#martinespada

Part 1:

Reading the poem the first time, I can assume that he worked a manufacturing job during high school and then eventually attending law school ten years later. This is simply an example of upward mobility because he was successful in attending law school after high school ten years later. Reading over the poem again a second time, I analyzed his word usage and the meaning behind the poem. From what I understand, it took ten years for him to attend law school because law school isn’t cheap. The money he earned working while in high school probably helped pay for his college and only after finally getting into law school would “upward mobility” be acceptable. A quote that made me think would be:

“Sluggish by 9 PM, the hands would slide along suddenly sharp paper, and gather slits thinner than the crevices of the skin, hidden.”

From reading this, I can assume that it was painful to work at his job and often cut himself by accident on the paper while working because he would work late and become tired which would affect him by not being able to focus. Another quote from the poem that relates would be:

“I knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts,”

This quote shows that he will never forget the hard work that he put in to make it to where he is now and he is reminded every day at school. 

Being 16, that would make him a sophomore or a junior which means he finally made it to law school when he was 26. Does that mean that he worked for 10 years at the manufacturing company?

Also, what are other examples of upward mobility?

Part 2: 

I remember coming home from school and watching cartoons. As a kid, that’s one of the things you really ever want to do. As I watched my cartoons, my mind was flooded with toy commercials back and forth because it was a great idea to advertise toys on a children’s channel. I watched commercials with lightsabers and action figures with projectile fists and guns. I watched the kids advertising Nerf balls and guns having the most fun on the commercial. Of course I wanted it but it wasn’t anything to go crazy about. The toys I was seeing wasn’t really up my alley. 

Then it happened. During a commercial during Tom & Jerry, I saw it. It was a remote controlled RC car that flips and twists. “Hammerhead”, I think it was called or something along that manner. I wasn’t into swords or action figures but at the time I remember that remote controlled anything was super cool. I had to have one.

I found every attempt to convince my parents that I needed this toy a failure. It was no where near my birthday and no where near Christmas. At the time, $25 seemed too much for a toy. All the begging but to no avail.

“You’re too old for that.”

“You don’t need it.”

“You’re just gonna break it like all of your other toys.”

“It’s too expensive.”

“Wait until it gets cheaper.”

On his first visit to Puerto Rico,

island of family folklore,

the fat boy wandered

from table to table

with his mouth open.

At every table, some great-aunt

would steer him with cool spotted hands

to a glass of Coca-Cola.

One even sang to him, in all the English

she could remember, a Coca-Cola jingle

from the forties. He drank obediently, though

he was bored with this potion, familiar

from soda fountains in Brooklyn.