Isla Poem Summary

In reviewing Vergil Suárez's 1962 poem “Isla”, I find his use of imagery easy to relate to. The use of television shows such as The Three Stooges, Speed Racer, and Godzilla, to bring the reader to the level of the child by providing focal points which many can relate to is refreshing. I can remember many weekends when I would sit in front of a black & white and eventually color tv and watch these same shows as a child.
Likewise, Suárez’s use of descriptive phrases helps to paint the picture of the struggle the storyteller is experiencing. In the phrase, “I understood by the age of twelve what it meant to be unwanted, exiled, how you move from one country to another where nobody wants you, nobody knows you…” (680) (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012), projects a sense of abandonment and rejection. The feeling of being always alone and always the outsider, not familiar with the culture and perhaps the language elicits a sense of compassion and sorrow from the reader.
Here the correlation between the outcast Godzilla and the child is emphasized as both are considered, at least in the child's mind as outcasts, and thus the victory cry is a cry of solidarity. This is unfortunate as the child feels there is no one who he is able to relate