Analysis Of Jimmy Santiago Baca's A Place To Stand

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Where Do you Stand Life to grow up in and out of prison with no family, loved ones or anyone to support their life, but, growing up and that’s all Jimmy knew it was hard not to follow the same paths. Jimmy Santiago Baca, author of A Place to Stand took his first steps into a prison at the age of five years old, no he was not the one behind bars it was to visit his father but, imagine the only contact with a parent was through a jail cell? Growing up Jimmy states “I had been preparing for it from an early age” ( Baca page4) meaning with a drunk father who was always in jail and a mother who had left them Jimmy knew he was going to have his fair share of prison time. Living with his grandma for a short part of his life he was taught to embrace his culture and background where Jimmy was quite embarrassed of it, his Grandmother would not even let him speak English ar Jimmy’s first time behind bars was at the age of thirteen, he was living at an …show more content…

You can tell he is really expressing this poem as more of a gift as he says “I’m offering this poem to you, since I have nothing else to give.” We don’t really know who Jimmy is writing this poem to but, we know he is trying to give reassurance and comfort to this person. After every stanza Jimmy states “I love you”, I love you is something people take for granted, but right now it is all Jimmy has to offer with his words. During Jimmy’s life he thought money was all he wanted and needed in life and money was the only happiness he could find but throughout the book and Jimmy’s life he truly changes his perspective. He finds poetry and learns how fulfilling it can make one person and how no matter how much money one person has or who is in their life poetry will always be there for them. It is something you can’t put a price tag on because you can’t buy your

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