To
children, the world is a wondrous place filled with adventure at every step.
This makes the colors seem brighter, but the hardships furthermore
arduous. Margarita Engle, Cuban-American
poet, addresses this idea in her memoir entitled, Enchanted Air. Here, she entails her childhood, going back and
forth from Cuba to America by plane; her story takes place during the Cuban
Revolution (1953-1959). In two poetry-styled chapters toward the beginning of
the memoir, Engle employs personification, and the repetition of the word “two”
in order to convey her dreams as a child. While viewing the sights of the Cuban
environment, Engle describes the plants using personification. She says,
“trumpet flowers love to move around, dancing […] maybe I will be a scientist
someday, studying the dancing plants of Cuba” (Engle). Referring back to the
idea of a wondrous world to the eyes of a child, Engle presumably details the
flowers as dancing because her young imagination is able to view the beauty of
the flowers in this unique way. Also, her interest in the personified flowers
spark her dreams of becoming a scientist; Engle connects an image to her
longings in life. In addition, after mentioning the fact that there are two
ways of talking between the two countries which Engle are affiliated with, she
employs the repetition of the word “two.” She mutters, “Two countries. Two
families. Two sets of words” (Engle). The fact that Engle has two sets of
(everything) is unfortunate because it represents the fact that she has no solid
home. In comparison to her dream of becoming a scientist as an adult, Engle
also has a dream that one day she will have that solid home. Furthermore,
because Engle has “two sets of words”, it’s like she has two personalities to
play in regards to her two cultures. Overall, Engle’s dreams lie within the
future of her cultures.
Visual: http://chamindra.blogspot.com/2011/07/dreams-of-child.html
Caption: "Dream of a Child"
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