Summary Of Mexican Is Not A Noun

My initial reaction to the poem “Mexican is Not a Noun” by Alarcón was that the poem is somewhat baffling and ambiguous. When I first read the poem, I ended up not understanding anything that the poet seeks to convey. But, upon my second and third reading, I started understanding the meaning of the poem. Based on my reading, I understood that Alarcon seeks to discuss the plight of Mexicans and his feeling that it is very challenging being a Mexican and as a matter of fact, a lifetime challenge. Alarcon opens his poem by placing the noun Mexican in quotes to insinuate that he respectfully objects the general application of the term. According to Alarcon, the term Mexican is neither a noun nor an adjective. Alarcon states that Mexican is not “a noun / or a / adjective” (3-5). …show more content…
Alarcon states that “Mexican” is a poorly paying lifetime occupation and a check mark on the welfare law enforcement form. He applies alliteration by beginning words with “l” to underscore that Mexican’s poorly paying professions are designed for a whole lifetime since they cannot escape from it because of their lack of agency and widespread discrimination in society (Alarcon, 2002). Alarcon concludes his poem with the term “verb” to highlight his main perspective that being Mexican is all about actions. He states that Mexican “strikes...burns / just like / a verb” (27-30). Through applying words such as “strike” and “burn,” which bear undesirable implications, reveals that Alarcon believes that it is not easy being a Mexican. Nonetheless, such actions are not actions selected by the Mexicans themselves but rather actions that are often unappealing that the society has subjected