Poem Analysis: Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo

Great Essays
The Mothers and Memory
In 1977 just after the Argentine “Dirty War” began terrorizing the nation, a courageous and determined group of mothers took to the streets to protest the disappearances of their sons and daughters. These women, known as the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, became a powerful source of resistance to the Process of National Reorganization commissioned by the military junta which controlled Argentina between 1976 and 1983. In these seven years, it is estimated that roughly 30,000 Argentines were abducted, tortured, and “disappeared” on vague claims of “subversive” behavior. These victims became known as “deseparecidos” (meaning “disappeared”) thus creating the idea that these people were simply gone and eliminating the possibility of closure for the families who lost loved ones. The Mothers of the Plaza tirelessly
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Marjorie Agosín, a poet from Chile compiled some of her works into a book titled Circles of Madness: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo which captures their daily struggle. Photographs of the Mothers parading around the Plaza divide the poems which add a powerful visual element to the already compelling verses. One of the poems begins with the speaker asking an innocent question “Have you seen my son?” which is then repeated several times. Towards the end, the speaker shifts to a more somber tone and asks “Or did you perhaps witness some demented person explode his skin in piercing pain?” followed directly by another “Have you seen my son?” This poem, like the rest of the book, exemplifies the plight of the Mothers. They are desperate and searching for their loved ones yet the people they encounter on the streets everyday had the potential to be one of their child’s torturers. The Mothers simply wanted answers yet they encountered uncertainty, but despite the obstacles, these women continued their fight for the sake of the

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