RachelDavis

= "La Migra" by Pat Mora (1993) = Rachel Davis

La Migra > I

Let's play //La Migra// 1 I'll be the Border Patrol. You be the Mexican Maid. I get the badge and sunglasses. You can hide and run, but you can't get away because I have a jeep. I can take you wherever I want, but don't ask Questions because I don't speak Spanish. I can touch you wherever I want but don't complain too much becuase I've got boots to kick--if I have to, and I have handcuffs. Oh, and a gun. Get ready, get set, run.

> II

Let's play //La Migra// You be the Border Patrol I'll be the Mexican woman. Your jeep has a flat, and you have been spotted by the sun. All you have is heavy: hat, glasses, badge, shoes, gun. I know this desert, where to rest, where to drink. Oh, I am not alone. You hear us singing and laughing with the wind, //Agua dulce brota aqui, aqui, aqui, 2// but since you can't speak Spanish, you do not understand. Get ready.

> Pat Mora, 1993

1 Border Patrol Agents 2 Sweet water springs here, here, here.

Way 1: First Impressions
After reading "La Migra" by Pat Mora, I am able to tell that this poem is about two child playing a game about Mexicans crossing the American border. Due to the stereotypes presented, I feel that this is a game between a boy and a girl. There are two distinct stanzas in the poem. The boy and the girl are playing the exact same game, but are looking at the situations from the exact opposite direction. Everything that the boy looks at as positive, the girl looks at as negative and vice versa. The structure of the poem is parallel in the way that Mora explains how both of the characters look at the situation. Both the girl and the boy think that they will be able to win the "game" in the end, because according to either one, they both think that he or she has the most favorable chances.

The speaker of the first stanza is the little boy because he states that he gets to "be the Border Patrol" (Mora 2). The boy tells the little girl about how he is border patrol and is in complete charge of the game. She can run away, but no matter what, the boy is going to be able to get her. He tells her that all of his equipment can hurt her and provides a major threat to her. The boy sees the girl as alone and helpless in the middle of the Mexican desert.

The speaker of the second stanza is the little girl because she states that she gets to "be the Mexican woman" (Mora 20). The girl tells the little boy that she has the upper hand in the game. He can do whatever he wants to chase after her, but she will always get away. The girl tells the boy that all of the equipment he has is just going to weigh him down when he is trying to chase after her. The girl sees herself as strong, knowledgeable, and supported by the people around her.

I feel that I am missing something really important with the poem because everything just seems too obvious. I also feel that there is a major importance in the speaking Spanish aspect of the poem. I don't understand what the "Aqua dulce brota aqui, aqui, aqui" section means to the poem at all (Mora 33-34). The last lines of the stanzas are different and I am curious to figure out what this means to the poem as a whole. The first stanza ends with "Get ready, get set, run," (Mora 18) while the second stanza ends with "Get ready"(Mora 37). I feel that these two lines play a major role in the text because they are at the end of a stanza, which draws the reader's attention. I am interested to know how much experience the author (Pat Mora) has with the topic of immigration and what her background is. I think it would be interesting to know if she was an illegal immigrant or if she ever helped shuttle Mexicans over the border. Pat Mora clearly has a very familiar voice and view with this topic and she uses this to articulate her opinion.

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
The way a poem sounds when it is read has a lot of effect on the true meaning of the poem. When I read Pat Mora's "La Migra" outloud, it instantly reminds me of a song that children sing, such as "Ring Around the Rosy" or "London Bridges Falling Down." The tone of the poem is childish, immature, and bragging when it is read outloud due to the way the words are laid out. There is no specific set of rhyme in the poem, but I think that this concept would make the poem seem even more like a children's song. Instead, the rhyming is irratic and unpredictable. There are a few examples of alliteration that are spread throughout the poem, including "Mexican Maid" (Mora 3), "spotted by the sun" (Mora 23-24), and "all you have is heavy: hat," (Mora 25). The poem seems really choppy when it is read outloud because when I feel that a phrase should end at the end of a line, it doesn't and it continues on to the next line. This makes reading the poem outloud seem uneven and awkward. On the other hand, the awkwardness draws the reader's attention to the end of each line and leaves a lasting impression with the reader. Based on my experience, when the poem is read aloud, the reader usually gives the speaker's tone sound angry and defensive. Again, the specific tone that Mora chose does a great job of reminding the reader of a children's song. Children's songs are usually upbeat and happy, but this poem doesn't leave the reader with those feelings. Instead, this poem is about a very serious topic, immigration.

