Crossing Boundries
The following paper examines poems collected in Crossing Boundries and discusses the difficulties faced when forced with a changing culture
In Crossing Boundaries, the collection of poems seem to be facing a similar battle; the struggle to keep ones heritage alive while being forced to adapt to a new culture. The poems deal with the specific struggle one endures when immigrating to America; both having to face the daunting reality that is life for an immigrant as well as being forced to conform to another culture’s standards.
The dream of coming to America is one shared by a large number of people around the world. Immigrants may be from poor countries with very few jobs or ruled by a malicious dictator. For these immigrants, America represent a symbol of hope and change. They get caught up in these ideals as a way to escape their own realities, and thus are not truly aware of the difficulties that await them when they move to America. In Divakaruni’s “Indian Movie, New Jersey”, the speaker states “The flickering movie-light/ wipes from our faces years of America…” (20-21) The local Indian population from the poem face the struggles of coming to America, and use movies from their home country as a way to escape it. The poem indicates to the reader that America isn’t the place the speaker thought it would be, and is instead a sources of stress; watching Indian movies became their only way to alleviate it. The speaker clearly had a preconceived notion of what America was, but in reality, life was much darker. The movies served as an escape and allowed the speaker to experience “the America that was supposed to be.” (Divakaruni, 51)
In “Mafioso”, Gilbert similarly describes the struggle of coming to America, this time from an Italian point of view. The difference here, is that the struggle is not the realities of America, but rather facing the stereotypes imposed upon the speaker’s culture. The speaker plays with the Italian mafia stereotype, stating “only a half dozen Puritan millionaires stood on the wharf/ in the wind colder than the impossible snows of the Abruzzi/ ready with country clubs and dynamos/ to grind the organs out of you.” (Gilbert, 23-26). Here, the speaker aspects of these stereotypes as a symbol for what waits for Italian immigrants when they arrive in America. The speaker struggles to get past the world’s view of Italian culture and impresses the idea that dealing with the stereotypes levied against Italian culture is their chief obstacle. . The speaker discusses these stereotypes in a sarcastic and scornful manner, using stereotypical Italian foods such as “spaghetti” or “parmesan” as symbols for these cultural stereotypes. (Gilbert, 1-3)
In both Divakaruni’s “Indian Movie, New Jersey” and Gilbert’s “Mafioso”, the speaker is struggling with the massive change in culture when coming to America. While both are a cultural crossroads, one speaker seeks to free themselves from the stereotypes of their culture, with the other aims to preserve their culture it whatever way they can.
References
Gilbert, Sandra M. “Mafioso” Poetry: An Introduction. Michael Meyer. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013.531-532. Print
Divakaruni, Chitra Benerjee. “Indian Movie, New Jersey” Poety: An Introduction. Michael Meyer. 7th
ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 533-534. Print
