"Elena" by Pat Mora
Throughout human history language has evolved. From early cavemen to ancient Romans up to present time, there have been countless languages spoken. Despite its evolution, the purpose of language has never changed: communication. Language is the means for two or more people who share a similar culture to relate to one another. Even though language facilitates communication for those of a similar culture, it can become a barrier for two people who are from different parts of the world, who speak different languages. For many immigrants arriving in the United States, assimilating to the new surroundings and culture could be difficult already but learning the language is an even bigger challenge. In the poem "Elena" by Pat Mora, the speaker--a Mexican mother--is portrayed as feeling lonely in America; her biggest obstacle is the disconnection from her family, for she can no longer communicate with her children in her native language. Through the use of setting and language, the theme of alienation that results from language barriers, becomes evident in the poem, "Elena".
Pat Mora uses the setting and language to contrast the tone and further emphasize the theme of the poem. The poem starts off with a joyful memory of Mexico and then shifts off into the speaker’s miserable reality in the United States. Lines two through six, focus on this pleasing memory of what used to be the speaker’s home in Mexico, “I remember how I’d smile / listening to my little ones, / understanding every word they’d say, / their jokes, their songs, their plots. / Vamos a pedirle dulces a mama. Vamos.” From the second line, it is pointed out that this is in fact just a memory, as the speaker can only “remember” these times she had with her children. The use of words such as “smile,” “little ones,” “jokes,” “songs,” and “dulces,” (candy) emphasize feelings of happiness and delight, as the speaker is seen in a comforting and pleasing setting. The speaker recalls herself smiling, which inevitably suggests that she felt some sort of contentment. This feeling of contentment carries on when she speaks of her children, as she describes them as, “my little ones.” This choice of wording is not only affectionate, but also very nurturing and maternal. Ultimately, the diction points towards the speaker’s close and loving relationship she had with her children in Mexico. It was in this setting where she was able to “understand” everything her children said because they spoke her native language, Spanish—“Vamos a pedirle dulces a mama. Vamos” (Line 6). Spanish was the speaker’s language to communicate with her children; Spanish was the speaker’s connection to her children, “But that was in Mexico” (Line 7). This line is pointing out the shift of tone in the poem, as it “was” then, in Mexico that this happiness held true, “but” the setting has changed, and so does the tone, respectively.
The speaker no longer finds herself in Mexico where she was able to bond and speak with her own children. Now she finds herself in a new place—The United States—where she is not nearly as happy as she was before. In fact, the tone of the poem suggests quite the opposite. This part of the poem portrays feelings of loneliness, as the speaker is now feeling estranged from her own family. Before, when she was living in Mexico, she was able to speak to her children in her native tongue and was able to hold a close relationship with them. But, “Now [her] children…speak English,” a language that she is not familiar with (Lines 7-8). It is because of this language barrier that the speaker finds herself incapable of communicating with her own children. From the first line one of the poem, “My Spanish isn’t good enough,” one can picture this woman that feels as though her language is insufficient, for it is no longer useful to her. In hopes of regaining that lost connection with her family, the speaker buys a “book to learn English” (line 12). She knows that she must first learn to speak English to reestablish that connection with her “little ones” that she has been yearning for (line 3).
Although the speaker makes the effort to learn to speak English, she still feels solitary and excluded around her family. As her family sits around the kitchen table to talk, she “stand[s] by the stove and feel[s] dumb, alone” (Line 11). Here, one finds the speaker demeaning herself. The fact that she feels “dumb” even around her own family, suggests that she is no longer in a comforting setting. And even though she is surrounded by her family, she still feels “alone.” The reason the speaker might feel this is way is because she is no longer able to connect or relate to her own children. The speaker feels, “embarrassed at mispronouncing words, embarrassed at the laughter of [her] children, the grocer, the mailman” (Lines 16-18). She keeps herself away because she knows that if she were to make an effort to speak English she would be laughed at for her thick accent. This laughter only brings down her confidence and self-esteem. Because of this that she “takes [her] English book and lock[s] [herself] in the bathroom” and “[says] the thick words softly” to herself (Lines 18-20). Here, she describes words as being “thick,” noting her thick accent that others seem to point out. In these lines, one gets the image of a mother who is secluding herself from her family because she does not want to be made fun of. The fact that the speaker has to practically hide from her family to avoid humiliation is almost revolting. The speaker does not find herself confident in her ability to speak English due to the humiliation she suffers from her children. Because of this possibility for humiliation she does not feel comfortable practicing her English around them.
It is evident that the speaker does not feel comfortable within the confines of her own home, around her own family. The speaker’s inability to speak English has caused her to feel distant from her family, and has stripped her from the close relationship she once shared with her children. The depressing tone, which only briefly changes to joyful during a short memory, and the contrast between the past in Mexico and the present in America are two tools the author, Pat Mora, uses to bring about the theme of alienation in “Elena”. This poem shows how vital language is in terms of communication between people, but more importantly, it shows how significantly it can affect even the closest relationships between a mother and child.
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