Martin Espada Essay

       
         Discrimination is an issue that affects and has affected so many people in this world. It is too important to be ignored. In Martin Espada’s poems Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877, Revolutionary  Spanish Lesson, and New Bathroom Policy at English High School, the speaker explores the issue of discrimination in depth, showing us the people and cultures who are affected by it and helping us understand how wrong a situation where certain people arebeing discriminated against or victimized is.

The poem Revolutionary Spanish Lesson is about how the speaker feels hurt by people who mispronounce his Spanish name. In the poem, s/he says “Whenever my name is mispronounced, I want to buy a toy pistol, put on my dark eyeglasses, push my beret to an angle…hijack a busload of Republican tourists from Wisconson.” Although the actions that are described are very extreme and unrealistic, clearly part of some sort of fantasy that the speaker has had, this shows how disrespected and offended, s/he feels when people mispronounce his name, or don’t even try to pronounce it correctly. The speaker feels the even if people don’t know him, his name is the most basic piece of his identity, and it is the least they can do to make an effort to pronounce his/her name correctly. Clearly, s/he values name and culture and holds a certain amount of meaning to it.

The poem New Bathroom Policy at English High School is about how the principal of a school decides to ban Spanish from bathrooms because he overhears students using his name in their conversation and doesn’t know what context they are using it in. Although the topic of their conversation is unclear to the speaker, s/he is clearly afraid of the unknown and afraid of what people think of him. He had no idea what they were talking about, but nonetheless jumped to the conclusion that it might be rude, offensive or discriminatory. He chose to ban Spanish because of this.

 The last poem Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877 weighs especially heavy on the topic of discrimination, showing the readers the extent of discrimination in some situations. The poem elaborates on a moment where Vigilanties who have lynched two Mexicanos stand proudly afterwards, posing for a picture with the dead bodies. It says in the poem “…Gringo Vigilanties cheered the rope that snapped two Mexicanos into the grimacing sleep of broken necks.” This line gives us a quite gruesome image of this lynching. And while the reasoning behind this incident is slightly unclear, it almost goes without saying that discrimination is a part of it. They are of course, Vigilanties, people who take the law into their own hands, killing Mexicanos, people who worked for Whites. It is obviously their belief that they should do this, not the laws. Overall, this poem is a harsh truth, a reminder that there are people who can easily do horrible things free of guilt or remorse. This poem is meant to help the reader understand the pain that victims of these acts of discrimination are caused by them.

       In conclusion, Martin Espada’s three poems explore the topic of discrimination in a number of situations ranging in severity. They are told from the perspective of someone who has faced discrimination a lot in his or her life, speaking to other people who have been victimized similarly, while at the same time showing those who have not how much pain these people go through.