Way 3: A Point About Form and Its Relationship to Content
There are two stanzas, one with the speaker as the boy and the other as the speaker with the girl. This drastic seperation shows the differences in the viewpoints of the two speakers. The poem is in a free verse style. In //A Practical Introduction to Poetry,// Brown and Yarbrough state that poems have "rhyme, line length, and stanza breaks [that] can also help make a point of symbolic significance" (Brown and Yarbrough 34). The poem is in a free verse form which means that there is no "regular metrical form or a uniform overall rhyme scheme" (Brown and Yarbrough 93). This verse form does not mean that the author, Pat Mora, was being lazy. Authors choose the verse form that they are going to use to use for a specific reason. Mora chose to use free verse so that the audience would be able to relate to the poem due to its simplicity. For example, if the poem had an intense rhyme scheme, then the reader would get sidetracked easily. I feel that the free verse is able to leave a longer lasting impression on the reader about what the true meaning of the poem is. Mora used distinct stanzas and line breaks to put more meaning into her poem. The line breaks direct the reader to what words are more important in the author's opinion (Brown and Yarbrough 93). In a line, the most important words are generally at the beginning or end because this is what the reader is going to remember the most.

Way 3: Another Point About Form and Its Relationship to Content
The rhyme in this poem is imperfect, or slanted, because there is no set pattern about the rhyme scheme. The poem seems to be a ballad to me because it is "a narrative poem that is written to be sung" (Brown and Yarbrough 83). It would seem to be more of a ballad though, if there was a set rhyme scheme present. The song's pattern reminds the reader of a song that children would perhaps sing to each other. The immature tone of the poem also contributes greatly to this feeling that the poem is meant to remind the reader of a song.

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
The second stanza states that "All you have is heavy"(Mora 25). This is from the girl's point of view talking about the variety of items that the young boy is carrying, including "hat, glasses, badge, shoes, sun." The denotative meaning of the word "heavy" is that the objects that the boy is carrying have a lot of weight. On the other hand, Mora uses the term "heavy" with the connotative meaning. This connotative meaning would be about the thoughts and physical contraints that are holding the young boy back as he acts as a member of the "Border Patrol"(Mora 2). When the girl states that "all you have is heavy," this reminds me of the emotional baggage that the boy must be carrying too considering that he, as the Border Patrol, is holding people back from making their lives better. The "Border Patrol" have to catch anyone trying to cross the border and turn them in (Mora 2). Not only do these people possibly get jail time and fines, but their dreams for an all American life are getting destroyed.

Way 4: Unpacking Another Instance of Figurative Language
In the first stanza, the young boy tells the girl that she "can hide and run / but [she] can't get away" (Mora 5-6). The denotative definition of hide is to conceal onself using one's surroundings. The connotative definition is to cover oneself during a game so that the enemy does not see you. This quote reminds the reader of hide-and-go-seek, which is a popular children's game. Pat Mora uses hide-and-go-seek to remind the reader of the fact that she is trying to remind the reader about the children playing a game in this poem. By using a game that most children play, Mora is able to remind the reader how serious immigration is and that it is simply not just a children's game. This aspect reminds the reader of how many lives, especially the lives of children, are affected by the border patrol and immigration.

Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
The setting of this poem takes place in Mexico. As a reader, I know that the specific country is Mexico because the people speak Spanish and the title of the poem, "La Migra" is Spanish for border patrol agents, which clues the reader into the immigration theme. For quite some time now, Mexico and America have been trying to solve the problem of illegal immigration of Mexican citizens into the United States and the poem talks about this controversy, which again leads the reader to believe that the setting is Mexico. In the second stanza, the girl mentions that she will "be the Mexican woman"(Mora 21) and that she knows "this desert"(Mora 27) like the back of her hand. Having the setting take place in the desert in Mexico makes the reader realize how drastic and real the problem of immigration really is to the people of Mexico and America. The author, Pat Mora, specifically chose this setting because she has previous knowledge about it and wants to enlighten Americans about this growing controversy.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
The point of view for this poem is first person. The point of view is in first person because the term "I" is used a number of times in the poem and the speaker is directly participating in the actions themself. However, each stanza has a different stanza. The young boy is the speaker for the first stanza, while the girl is the speaker for the second stanza. The stanza seperation represents a drastic change in the speaker. If the poem only included the point of view of one individual, then the reader would not get the same understanding from the text. Having both the boy and the girl be the speaker allows the reader to see the drastic differences in the view and opinions of the characters. Due to the fact that there are two speakers, one on either side of the immigration topic, the author is able to let the reader see the positive points that each side is trying to make about the problem.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity & Difficulty
This poem is very straight-forward and simple, in order to give the reader the feeling of two children singing to each other. The title of the poem, "La Migra," or "Border Patrol" states exactly what the poem is about, illegal immigration. On the other hand, Pat Mora has provided the reader with a few ambiguities in the phrase. Ambiguity lies in the phrase, "You hear us singing / and laughing with the wind, / //Agua dulce brota aqui//, / //aqui, aqui//" (Mora 31-34). A footnote enlightens the reader that this means "Sweet water springs here, here, here." The reader knows that this poem takes place in the Mexican desert and that any immigrants trying to outrun border patrol would need an ample supply of water. One has to wonder whether or not there is another reason for why this passage is a part of the poem. What is the significance of the "singing"(Mora 31) and "laughing with the wind" (Mora 32). The ambiguity leads the reader to wonder what he or she is not picking up from the poem. As a reader, I feel that I am supposed to clearly understand that the two stanzas between the poem are a boy versus a girl. However, I feel that there is a possiblity that the first stanza is about the United States point of view and that the second stanza is about Mexico's point of view. This ambiguity about the point of view also makes me think about other clues in the poem that Mora has presented and what they might represent. "La Migra" is not a difficult poem, even though there is a few ambiguities. Pat Mora made the poem simple in order to make sure that the reader understands her underlying message about Mexican immigration.

