Legal Alien

Mora begins “Legal Alien” by asserting two dominant aspects of the poetic speaker’s character: being bilingual and bicultural. She makes a stylistic choice to intentionally separate the prefix from these words, writing them as “Bi-lingual” and “Bi-cultural” (Line 1), both beginning with capital a letter. This choice highlights the importance of the duality within the speaker, who traverses two different spheres of culture and language. The hyphen acts as a visual representation of being split in two—a feeling with which the speaker wrestles throughout the poem (and indeed, throughout their life).

The following two lines demonstrate the speaker’s ease of switching back and forth between the languages of their two cultures. In English, they ask, “How’s life?” instead of the standard “How are you doing?” (Line 2) In Spanish, they state, “Me’stan volviendo loca” (“They are driving me crazy”) rather than the more formal “Me están volviendo loca” (Line 3). Both quotations use colloquial language, demosntrating the speaker’s proficiency in speaking in either language.

However, the lines also contrast each other. “How’s life?” is a form of small talk that stays on the surface of polite emotion with English speakers, whereas the line in Spanish is much more revealing of the speaker’s complex internal state. The lines can be interpreted as the speaker communicating to two different audiences or as a call and response, implying that the English speakers are the ones driving them crazy. Here, Mora employs code-switching where a person (typically from a minority group) shifts from one language or dialect to another depending on the context of the audience or setting. To fit in with either culture, the speaker changes their language. Mora’s choice to code-switch allows a certain privilege for the bilingual reader who can pick up on the speaker’s frustration despite an outward appearance of confidence, while the monolingual reader will either read on without understanding this nuance or be tasked to take on the work of translation.

Mora further juxtaposes the use of each language in the following lines of the poem. In one part of their life, the speaker works in a “paneled office” (Line 4) where they draft memos in “smooth English” (Line 5). In another part, they eat at Mexican restaurants and order in “fluent Spanish” (Lines 6). This contrast demonstrates how each language is used in different contexts of the speaker’s life. English is employed in the more formal space of professional writing and with colleagues, while Spanish is informally used to talk to restaurant workers.

While the first seven lines describe some of the benefits of being bilingual and bicultural, the next lines delve into the central tension of the poem. The poem’s tone shifts from outwardly confident to conflicted as the speaker describes themselves as “American but hyphenated” (Line 8), or American with a caveat. In the implied term “Mexican American,” the hyphen again acts as a visual representation of separation, in this case, the border between two countries.

The border between the two cultures also splits the speaker in half, never allowing them to feel at home on either side. To Anglo people, they are othered as “exotic” (Line 9) and “inferior” (Line 10), but to Mexican people, they are rejected as “alien” (Line 11). Though the speaker can communicate in two languages and conform in certain ways, it is not enough to bridge the gap to be accepted as a whole person. They must always sacrifice a part of themselves when navigating either culture.

The speaker is always “an American to Mexicans” (Line 14) and “a Mexican to Americans” (Line 15), no matter that they have a claim to both sides. Mora uses this paradox to show how the opposing sides are similar in their treatment of the speaker. Each culture is exclusive and by taking part in both, the speaker will always remain an outsider.

Despite their outsider status, there is never a question of choosing one side over the other. Instead, the speaker describes themselves as “a handy token” (Line 16) that slides across “the fringes of both worlds” (Line 18). Mora’s use of diction is essential here, as the speaker is not simply moving back and forth between the two worlds but sliding between the fringes of both. “Sliding” (Line 17) implies ease of movement, but this movement never reaches the center of either culture; they exist only on the “fringes” (Line 18). Therefore, the speaker is not a stranger to staying on the outskirts of both rejecting worlds, preferring to move through life with a fake smile in the face of judgment from both sides. They are isolated as an outsider and are never able to fully be themselves in the presence of other people who cannot make sense of their dual nature.

The poem’s final line harkens back to the first line with the word “Bi-laterally” (Line 22), once again split as a stylistic choice rather than a grammatically correct one. “Bilaterally” means two-sided but also has other connotations in various contexts. In a political context, the word refers to something affecting or involving two countries. In a medical context, the word means to affect both sides of the body. It can also imply the existence of two parts working in conjunction. In the context of the poem, the division between the two countries has caused an internal division that affects the speaker in totality—no matter how hard they strive to be viewed as a whole being simply comprised of two identities.