An Analysis Of Rosario Ferre's Language Current

The publishing of Latino authors’ works has allowed the pride of Latin American people to further develop. The Latino movement was characterized by numerous writers who changed the attitude of their readers on Hispanics and their culture. Latin American countries were colonized by the Spanish; they brought religion and enslaved the indigenous people at the time, thus resulting in the devastation majority of these countries are found in today. After the countries began to gain their independence, America attempted to take charge of their lands. In America, these individuals have faced discrimination against them over the course of various years, as they are often seen as invasive. There were times, were illegal deportations were conducted and

the “immigrants” that remained in the country, were pushed into poor neighborhoods. During times when others saw Latinos poorly, the works of Sandra Cisneros, Pat Mora, and Rosario Ferre, brought hope and motivation through their depiction of the Hispanic reality. The works of these writers have been essential to Hispanic youth today as they try to overcome similar barriers. Through their literary works, they have given an insight on the way Hispanics in and outside of America, have dealt with struggles such as immigrant prejudice, labor manipulation, and cultural assimilation. Consequently, their works have revealed the pride and strains that come along with being an outsider in a foreign country like the United States.
The discussion of immigration though apparent to be fully analyzed by media sources, often lacks the hardships that foreigners face when they settle in a new country. The poem, “Geraldo No Last Name” from Sandra Cisneros,’ The House on Mango Street, depicts the reality of illegal immigrants in the United States and the way they are viewed and treated. The poem illustrates the American mindset that has resulted from misconceptions about foreigners; one that prompts a disconnection between an American and a Latino immigrant. First, it is important to note that there has been a great anti-Latino Immigrant sentiment among Americans for various years. Though they are an important part of the US, some choose to see them as encroaching individuals. Thankfully, authors like Sandra Cisneros, have provided a look into the reality of foreigners in the country. As her literary works demonstrate, immigrants, though often depicted as lazy and selfish, are people who suffer unimaginable consequences when they decide to leave their families behind to seek a better future. In the poem, the narrator dehumanizes an immigrant she briefly met because “He wasn’t anything to her. He wasn’t her boyfriend or anything like that. Just another brazer who didn’t speak English. Just another wetback” (Cisneros 14-16). The dehumanization of illegal immigrants in the United States is something that for several years has been accepted and used in the media. The poor portrayal of immigrants has led to a loss, not only of the identity of these individuals but of the image others have of them. They often become the “forgotten” ones, because some Americans refuse to see them as hardworking people who are trying to overcome adversity. Moreover, immigrants have been forced to accept the biased and racial comments that are directed towards them. The diminished profile of the average Latino immigrant is that they are people who left their own “thriving” countries to steal the jobs of people in America. They are blamed for the displacement of US citizens who find themselves to be unemployed or facing an economic toll that has left them without adequate resources. Immigrants take on the blame for situations they have no control over, such as, their children going to colleges and receiving scholarships or aid, which majority believe should be solely entitled to Americans and their children. The use of derogatory words such as, “wetback” or “brazer,” when referring to Latino immigrants has negatively affected the way they perceive themselves. The harshness of these terms is not uncommon to immigrants in America, as “Latinos are portrayed as a threat to the country’’ (Branton 3) by mainstream media thus Americans are influenced by outside fears and resentments, that push them to mistreat them (Branton 3). It is almost impossible to erase the impact that words have on a person. In this case, the statements made by people who disagree with the methods that these expatriates resort to, in order to enter America and help their families, lead to a shame that pushes them to hide and stand in silence when injustices occur to them. If the contributions of Latino immigrants for the country were to be highlighted and shown in the media, different views would emerge, as people would be more aware of the reasoning and struggles behind the decisions immigrants make when they leave their home countries. Bringing awareness to the reality of Latino immigrants in the United States empowers them. Furthermore, Cisneros’ works like that of other minority writers, give an insight on the way Hispanics in and outside of America have overcome societal barriers, including the injustices that result when American companies start businesses in devastated countries.
Entrepreneurs in the United States have highly successful business in foreign countries where even though production happens, the economic gain that results is never in their favor. With her poem “Honduran Ghosts,” Pat Mora gives an insight on the abuse of labor workers by American companies in Latin America. Labor manipulation incited by US corporations is a topic most people are unaware of. Mora’s poem illustrates the consequences that resulted after Americans’ sprung their businesses in Honduras and the devastation they have caused economically and culturally to the country. Today, more than 50% of the country lives in poverty as a repercussion of low wages and high criminal activity. In her poem, Mora details the horrifying truth of Hondurans working for US companies without any reservation for their human rights she goes on to describe the “hands dark as Earth [that] work to prune bananas, green fingers, to the weak away” (Mora 108); meanwhile, the owners of these companies have no worry for the situation but it is inevitable to “ignore the signs of American dominance that blanket the landscape” (Reichman 17). Moreover, Mora addresses the consumption of people, specifically children, who should be growing normally in a country that has multiple resources, but instead are facing death at an earlier age each time. When American companies set their workshops in countries like Honduras, they exhaust their resources, and leave a great part of the population in poverty, thus resulting in “children thin as twigs sleeping on street corners, with their mouths full of their own fingers” (Mora 108) and it is not uncommon to see “children trudge along the roadsides, carrying impossibly large bundles of firewood on their backs” as to survive they have no choice but to work (Reichman 8). Through her poem, Mora gives an insight on a situation that does not receive enough acknowledgement. Her depiction of the unfortunate reality that Honduran people face in their own country because of outside companies, provides a better understanding of the situation many find themselves in when they choose to leave their native country. Similar to Mora, other Hispanic writers have brought awareness to important issues that minorities face such as the struggle of adapting to a new culture.
The United States is known for its culturally diverse population and though this can be considered a positive quality, the hardships that come with adjusting to such a population, are not easy to overcome.

Rosario Ferre’s poem, “Language Current,” addresses the effects of having to assimilate to another language, something that many Latinos in the United States struggle with. This poem emphasizes the fact that it is not easy to deal with one’s individual identity when being part of two or more cultures clashing at once. The majority of people whose first language is not English but that reside in America, are often subject to unfavorable consequences such as falling behind in their educational endeavors because of the lack of familiarity with the language. Living in America and speaking Spanish has led identity issues among Latino youth to surface; even though minority children “demonstrate considerable resilience, to adapt to a new lifestyle” (Sibley and Brabeck 138), there is a difference between speaking one’s birth language and having the comfort and assurance of what the words mean than having to accommodate to a language like English where “you have to know where you’re going: either towards the splitting of the self or the blasting molecules around you” (Ferre 66). Additionally, the idea that Spanish provides a deeper history to anyone who is familiar with the language, gives a sense of proudness for Latino youth. There are many authors like Ferre who find that “Spanish is a very different tongue. It’s deeper and darker, with so many twists…” a characteristic that allows Latinos to feel pleased with who they are; The Spanish language to many represents their life and when others appreciate it, it makes assimilating to a new culture a slightly less harsh struggle, since it also allows the transition into school to be much easier because when “families feel that their culture is valued and teachers reach out to them for input, they become more involved in

their children’s education” (Sibley and Brabeck 142). The struggle of cultural assimilation is something that various Latino authors can identify with and therefore allows them to give a reliable viewpoint to young Latinos who are assimilating to a new country such as the United States.
Certainly, Latinos have had a lengthy history filled with struggles that are hard to overcome. Through literature that Latinos publish, Latino youth and others receive an insight of what life is like when having to constantly face barriers such as, immigrant prejudice, labor manipulation, and culture assimilation. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that without the stories published by these authors, this marginalized group would have an even harder time when trying to stand up for themselves.