Question

Read the poem below by Pat Mora. Look for the author's purpose as you read.

“Legal Alien” by Pat Mora

Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural,
able to slip from "How's life?"
to "Me'stan volviendo loca,"
able to sit in a paneled office
drafting memos in smooth English,
able to order in fluent Spanish
at a Mexican restaurant,
American but hyphenated,
viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,
perhaps inferior, definitely different,
viewed by Mexicans as alien,
(their eyes say, "You may speak
Spanish but you're not like me")
an American to Mexicans
a Mexican to Americans
a handy token
sliding back and forth
between the fringes of both worlds
by smiling
by masking the discomfort
of being pre-judged
Bi-laterally.

Write a response identifying the author’s purpose of this poem? Give at least two examples of evidence from the poem and explain how they support this purpose.

Answer 1

The author’s purpose is to show the emotional strain and social marginalization of people who live between two cultures — to reveal how being bilingual/bicultural can mean belonging nowhere fully and being subject to prejudice from both sides.

Evidence 1 — the title and key line: the oxymoron “Legal Alien” and “American but hyphenated.” These phrases present a paradox: legally and linguistically the speaker is American, yet still treated as an “alien.” That contrast highlights the poem’s point that legal status and language skills do not erase social exclusion.

Evidence 2 — how others view the speaker: “viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic, perhaps inferior, definitely different,” and “viewed by Mexicans as alien (their eyes say, ‘You may speak Spanish but you're not like me’).” These lines show that both groups judge and exclude the speaker, supporting the purpose by demonstrating the double prejudice that creates isolation.

(Additional support) The repeated “Bi-” words — “Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural” and closing “Bi-laterally” — and the image of “sliding back and forth / between the fringes of both worlds” reinforce the theme of painful duality and the emotional labor of “masking the discomfort / of being pre-judged.” Together, these elements make clear Mora’s aim to expose and evoke empathy for the liminal, marginalized experience of bicultural people.