Way 8: Considering Canonicity
Brown and Yarbrough defines canonicity as having some "perceived aesthetic and cultural value" (Brown and Yarbrough 2). Illegal immigrants have been a major problem for many years and has now become a part of our culture as an international controversy. I feel that this poem will be considered a part of the canon in the years to come because of the subject matter at hand. This poem is "aethetic," which means "attributed to an art form because of its artistic beauty" (Brown and Yarbrough 2), but only to a certain point. The poem's tone and rhythm are distinct, which is going to make it popular in the future. The specific point of view coming from two children makes the poem rememberable and leaves a lasting message with the reader. This point of view gives the reader an unusual insight as to the immigration controversy that people generally do not consider when thinking about immigration. Illegal immigration is a major economical, cultural, and historical issue, which means that it is going to be interpreted in the future to try to unlock the poem's true meaning.

Way 9: Biographical Context
Pat Mora grew up on the border between Texas and Mexico. She often crossed the border due to its proximity. "La Migra" contains a few Spanish words, such as "agua dulce brota aqui, aqui, aqui," because Mora likes to include her "Texican" heritage in her work. As a child, Mora ignored her heritage because she was embarrassed by to associate with it ("Pat Mora"). Now, Mora enjoys writing because she feels that she will be able to make a difference in the world, and especially enjoys writing children's books (Mermann and Sullivan). Mora feels that "writing is a way to find out how [she] feels about anything and everything" ("Pat Mora"). Mora's poem, "La Migra," deals with the issue of illegal immigration because that was what Mora was around as a child because of where she lived (Murphy).

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Context
Pat Mora grew up in the middle 1900s. She was raised near the border of Mexico and Texas at a time when illegal immigration was a major problem (Murphy). The illegal immigration that acts as the base for "La Migra" has a major toll on the United States economy and is still a major controversy today. Pat Mora uses the two stanzas with two different speakers to show the different sides of the immigration controversy. On one side, the first stanza, the young boy plays the role of the border patrol. On the other side, the second stanza, the young girl plays the dramatic role of an illegal immigrant. Everyday, while Americans are continuously trying to keep the illegal immigrants out, more and more Mexicans are trying to cross the border. Many of these illegal immigrants are trying to come to America to get jobs, take care of their family, and to achieve the American dream. Mora's poem does a wonderful job of demonstrating both of these sides of the story.

Way 11: Theoretical Application
There are a number of different point of views that can be used to interpret "La Migra." //A Practical Introduction to Literary Study// defines feminism as "a way of reading that investigates the text's investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture" (Brown and Yarbrough 226). The tone of the second stanza demonstrates the young girl's determination to succeed and be independent. Significantly, this stanza is about the girl, or woman, standing up for herself and defending herself against the male. The girl states that she'll "be the Mexican woman" (Mora 21) in order to show her strength and power to the male. This female is not afraid of being a woman and is ready to do what she has to in order to achieve her dreams. The female also states that she is "not alone"(Mora 30). As a feminist interpreter, I would have to wonder if she is talking about having the support of other women during her journey to cross the border or if she possibly has family or friends that will support her. On the other hand, a feminist would argue that this statement is about the woman being weak and relying on others. This statement can go either way because every person is going to have their own interpretation.

