Monday, November 3, 2008

How the Garcia Girls Lost their accents

How the Garcia Girls Lost their accents

I really liked this book I haven’t finished it but so far I’ve been enjoying it a lot. I think compared to the other book it cover issues that affect more people that move to USA. Especially those who are young enough, to assimilate the new culture. I believe that those that move a little older don’t lose much identity they know who they are, either Mexicans, Salvadorians, Nicaraguans, Cubans… and so on they have an identity. In this book it focuses more on those that come younger to the USA and are no longer one nationality but a mixture of two, and how they battle between roots and influence of the new culture. We see this a lot in the story about Yolanda who refuses to sleep with Rudy, in this story we see a battle with the new culture which does not condemn this type of behaviour versus her roots which influenced by catholic beliefs condemns sleeping around. She says “ I would never find someone who would understand my peculiar mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles.” She feels like she does not fit in and I think one of the major themes of the book is finding one’s own identity. And the fact that they keep on traveling back and form the USA to the Island shows that they have not found where they belong, because they keep on doing it even, when they are not forced to.
In the style of writing I found very interesting that Alvarez besides writing both in English and in Spanish he also incorporates a lot of Spanish sayings like “with patience and calm even a burro can climb a palm”(135) In general I really like this book.

3 comments:

Jacqui said...

I have really enjoyed this book as well...

The theme of finding one's own identity is so relevant to people of any culture at any time...and so I really appreciate how one can take those issues of finding identity and apply it to today's world, while relating it to your own life as well.

deanna-maria said...

I also find that I can relate to this book more because it does deal with younger people immigrated and trying to assimilate into a foreign culture. Also, it does help that this book takes place in an area I am familiar with and that it is more modern than the other books before.

I also appreciate that she mixes her words in Spanglish as the cultures themselves mix.

delara said...

Nice, Nice! I totally agree with everything you have said. I was very impressed with Cisnero's styly of writting and of course Marti's. there were times that i underlined what Cisneros had written and I would go back and read it and be like " wow that so beautifully put into words". Alverz's writting is mas "sencillo", but simple or sencillo doesn't mean it's bad, or weak. It's just different. I could relate to some of women's problems in Cisneros book, but in the case of Alvarez sometimes I feel like she's telling my tory. I can sooooo relate to it. I was 12 when I moved to canada, and I've gone through so many of the same things as the 4 girls have gone through. Moveing back and forth, don't know where my home is. I have found out that my I don't belong to one country, and I have different cultures and costums. My mother tongue doesn't mean I'm necessary bettr at it. I express myself differently in different languages. i celebrate all the canadian holidays, and the ones from my own country just as seriously. I guess the problem the chicano women were facing was a bit far away from my reality, and it was hard to imagine thoses horrible situations that they had to go through. but How The Garcia Girls Lost their Accent seems more realistic to me.