.