¶ … crossings ( a movement categories) personal identity poems. words, border crossing affect person persons poem crosses? *examining language poems *Discuss specific words phrases convey speakers point view / subject ( crossing) Chitra Banierjee Divakaruni "Indian Movie, New Jersey" Pat Moira "Legal Alien" Janice Mirikitni "Recipe." Globalization has made it possible for individuals from diverse backgrounds to interact with each-other without experiencing significant problems, as border gradually come to represent less of a barrier. Even with this, people still feel the effects of living in a multicultural environment as they struggle to define their personal identities while focusing on their cultural background. Chitra Banierjee Divakaruni's "Indian Movie, New Jersey," Pat Mora's "Legal Alien," and Janice Mirikitani's "Recipe" are all poems dedicated at providing society with a better understanding concerning the sentiments people experience consequent to leaving their homes and trying to integrate in a foreign environment.

Divakaruni's poem provides an intriguing view in the life of an Indian family as it goes through a confusing process involving both assimilation and the keeping of traditional values at the same time. The characters in "Indian Movie, New Jersey" are shown expressing disillusionment concerning their expectations of the U.S. The fact that the poem puts across a message concerning how the U.S. is nothing as the film shows makes it possible for readers to understand that the Indian characters in the poem are actually saddened as a consequence of leaving their homes in order to 'make it' on the American continent.

The characters in "Indian Movie, New Jersey" appeared to be transported into a completely different world as they watch the motion picture. It provides the impression that everything is perfect and "wipes from our faces years of America, sons who want Mohawks and refuse to run the family store, daughters who date on the sly" (Divakaruni). The word Mohawk is actually used with the purpose to emphasize how Indian characters have come to be appreciative toward concepts that have nothing to do with their culture. The speaker is particularly disappointed with the...

turned up to be very different from how he pictured it to be. The fact that she watches the film and longs for a different world makes it possible for readers to understand the negative impact that the border crossing had for her. She practically acknowledges that things will never be as perfect as she imagined them and that she needs to settle for a life filled with regrets concerning her background and her failure to adapt. In addition to this, even her need to adapt seems to have changed over the years with her children enabling her to look at matters from a different perspective. While she is somewhat grateful at the opportunities in the U.S., she seems to be saddened by the fact that the country's general environment has a negative influence on her children.
The speaker in "Indian Movie, New Jersey" cannot possibly accept her condition and apparently goes through great efforts in order to instruct her children. It gradually becomes obvious that her leaving her home has had a strong influence on her and practically shaped her personality. While it is difficult to determine whether her children were born in the U.S. Or not, it is obvious that she is extremely frustrated with their failure to connect with their roots. She practically considers them to be ignorant, but it is likely that her frustration is also a result of her failure to adapt.

The speaker is still concerned about her background and cannot possibly accept to abandon Indian traditions in favor of adopting Western values. By analyzing the way that she perceives the film and her life, one is likely to observe the reason for her frustration. By relating to concepts such as "sacrifice, success, love, and luck" as some of the most important ideas that one needs to consider as part of the American dream, the speaker actually wants to emphasize the shallow nature of people looking at the country from an outside perspective. She is disappointed that she did not find what she expected in the U.S. And actually comes to employ harsh attitudes with regard to Western values and individuals promoting them. The 'Dotbusters' and similar institutions play an important role in this situation, as she cannot help but to emphasize…