The X In My Name Meaning

In his poem “The X in My Name,” Alarcon brings life to an action that was once thought of as common. The poem discusses the action of signing an “x” in place of one’s name. This took place more commonly when education was not something that was mandatory in the United States. In order to understand the poem as a whole, one must look to the society and time period that it takes place. By looking at Alarcon’s “The X in My Name” in a sociological perspective let’s discuss the important pieces of the poem by discussing, the society in which the poem is placed, the act of signing one’s name with an “x”, and the impact that action has on a person. Let’s first discuss the society in which Alarcon’s poem is taking place. This piece was most likely placed during a time period when people were not getting paid adequately for their work. This can be inferred because the author is of hispanic decent and, although the author was born
Just as Hester Prynne, the main character of The Scarlet Letter, was defined by the “A” that she was forced to wear, so were people in society by the “x” they were forced to sign. In The Scarlet Letter, the mark that Hester was forced to wear was described as something that is more than a mark, "Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart” (Hawthorne 6). It is something that effects the entire being of a person because it is more than a mark but more a part of them. The author of “The X in My Name” calls the mark, “the poor signature” and that is exactly what it was (Kennedy 935). It was the signature made by the people who were either born into the wrong race and/or too impoverished to have adequate education. It was a mark that defined a person more than just by it’s importance but by the name that it gave those that used