The Sign In My Father's Hands

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The poem, The Sign in My Father’s Hands by Martin Espada, tells a story of a boy’s father standing up for social injustice and getting arrested by the police. The poem is composed of a theme of social injustice and racial discrimination. Throughout the poem, Espada told the story of his growing up experience in an immigrant home and his beliefs of fighting for Latino rights. Espada uses the free verse poetry style to tell the narrative of his childhood. The poem approaches the theme from the perspective of a child learning of racism and injustices.
The opening sentence of the poem clearly states the fact that “the beer company did not hire Blacks or Puerto Ricans” so his father protested by joining “the picket line.” This establishes the defensive

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