"Alvrez never once allows reader to think growing up in a foreign
culture, expecially the United States, is ever easy."As the tale of the Garcias in
the new world progresses, each of the family members, mostly the girls,
recount in the troubles and the obstacles they overcame. All four had to deal
with the pressures of having Old World parents."(P.186)
As soon as one enters a new environment, they would usually start
acclimating to it while at the same time losing heritage. In the Alverez's "How the
Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents", shows an example of this. This book took place in
Bronx, New York, and consists 15 stories about four sisters, Carla,Yolanda, Sandra,
and Sofia; who are immigrants from Domnican Republic. The 15 stories mostly
emphasize on their childhood and high school life. They come from a strict
family with high morals, expecially their father, Carlos Garcia who depise the
American "ways",also is the antithesis of the Garcia girls.
United States
Map of the Dominican Republic
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo ruled the Dominican Repu...In this novel, the Garcia
girls struggle with fitting themselves into being an American.
"Are you a whore?" the father interrogated his daughter. There was a split on
the daughter's cheeks from the closeness of his mouth to her face."It's none of
your fu*king business!"she said in a low, ugly sounding voice like a snarl of
an animal who could hurt him. (P.30)
The speakers were Carlos and his daughter, Sofia. In the novel, Sofia and
her three sisters were always obedient to their strict parents through their childhood.
While the other sisters continued being obedient, Sofia went her own way. She was
the only one without degrees, the one that ran away. It could be the fact that she's the
youngest out of all sisters, and while watching all three sisters obeying the ways of
her father, she...