The American Way of Life (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Claribel Alegria
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Narrative
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Traveling or travelers, Pennsylvania, California, West, U.S., Ethnic groups, Minorities, Bible, biblical imagery, or biblical symbolism
The Poem
Claribel Alegría’s “The American Way of Life” is a nonstanzaic, 206-line poem about the poet-speaker’s visit to three American states: California, Pennsylvania, and New York. The speaker, who does not live in the United States, had visited America once before, but so long ago that she “nearly forgot” what the country and its people were like. The poem offers commentary on several aspects of American life and ends with the speaker’s personification of America as a “bitch” who “chews up” minorities as if they were “Chiclets.” The American way...
[The entire page is 1526 words long]
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