ipl-logo

Summary Of Fish Cheeks And Nombres By Julia Alvarez

810 Words4 Pages

Sometimes being from a different heritage than everyone else can be hard. This is shown in Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan and Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez. In Fish Cheeks Amy is embarrassed when the ministers family comes over for a traditional Chinese Christmas dinner. Amy is embarrassed by her family's unique customs and foods. In Names/Nombres Julia moves to America from the Dominican Republic and faces issues with her name. Julia wants to go by an American name but feels different because she's from a different heritage than her friends. Both Amy Tan from Fish Cheeks and Julia Alvarez from Names/Nombres learn significant lessons about self acceptance and learn to appreciate their culture. In Fish Cheeks, Amy Tan deals with not feeling confident …show more content…

When Julia arrives at immigration in New York City the officer pronounces her last name, Alvarez wrong. Julia immediately wants to correct him but decides against it because she doesn't want him to not let them in. When Julia arrives in New York she changes her name to Julia but goes by Jewleeah (Pronounced Hoo-lee-ah) at home. Julia doesnt know whether or not to correct her friends when they pronounce her name wrong. “I wondered if I shouldn't correct my teachers and new friends. But my mother argued that it didn't matter.,” (1)As Julia gets older she just wants to be like everyone else with an american name so she can fit in. “My initial desire to be known by my correct Dominican name faded. I just wanted to be Judy and merge with the Sallys and Janes in my class.,” (4) This is much like Amy in Fish Cheeks because she also doesn't want to be different but wants to fit in with all the other Americans. Although Julia has an American name her accent and skin color shows that she is not American. Much like Amy in Fish Cheeks Julia also became embarrassed of her family although not as much by their behavior but by their names and looks. “How could I introduce them to my friends? These relatives had such complicated names....,”(5) Similarly to Amy JUlia learns a valuable life lesson to accept who you are and although you can change your name you can't change who you are and where you come

Show More
Related

Brief Summary Of Julia Alvarez's In The Time Of The Butterflies

994 Words | 4 Pages

Part II of the historical fiction novel In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez focuses on the Mirabal sisters as they grow up. Dedé brings us back to a volleyball game with Lio and Jaimito. One day, when Dedé is reading her mother the newspaper, she accidentally reads too much and her mother learns Lio is a communist and he is no longer allowed in their house. Because of this, when Jaimito and Dedé go on dates, they pick up Lio on their way. One night, Jaimito proposes to Dedé in her father's car and are surprised to find Lio hiding in the back seat.

Read More

Girls Lost Their Accents And In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

969 Words | 4 Pages

American born but raised in the Dominican. Julia Alvarez a Dominican-American writer has written many outstanding paper, poems, and books but she is most known for How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies. The main theme throughout Alvarez's pieces is being caught between two cultures. Julia Alvarez had to make many transition when she was younger which tested her culture. But it led her to the most incredible parts of her carrier.

Read More

Summary Of How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents By Julia Alvarez

303 Words | 2 Pages

In Julia Alvarez’s bildungsroman novel How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, the concept of American assimilation is vigorously examined. The story highlights the experiences of an immigrant family, who move to the United States. Sofia, the youngest of four daughters finds it extremely challenging to balance out “fitting in” in an american setting, and meeting the expectations of her strict dominican parents. Sofia consistently finds herself struggling to not stick out of a crowd, while still upholding the virtues her parents have instilled her. The difficulties encountered by Sofia are due to her parents putting tremendous amounts of pressure onto her shoulders.

Read More

Analyzing Munoz's Leave Your Name At The Border

161 Words | 1 Pages

In Munoz 's article "Leave Your Name at the Border," the author sheds light on how names can reflect an individual 's ethnicity and perhaps some negative qualities. Munoz also describes how he saw countless examples of people of similar backgrounds having to change their name to a more Americanized version. Munoz even tells a story of how his stepfather adopted an English name for the respect he would gain from others. He proceeds to further explain how the Anglicization of his stepfathers name, from Antonio to Tony, gave him "a measure of access as he struggled to learn English and get more fieldwork. " For Munoz ' stepfather, an English name gave him an American identity—one that many individuals hope will lead them and their families into

Read More

Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

1439 Words | 6 Pages

Having the Courage to Rise Against Imagine this… the United States, a beloved nation, being ruled by one individual, the rules of the country being entirely arbitrary, rules based on violence and force, having no difference between state and government, and last of all having little to no rights or freedom. The picture that was just painted would be the United States if it were under a dictatorship. Currently in the world there are still forty nine countries that are run under a dictatorship. Out of one hundred and ninety five total countries one hundred and forty six managed to escape the fate of a being under a dictatorship.

