Exile

Exile

By Julia Alvarez

The night we fled the country, Papi,
you told me we were going to the beach,
hurried me to get dressed along with the others,
while posted at a window, you looked out

at a curfew-darkened Ciudad Trujillo,
speaking in worried whispers to your brothers,
which car to take, who’d be willing to drive it,
what explanation to give should we be discovered …

On the way to the beach, you added, eyeing me.
The uncles fell in, chuckling phony chuckles,
What a good time she’ll have learning to swim!
Back in my sisters’ room Mami was packing

a hurried bag, allowing one toy apiece,
her red eyes belying her explanation:
a week at the beach so Papi can get some rest.
She dressed us in our best dresses, party shoes.

Something was off, I knew, but I was young
and didn’t think adult things could go wrong.
So as we quietly filed out of the house
we wouldn’t see again for another decade,

I let myself lie back in the deep waters,
my arms out like Jesus’ on His cross,
and instead of sinking down as I’d always done,
magically, that night, I could stay up,

floating out, past the driveway, past the gates,
in the black Ford, Papi grim at the wheel,
winding through back roads, stroke by difficult stroke,
out on the highway, heading toward the coast.

Past the checkpoint, we raced towards the airport,
my sisters crying when we turned before
the family beach house, Mami consoling,
there was a better surprise in store for us!

She couldn’t tell, though, until … until we were there.
But I had already swum ahead and guessed
some loss much larger than I understood,
more danger than the deep end of the pool.

At the dark, deserted airport we waited.
All night in a fitful sleep, I swam.
At dawn the plane arrived, and as we boarded,
Papi, you turned, your eyes scanned the horizon

as if you were trying to sight a distant swimmer,
your hand frantically waving her back in,
for you knew as we stepped inside the cabin
that a part of both of us had been set adrift.

Weeks later, wandering our new city, hand in hand,
you tried to explain the wonders: escalators
as moving belts; elevators: pulleys and ropes;
blond hair and blue eyes: a genetic code.

We stopped before a summery display window
at Macy’s, The World’s Largest Department Store,
to admire a family outfitted for the beach:
the handsome father, slim and sure of himself,

so unlike you, Papi, with your thick mustache,
your three-piece suit, your fedora hat, your accent.
And by his side a girl who looked like Heidi
in my storybook waded in colored plastic.

We stood awhile, marveling at America,
both of us trying hard to feel luckier
than we felt, both of us pointing out
the beach pails, the shovels, the sandcastles

no wave would ever topple, the red and blue boats.
And when we backed away, we saw our reflections
superimposed, big-eyed, dressed too formally
with all due respect as visitors to this country.

Or like, Papi, two swimmers looking down
at the quiet surface of our island waters,
seeing their faces right before plunging in,
eager, afraid, not yet sure of the outcome.

Summary of Exile

• Popularity of “Exile”: Published back in 1984 in Homecoming, “Exile” is a sentimental poem. The Dominican American poet, Julia Alvarez, shares her memories of setting adrift from the Dominican Republic to America. In this easy-to-read poem, she describes how she experiences the escape from her motherland despite having less knowledge of the world around her. The poem, however, has won global recognition due to its presentation of the ruthlessness of the world from a child’s perspective.
• “Exile” As a Representative of Identity Crisis: Presenting the perspective of a young girl, this poem begins when the speaker describes the alarming situation in her motherland. She narrates a darkened curfew that was imposed on the Dominican Republic, and her family decided to flee to the United States. To make their children calm and content, their parents allowed them to pack one toy for each child, pretending they were going to the beach. In the meantime, her father took account of their route amid tension and chaos. The family drove to the airport and headed to the United States.
  Although she was too young to understand the actual happenings, she remembered her family’s worrisome whispers that gave clues to her parent’s lies. Later in the poem, she explains how her extended family tries hard to fake their appreciation and desperation to keep the children calm and safe. In the last part of the poem, she describes the challenges her family faced in the United States. Her father explained the wonders of the new city to make her feel normal, but the void inside her family could not be filled no matter how hard they tried. They thought of themselves as aliens among Americans and in the American culture. Thus, the poem depicts a forced exile from a young girl’s perspective and her struggle to digest the differences she faced during that process.
• Major Themes in “Exile”: Displacement, loss, alienation, and confusion are the major themes of the poem. This poem documents the experience of an innocent speaker forcibly expelled from her motherland. Throughout the poem, the speaker describes her family’s flight to America and her feelings during this journey. On the one hand, the speaker explains the loss she endured while leaving the only country she has known. On the other hand, she describes how it feels when one has to live with dual identities. Although the family saved their lives, their settlement in a new country brought new challenges such as an identity crisis and cultural clash.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Exile

literary devices are tools that enable writers and poets to pen down their thoughts and ideas with a touch of uniqueness. The analysis of some literary devices are as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “hurried me to get dressed along with the others,” and the sound of /o/ and /e/ in “On the way to the beach, you added, eyeing me.”
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /w/ in “we wouldn’t.”
3. Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. Julia has used this device in the opening lines of the poem to allude to the life-threatening situation of her motherland, such as;

“while posted at a window, you looked out
at a curfew-darkened Ciudad Trujillo.”

4. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “Papi, you turned, your eyes scanned the horizon” and the sound of /n/ in “more danger than the deep end of the pool.”
5. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“And when we backed away, we saw our reflections
superimposed, big-eyed, dressed too formally
with all due respect as visitors to this country.”

6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Julia used imagery in this poem, such as; “On the way to the beach, you added, eyeing me” and “my arms out like Jesus’ on His cross”.
7. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as fear, escape, dual identity, and challenges the immigrants faced.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Exile

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetorical devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
4. Stanza: It is a unit of poetry having a number of verses in it. This poem has seventeen stanzas with each having four verses called quatrain as given in the above example.
5. Tone: It is the voice of the text. The poem shows a tragic, sorrowful as well as optimistic, and confusing tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when leaving one’s country for any reason and enjoying the experience in the new country.

“Weeks later, wandering our new city, hand in hand,
you tried to explain the wonders: escalators
as moving belts; elevators: pulleys and ropes;
blond hair and blue eyes: a genetic code.”