The Confusion They Face

Many latin american immigrants leave their homes in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Often times they settle in places where the culture is very different from theirs. Literature of Latin American immigrants often reflects the sense of confusion that one has when moving from one culture to another. Examples of this can be seen in the poems" You Call Me By Old Names" by Rhina Espaillat. Other examples can be seen in another poem titled "Seeing Snow" by Gustavo Firmat.

when moving from their country to another country, Latin American immigrants experience a sense of confusion because the cultures are very different. In the poem "You Call Me By Old Names" the author writes in the first stanza that it is strange to think of family and blood walking through flakes, up to the knees in cold and democratic mud. This shows the reader that the author has never seen snow before and that it is strange for her to be in a different country. All of which confuse the author. Another example can be found in the third stanza. The author is saying that she has to trade in her name in exchange for a number and the term immigrant.This shows the reader that the author doesn't understand why she has to do this. The author is confused by the system and way of life of her new home and culture.

The poem "Seeing Snow" also helps in better understanding the confusion that they experience when exposed to another culture. For example in the poem there is a a line that says "even now, snowbound as I've been all these years my surprise does not subside" This shows the reader that the author is not accustomed to snow and it also shows that he does'nt understand how people are used to it already. Another example can be found in the lines "what,exactly, am I doing here? whose house is it anyway? for sure one of us has strayed. For someone's lost his way" This shows the reader that the author is confused on what he is actually doing so far away from home and culture in someone else's home. This confuses him and he tries to explain away his confusion.

Moving from one culture to another is very hard. The process of adopting a new culture is very hard and confusing to the person. This confusion if greater when they find that there is are big differences between both cultures. The literature of Latin Americans often reflects the confusion one has when moving from one culture to another. The poems "You Call Me By Strange Names" by Rhina Espaillat and "Seeing Snow" by Gustavo Perez Firmat give examples of the confusion that they experience. Their confusion is great. This is true because they come from a very different culture than the one they are exposed to. They either have to adopt it or not but it is better to adopt it because it makes one a culturally rich person.