The female's tone is very defensive towards the male and she even states that he "do[es] not understand" (Mora 36). I have to wonder if the female is talking about the male not understanding her dreams, her goal of crossing the border, or even, every aspect of her entire life. This phrase can have a number of interpretations, but it is very clear that the female is prooving her strength when she makes this bold statement. Feminist interpreters have a number of key quotes and the tone of the second stanza to make a valid interpretation that supports the Brown and Yarbrough definition of feminism.

Way 12: Another Theoretical Application
//A Practical Introduction to Literary Study// defines psychoanalytic theory as a way to discover "the relationship between conscious and unconscious thought processes" (Brown and Yarbrough 214). "La Migra" has a few solid quotations that would interest a psychoanalytic interpreter. In the first stanza, the male states that he "can touch [the girl] wherever / [he] want[s]" (Mora 12-13). This is a very dominating statement for a male to make towards a female. This leads me to wonder if the boy had domination issues as a child? Also, the boy states that he "can take [her] wherever / [he] wants" (Mora 8-9), which also relates to the domination issue. Maybe the boy was never given control of his own life as a child? The speaker makes it clear that he has a "gun"(Mora 17) and this is generally seen as an object of control and power. Also, the boy states that he has "handcuffs"(Mora 16). "Handcuffs" (Mora 16) are used by the police to control and dominate, but they are also used during sex for the same reason. Maybe the boy was molested as a child? The topic of this battle of the sexes is reoccuring in this text, and it makes me wonder if a woman ever hurt or mistreated the boy. These themes of domination, control, power, and sex can be linked to the unconscious of the speaker and then interpreted by what the boy experienced as a child.

=
When I first read "La Migra," I did not truly appreciate all of the fundamental elements that are present in the text. The seperation of the two stanzas allows Pat Mora to clearly divide the two sections apart with two very different point ot views. At first, I thought that the speaker of the first stanza had to be a young boy and that the speaker of the second stanza had to be a young girl. Now that I have studied the poem for a number of weeks, I am beginning to wonder if the speaker of the first poem could be the United States, or the "Border Patrol" (Mora 2), and if the speaker of the second stanza could be Mexico, or "the Mexican woman" (Mora 21). I keep thinking about this new thought, and the more that I think about it, the more that I realize that it could actually be what Mora meant for the poem.======

The tone of the poem seems very childish, as if it was almost a song. Both of the children are trying to be the best and are trying to "win" at the game, which represents the immigration aspect here. The boasting tone of the poem adds to the feel of a children's song. The boasting also adds to my thought about the poem being between the United States and Mexico. Both are trying to be the best and have it their own way, while not listening to the other side at all. When I had others (who had never heard of this poem before) read the poem outloud, the poem often came out as sounding choppy and awkward. This is because Mora does not end her lines where a reader would usually expect the line to end. I heard one reader remark that it even feels "uncomfortable" to read the poem outloud. Pat Mora did this on purpose to remind readers of how much work immigration is and that it is not easy, even if one is doing so legally.

This poem is set near the Mexican border and Pat Mora makes sure that the reader knows this. Mora keeps this poem simple in order to ensure that the main point gets across to the reader. Having access to the author's biographical history was really helpful in the interpretation of this poem. Also, the cultural information was able to provide an insight about immigration to the reader. When I first tried to interpret the poem, I was only looking at it in one light. However, spending so much time on the poem and looking at the poem through a number of different types of critical theory, made me see more of the poem. I now realize just how many layers this poem has and how different it looks to me now, after this seven week course.

The main point of this poem is to remind the reader about illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico. Although both sides have their points, neither one is willing to give in. The childish tone reminds the reader of the bickering between the United States and Mexico and how immature it seems. Immigration is a very serious controversy that affects both Americans and Mexicans. It seems to me that neither country is trying to do what is best for the people, but instead, each country is just thinking about itself.

Works Cited and Consulted
Brown, James S. and Scott D. Yarbrough. __A Practical Introduction to Literary Study__. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

Mermann, Elizabeth-Jozwiak, and Nancy Sullivan. "Interview with Pat Mora." __MELUS: The Journal of the for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States__ 28.2 (Summer 2003): 139-150. __MLA International Bibliography__. EBSCO. 22 July 2009. [].

Mora, Pat. Home Pafe. 22 June 2009. [].

Murphy, Patrick D. "Conserving Natural and Cultural Diversity: The Prose and Poetry of Pat Mora." __MELUS__ 21.1 (Spring 1996): 59-69. __MLA International Bibliography__. EBSCO. 23 July 2009 [].

"Pat Mora." __Contemporary Authors__. 15 May 2008. Gale Literary Databases. 22 June 2009. [].


 * Every line except for the first for each source should be indented. I am aware of this, but I am unable to figure it out on the wiki.