The Symbolism Of Thanksgiving In 'Democracy' By Richard Blanco

In “América,” written by Richard Blanco, Blanco splits his poem into five different sections that portray the speaker’s evolution and experience of celebrating Thanksgiving, as an attempt to try to acclimate to American norms. The speaker, a Cuban immigrant, decides “this Thanksgiving we would have turkey,/ as well as pork;” the “pork” symbolizes that the speaker still wants to hold on to his Cuban culture. Despite the fact that “they [his family] agreed,” they are uncomfortable with the stereotypical American Thanksgiving dinner, which is apparent in Section V. Initially, “Abuelita prepared the poor fowl/ as if committing an act of treason,” and during the dinner “the turkey was passed around/ like a game of Russian Roulette,” indicating that
it did not feel natural. However, after they abandoned their idea of having a typical American Thanksgiving and “Tía María made three rounds of Cuban coffee,” they felt more comfortable, since “the entire family/ began to merengue.” The poem ends in the family’s resignation because “they remembered–/it was 1970 and 46 degrees–/in América;” this realization resulted in “an appropriate darkness” filling the room, showing that as much as they wanted to they could not adapt to American culture.