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Julia Alvarez's Daughter Of Re-Invention

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Imagine two lives: one is boring with people sitting around all day complaining. Another life is exciting with people laughing and complimenting those around them. Two polar opposites, but both situations re-invent the people involved. Within a person’s life he or she may go through hundreds or even thousands of phases. These phases can also be referred to as re-inventions. One might be so bold as to say this appears every day, every hour, and even every minute. People are continuously and subconsciously re-inventing themselves in their everyday lives. Of course, some may say that re-invention can only happen when a person fully knows and understands who they are. This may happen during a time which many refer to as a “mid-life crisis”. The …show more content…

For example, an abusive relationship may result in an outspoken, independent person becoming a shy, dependent girl or boy. The victims may not realize the excuses that they make for their abuser are re-inventing their thoughts; their thoughts about how they deserve the abuse is re-inventing their reactions, and their reactions to protect, or not to protect, themselves is re-inventing their entire selves (Domestic Violence). Another example comes from Julia Alvarez's “Daughter of Invention.” Within the story the daughter re-invents herself based on her mother and father’s re-inventions in America. The daughter and father grow away from each other, while the daughter and mother grow closer together. The mother and daughter are both proud to be in America and succeeding, while the father is loyal to his homeland of the Dominican Republic. The daughter becomes stronger and confident with her new language right along with the mother. The relationships in the writing re-invent just as the people are re-inventing themselves. Being in an abusive relationship or immigrating to a new country are a few extreme cases of how relationships can re-invent a person. A more subtle, and less obvious, cause of re-invention is through a person’s ancestors. How someone’s ancestors lived and what their ancestors left behind can greatly influence their lives because of humanity’s natural curiosity for history. In Maxine Hong …show more content…

Re-invention has thousands upon thousands of opportunities to appear and influence a person’s life. It can happen without a person being aware of the event happening, like what a person eats, how they get places, or what music they listen to. Every decision a person makes has a cost or trade off. The re-invention god does not care if the decision a person makes is about what shoes they wear today or if the person is deciding about which house to buy; the choice shifts all past decisions creating an altogether new entity. A person’s ancestral history and the relationships they are in also re-invent someone. How a person acts with their mother versus their friends are completely different, and each time that person acts differently they create a new persona whether they want to or not. They are re-inventing themselves each time they interact with people to fit the situation they are in. Also, what a person’s ancestors did influences the person’s decisions today and all future decisions. If an ancestor had a huge family, perhaps that will make a person want a huge family. If an ancestor died and the family is quiet about it, perhaps the person will investigate and talk about it with others, like in Maxine Kingston’s personal essay. Re-invention is not a one and done deal. Re-invention occurs throughout an entire lifetime without people being aware of

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