Mericans By Okita Cisneros: Poem Analysis

The exact idea on the American identity differs from each person. In Okita's poem, "Response to Order 9066," and in Cisneros's short story, "Mericans," they both touch on their own ideas on what makes an American. The poem tells of a young Japanese girl's experience as an American before and after Order 9066. It describes how the girl and her friend's relationship broke due to the negative views on Japanese-Americans soon after the order. In the short story, a young Mexican girl doe not enjoy or embrace her own culture and would rather do activities other Americans do for fun. Later in the the story, the girl and her siblings surprise an American photographer that they could speak English soon declaring that they are "Merican." Both Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story show that cultural heritage and physical appearances do not determine what it means to be an American.

Firstly, cultural heritage should not be a sole determinant for the American identity.

For example, in Okita's poem, the speaker describes her experience as an American as opposed to just being a Japanese; she also includes, "If it helps any, I will tell you that I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs" (Okita). The speaker indirectly tells the reader that despite being Japanese she also associates herself as being an American through her experiences. In the last portion of the poem, the speaker gives her friend a package of tomato seeds and tells her "when the first tomato ripened, she'd miss [her]" (Okita). When the speaker does this, she references to the beginning of the poem where her friend calls tomatoes "love apples;" thus, it is also a reference to their memories of being friends together rather than being torn due to differences in cultural heritage. This shows that despite people's cultural heritages, their American identity is ultimately determined by their experiences as an

American.

Similarly, Cisneroes's short story shows that cultural heritage does not dictate who an individual is as an American. Throughout the short story, the speaker doesn't enjoy doing the same things her grandmother does according to their culture (Cisneros). Moreover, when an American photographer attempted to talk to the speaker and her siblings in Spanish, she was surprised that they could also speak English (Cisneros). The speaker feels different from her grandmother, but people judge her based on her looks as shown by the photographer's reaction. Therefore, like cultural heritage, physical appearance is merely a trait of a person, but it should not be what makes an American.

In addition, when they revealed that they could speak English, they proudly declared they were "Mericans" (Cisneros). The term, "Mericans," which they used to describe themselves is a combination of the words Mexicans an Americans; it conveys that despite having a different physical appearance and cultural heritage, they were also American. The short story conveys that American identity is not solely connected to cultural heritage as the characters still identify themselves as Americans while still accepting their culture.

All in all, American identity should be evaluated through an individual's personal experience as an American instead of how the individual looks like or where their family came from. Throughout Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story, they develop this theme through the eyes of young girls who see themselves as Americans despite others thinking the opposite. The speakers of these stories reveal that in the end, American identity is established through experience.