"How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" was written by the Dominican novelist and poet, Julia Alvarez. The book revolves around the life story of the Garcias, a family of sisters, a mother and father who emigrate from the turbulent Dominican Republic of the 1950s. Mr. Garcia, their father, is fleeing the imminent danger of his country, following the assasination of their cruel dictator, President Trujillo. Mr. Garcia was actually directly involved in leading the assasination of their president, and is, therefore, running for his life with his family in tow.
This book isn't solely about their plight as survivors of the regime, so much as a combination of themes. One central theme that emerges is that of coming of age. Yolanda, one of the sisters, is the dreamer and the schemer of the family. She lives between two worlds---the first being that of her Dominican identity, and the second is her new "American" status that she is just coming to terms with. The sisters don't look like or act like their "Yanqui" counterparts (i.e. U.S. born whites who make fun of their accents). They must struggle to gain acceptance and tolerance in a--sometimes--cruel and intolerant world. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's Ethnic/Regional/Religion Other aspects: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast The Americas (not US): Yes The Americas: - The Caribbean Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |