Summary Of Small Change By Julia Alvarez

Miranda Harrison

Mrs. Brown

Advanced Literature

December 15th, 2016

Works of Julia Alvarez and Her Life Multicultural American writers have contributed many works of literature that we reflect on to gain insight of other origins and backgrounds of differing cultures, along with the way people from those cultures lived. These writers connect their lives to their literary works in order to present the differing cultures, mannerisms, and ways of living that they have experienced, as well as the insight to the results of their actions. Julia Alvarez, for example, has several short stories and novels that show the life of a Dominican-American woman and the connection from her works to the way she had lived her life. Julia Alvarez shows the theme

The exact statement reads, “She knew if she showed the slightest interest, the afternoon was lost. Everywhere they went, the two women were pursued by children, old people, youths begging for small change,” (Alvarez). The similarity to the author’s life is that the main character wanted to keep to herself, along with her friend. Alvarez, upon migrating to America, became very introverted because she spoke a different language and had a different skin color, making her a very introverted girl, showing that the two stories had a strong connection to the introverted mindset of a foreign girl who sought to be alone if she could not find acceptance. Another piece of the story says that the women looked somewhat wealthy because they were city girls, which resulted in many people asking for change, money, or valuable items that could be sold. Alvarez says that the women, “had given out coins, hoping to be left alone after their donation. But as the week progressed, the crowds around them only increased.” In addition to this, Alvarez also adds, “These women were from their own country, city women with good hair and light skin.” These statements explain the change in wealth that Alvarez went through in her change from the Dominican Republic to the United States. In her native country, an article

The main character passes by a small girl and wonders why she has her mouth covered by her hands every passing day, eventually stopping to ask her to visit her house when she had the time. The text reads, “On the road up the mountain to their place near Manabao, they always see these little girls standing in doorways with their hands clapped over their mouths....This time, when they see a little girl standing in a doorway in her green shift, still wet from doing the wash, she says, “Stop, I’m going to ask her what’s up.” (Alvarez). Similarly, in her life, Alvarez had to attend school, with a language that she was unfamiliar with, and learned that the children, “were not very welcoming.” This evidence proves that not very many people were willing to cope with the new girl with strange skin, languages, and attitudes, making it hard for Alvarez to fit in, later deciding that becoming introverted was