A Poetic Experience of Race (Essay Sample)

Student
Professor
Course
Date
A Poetic Experience of Race
The increased immigration rate in the United States is fueled by constant political instabilities in immigrants’ home countries. Most people have been forced to leave their countries and flee to save their lives as immigrants. However, in fleeing, most refugees end up experiencing adverse conditions due to their race and financial positions. Most are subjected to inhumane treatment, while others are called names for being black and poor. The poems “Home” by Warsan Shire and “Mafioso” by Sandra Gilbert highlight the challenges that narrators faced as immigrants in the United States. “Home” by Shire points out the several motivations that inspire people to flee to other nations. The asylum seekers undertake a journey full of grief, vulnerability, and risks to save and improve their lives (Chandra 1). “Mafioso” by Gilbert also highlights the problems experienced by Italians while being transported to the United States in search of improved standards of living. The poem further highlights the disappointments and challenges that the immigrants ended up facing in the United States. Both poets also employ several literary techniques to highlight the experiences of race faced by these immigrants. The poem “Home” by Shire and “Mafioso” by Gilbert employ various stylistic devices to illustrate how political instability displaces people and subjects them to harsh realities while searching for improved living standards.
Political instability subjects individuals to discomfort and displacement. Most individuals have been forced to leave their homes, families, and countries while searching for peace in a foreign land. This is evident in both the poems “Home” by Warsan Shire and “Mafioso” by Sandra Gilbert. Both poets have applied imagery to evoke empathy for the refugees who have been forcefully evicted from their homes by war and other political factors. In “Home” it is illustrated that “no one leaves home unless/home is the mouth of a shark” (Shire, lines 1-2). Imagery has been applied in this case to illustrate how unsafe these homes have been forced to be. The statement “mouth of a shark” is a descriptive and figurative term that indicates the danger and toxicity associated with these homes. Similarly, in “Mafioso,” imagery is witnessed where the poet states that “—was it only you/that they transported in barrels/like pure olive oil/across the Atlantic?” (Gilbert, lines 8-11). As an immigrant, the narrator experienced various challenges when being transported to seek an improved lifestyle in a different area. This imagery illustrates an immigrant’s life in a manner that is quite powerful than when plainly described. Both narrators hail from minority groups, which explains why they were subjected to many challenges while starting life afresh. This even forced most to accept being transported under poor conditions.