Read More

Symbolism In The Bean Trees And Mirror Image

1270 Words | 6 Pages

Thought out a persons ever changing life, the one thing that is always consistent is their name. However, sometimes a persons identity will change so much that their own name seems foreign when speaking it out loud. This creates the need for a new name to match a new identity. Kingsolvers The Bean Trees and Lena Coakley’s Mirror Image both apply characterization, conflict, and symbolism to show how identity changes with names and labels.

Read More

A Review Of Julia Alvarez's In The Time Of The Butterflies

1052 Words | 5 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies Book Review The novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a story about the four Mirabal sisters living under the Dominican Republic dictator Trujillo. Throughout the novel, Minerva, Dede, Maria Teresa, and Patria tell their own stories about their lives and how they were lived. In the beginning, an interviewer visits Dede to learn more about her sisters’ famous death. The questions the interviewer asks cause Dede to reflect on the times with her sisters during their childhood.

Read More

In Response To Executive Order 906 Poem Analysis

1157 Words | 5 Pages

narrator thinks of herself as American, not so much Japanese was her friend and the United States government does. Her identity is based on what she likes of her experiences, not so much for heritage. Cisneros 's narrator sees herself as very clearly different from her Mexican grandmother. But others charge for others Mexican

Read More

Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez: Character Analysis

981 Words | 4 Pages

Ask yourselves how much courage does one need to stand up and fight for what you believe in. As Nelson Mandela once said “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it, the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers it”. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. Courage can also be defined as bravery, valor or even heroism. There are different types of courage, such as physical courage and moral courage.

Read More

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Sparknotes

3525 Words | 15 Pages

Olga was the perfect daughter who did not go to college, followed all rules, and put family above anything. While Julia is her complete opposite; troubled, outspoken, and independent, with many dreams of attending college and becoming a writer. Throughout the book, Julia struggles with accepting the role of being a perfect Mexican daughter, handling adolescence and her parents’ high expectations; after all her sister was the one who was the perfect one. However soon she discovers not everything is as black and white as it once seemed and starts to discover the truth behind being the perfect Mexican-American daughter. I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez is accurate with its truthful portrayal of the immigrant experience for Mexicans and the unfortunate history they have held when it comes to deportation, it provides a fair understanding of what the Mexican culture truly is and the values they uphold, while also providing a useful depiction of what it means to deal with mental health moreover giving more insight of the life of a teenage girl who is coping with grief and

Read More

The House On Mango Street Identity Analysis

722 Words | 3 Pages

At the beginning of the novel E. struggles to identify with her name. She describes her name as different from herself and does not want to accept her name as part of her identity. In chapter one of the book E. talks about how she does not feel connected to her name but rather detached "In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters .It means

Read More

The Namesake Gogol Identity

1523 Words | 7 Pages

Imagine yourself caught between two vastly different cultures in America- one you only see at home with your family and the other you see at school and in most other aspects of your life. Would you be able to pick just one culture? You know that choosing one would turn your back against your family, but the other would make you stand out in a crowd. How would you handle this dilemma? Jhumpha Lahiri, author of The Namesake, describes the journey of a Bengali family- mainly focusing on Gogol- who recently moved to America.

Read More

Examples Of Racism In Mango Street

717 Words | 3 Pages

Esperanza is not proud of her heritage, she even wants to change her name. Her friend she meets,

Read More

American History Judith Ortiz Cofer Analysis

618 Words | 3 Pages

Have you ever thought about the phrase “American History” and wondered the real stories that occurred in an individual from the past? Several other citizens of America have, too. The simple answer to the meaning of the title “American History” written by Judith Ortiz Cofer purports that said story illustrates the history of an American citizen and revolves around a significant event from the past. However, the overall message become larger than the straightforward idea. While educating readers on the time placed during President Kennedy's death in 1963, the author illustrates the struggling truth behind the story of an average young individual American immigrant girl in a plethora of ways.

Read More

Summary Of Short Story 'Names/Nombres' By Julia Alvarez

535 Words | 3 Pages

At the beginning, when Julia was just a little girl she was very proud of her heritage and easily frustrated when people were to mispronounce her family's names. This is because she never had a surrounding environment influencing her to change. However, as the story countries and she spends more time in New York City, she develops a likeness for her American names. She pushes away her own self, dismaying her 12 word name and her Dominican family. Julia became influenced by the people around her, all owning an American name.

Read More

More about Summary Of Fish Cheeks And Nombres By Julia Alvarez

Related Topics

Open Document