Names/Nombres, By Julia Alverez

In the story, “Names/Nombres,” by Julia Alverez, a young girl named Julia had strong Caribbean heritage, despite growing up in America . One problem she faces on a daily basis is the pronunciation of her own name. During school hours, she has noticed that many people manage to figure out ways to incorrectly pronounce her name, creating new and similar sounding names. Julia had a hard time getting used to her newfound titles and eventually got called far fetched names like Jules or Judy Alcatraz. Sometimes, Julia’s classmates would question her “exotic” heritage, curious to learn more about her, which only made her more embarrassed and singled out as different. However, years later after her graduation, she brushes off the years she had her name mispronounced and started to view it merely as a laughing matter instead of an insecurity. Julia changed from the beginning to the end of the story, growing more tolerant to how people accepted her self-identity. First, Julia was very hesitant to share anything about her identity and culture. She wanted to blend in, feeling unconvertable any time she was singled out at the beginning of the story. Contrastingly, Julia grew less hesitant and viewed her many names as something to

At the conclusion of the story, she even acknowledges that her friends have been called nicknames, just like her, “my friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which recalled our high school good times: ‘Beans’ and ‘Pepperoni’ and ‘Alcatraz.’ we hugged and cried and promised to keep in touch” (Alvarez 3). Julia opened up at the end of the story. Instead of being ashamed of her nicknames, which only reminded her of how confusing and exotic her heritage was, she uses them to sign yearbooks. She realized that those names had only strengthened the bonds between her friends and created warm memories that they would never