Theme: I agree with Jessica Parra that the main theme of this poem is expectation versus reality.
The immigrants come to the new world looking for a better life yet once they get here it's nothing like what they had hoped for.
Tone: Jimmy Santiago's tone is depressing. He feels like the immigrants coming in are just wasting their time and that they're going to be sitting down remembering the good old days. He believes that nothing will change for them except the place they live.
Mood: When reading this poem, I felt bad for the immigrants because like Jimmy Santiago said, they are, "each with their heart open hoping they'll get a chance to change their lives.". In reality there isn't much change for them.
Devices:
Metaphors
"We are born with dreams in our hearts"
We are not physically born with dreams in our hearts, Jimmy Santiago is trying to tell us that we all have something that we look forward to or want to achieve.
"We came here to get away from false promises, from dictators in our neighborhoods,"
Jimmy Santiago is referring to the police who obtain power by force: arresting, shooting, and hitting people.
"Me cell is crisscrossed with laundry lines"
Jimmy Santiago isn't in a cell, he is referring to his house. He feels like his house is a cell.
Simile
"They used common sense like scholars use glasses and books to reach the world."
He is comparing smart students to scholars.
Overall this poem was great! Jimmy talks about his personal life and how the lives of the immigrants coming into the new world will not be changed drastically like they had hoped. he creates a mood and his tone is serious and depressing. After reading Jessica Parra's interpretation of the poem I got a better understanding of what the poem was about. I realized some things that I didn't even notice the first time reading it.
