The poem “Legal Alien” was taken from the book Chants written by Pat Mora, an American writer and poet. In his poetry he uses metaphors, images, paradoxes, two languages, symbols etc. It is written in free verse, but it emphasizes the fixed and rigid mindset of people and the way humans constrain others due to their misjudgments, preconceived notions, stereotypes and prejudices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Literary devices that bring readers closer to the topic Although the dominant language of the poem is English, there is also a single phrase from Spanish. It may be representative of the idea that among the majority of native whites, the Mexican narrator is almost insignificant, ignored, and considered useless. For example, a reader might skip, ignore, or not pay much attention to a sentence written in another language. Deconstruction aims to find any "cracks and discontinuities" in a text, so poetry is suitable for deconstruction as it addresses the theme of fragmentation at multiple levels. The poem inculcates the experiences and emotions of immigrants, especially legal immigrants, whose lives and personalities are distorted/fragmented because they are in two places but do not belong in either place or are valued as they should be. A “legal immigrant” can be a “signifier” for numerous ideas signified in this poem. For example, it can represent the idea of ​​self-alienation of immigrants due to the psychological distress caused by their multiple (Mexican-American) identities. These people always remain protean beings as their idea of ​​home remains fluid and it becomes almost impossible to have a single unified identity. An immigrant faces both inter- and intracultural problems, so he develops a dual personality, or sub-individuality. This binary can also be compared to W. E. B. Du Bois's idea of ​​“inner duality.” The poet uses hyphens to show the divisions of an immigrant's psyche and life. The hyphenated words "Bilingual, bicultural" portray people who belong to different places and are representative of both at the same time, but are treated as "native aliens". So the hyphen not only connects but also separates. These hyphenated words can also be considered stereotypes or prejudices associated with immigrants, as they are often misjudged or prejudiced due to these two attributes. This hyphenated identity breaks the person into two parts. No matter how much the immigrant tries to fit into the crowd of natives, he will not be able to bridge the gap. Being multilingual is a skill that should be valued, but it serves as an obstacle for an immigrant. Pat Mora uses the technique of "language appropriation" to show the rapid transition from English to Spanish and shows how both languages ​​are deeply ingrained in the immigrant. When the poem's narrator is asked "How's life going?" he immediately switches to Spanish by saying “Me 'stan volviendo loca,” which means “I'm going crazy.” This linguistic “binary” also indicates her internal and external battle that only she herself can fight. Another widely witnessed phenomenon is the exoticism of the East. Usually, things or people called exotic are seen as somewhat inferior due to their appearance, culture, and the underdeveloped conditions of their countries. The poet isn't sure if Americans call immigrants "exotic" and "inferior" because she also uses the word "maybe." But she uses the word “definitely” to increase the alienating effect imposed on her by her own people. It is a natural phenomenon that when something is superior to them, to someone.