A Latin Christmas Essay

In Martin Espadas Latin Night at the Pawn disclose, the poet examines the Latin glossiness during Christmas time in a young, but still exploitation community of Latino immigrants. The song proposes that during few time in America, people of Latino descent could non enjoy themselves during the holidays as they would if they were in their own country. Therefore, the theme of the numbers is heavily influenced by the demise of Latin finale in America. Espada augments his rime to guide the theme clear by victimization the following elements of poetry diction and t angiotensin converting enzyme, symbols, and imagery. style and tone play a particular role in Espadas poem. In the first line, Espada uses what I think to be the most important member in the whole poem, apparition, to bring active a vision he has of a salsa band through the window of a loan office. The word apparition room a shadowiness corresponding image. By evaluating this word and its context, the poem itsel f has created a tone right away. We rear say that the mood of this poem is in truth gloomy and depressing when both one stooge see is a ghost and nothing else. The poem then continues with descriptive words to describe other looks. For instance, the word appear is introduced. The word gleaming means to shine brightly. By introducing this word, the poet draws emphasis on how important this salsa band is to him during Christmas. However, locked in the shop are gleaming instruments that cant play no more and Christmas to him is leave in utter silence.Moreover, Espada mentions two distinct colors, a capitalen trumpet (line 4) and a silver trombone (line 5). Both silver and favourable help represent the time of Christmas. close to all Christmas trees use silver and gold ornaments as a decorative feature. Also, the poem ends with another word worth noting, morgue. A morgue is a dress where asleep(predicate) bodies are kept. Ironically, during Christmas, we dont associate de molition with such a joyful time. However, in this poem, a connotation for the word morgue could include death. Now, put all these elements together, we can conclude that Espada is revelation a very dark Christmas he had gone through. A Christmas where there was no trumpet blowing, no trombone performing, no congas drumming, no maracas swinging, no tambourines shaking, and that all present was besides the thought of it-no real Christmas.Espada besides uses symbols to just develop his point. The three major symbols in this poem are indeed the pawnshop, the instruments, and the value tags. First, the essence of the pawnshop itself is important because it attests a story, beyond itself. Sometimes money gets in the way of a persons happiness. As a result, we pawn the press we really cherish for a quickly buck. Espada is toilsome to explain that on crystallize of the struggles Latinos face, they excessively must sacrifice the things they love. Second, the instruments tell us a capital bed ab forth the demise of Latin stopping point in America.Instead of being compete and making great music during the holidays, they razz there unused. Espada in his poem creates an undesired feeling. Lastly, the price tags that resemble that of a dead mans toe are equally important. The tickets symbolize the presence of death where there should be life. The Latin culture in the town of Chelsea is completely dead. Latinos rush given up on their culture in place where its not truly accepted. These elements create the point Espada is trying to express.Imagery is also an important aspect to this poem. The poet creates imagery that attacks several senses and by doing so, it also helps pinpoint the importance of different ideas. Espada writes, gleaming in the Liberty loan pawnshop window, (line 2). As one reads, you cant help but imagine seeing this bright light coming out through a window and presentation you a salsa band. Furthermore, Espada mentions several instrum ents. With this inclusion, one can imagine hearing the sounds of these lovely instruments playing coherently and in sync together.However, Espada also writes, all the price tags dangling like the city morgue ticket on a dead mans toe, (lines 7,8,9). This image develops a kind of unemotional and nervous feeling about whats actually going on in the poem. All in all, by pose these sources of imagery together, you notice what the poet is trying convey. Espada is rough drawing our attention to a salsa band and all of its instruments, but in the end things arent always what we want or expect. The Latino culture is nothing more than an illusion, in a land that does not discretion its immigrants well.Thus, in Latin Night at the Pawnshop, Espada creates a poem that expresseshis concerns about Latin culture in Massachusetts in the late 1980s by exploitation different elements of poetry. The power of diction and tone, symbols, and imagery, meliorate the central theme the poet wants to ma ke. Espada does a great job converting one simple moment, into a thousand words and ideas.