Summary Of The Daughters Of Invention By Julia Alvarez

Assimilating into a new society is difficult and full of plight, but when you are leaving a dangerous country into an unfamiliar one, then that is when all hell breaks loose. “The Daughters of Invention” illustrates the family struggles of Julia Alvarez and her family back in the 1960s. Alvarez’s family left Trujillo’s harsh dictatorship after Alvarez’s father attempted plot to overthrow Trujillo was revealed. Rafael Trujillo was a dictator that turned Dominican Republic into a horror environment. People feared their lives and futures. Therefore, Julia’s family migrated to the United States in search for a improved and strong future. According to lines 114-116, the speaker says, “We were being watched there; he was being followed; he

Cukita’s mother and father’s accents would come into play, especially when they would react in an angry tone. According to lines 269-270, the speaker says, “‘What ees wrrrong with her eh-speech?’ My father wagged his head at her. His anger was always more frightening in his broken English” (Alvarez). When Alvarez’s family moved to New York City, their accents caused trouble in understanding concepts and material. Therefore, Alvarez would struggle in school, similar to Cukita. By extending the pronunciation of the words, the speaker intends to incorporate the struggles of understanding the spoken words that came out of their father’s mouth. Alvarez’s experiences in trying to understand what her parents are trying to say is shown through Cukita’s small side notes after conversing with her parents. According to lines 28-30, the speaker says, “I can tell you right now what the problem always boiled down to: We wanted to become Americans and my father—and my mother, at first—would have none of it” (Alvarez). Cukita expresses the anguish and necessity of fitting into the American society. Her perspective of what could be accomplished was limited to her parents. Cukita and Alvarez both wanted to separate themselves from a place of horror and anxiety, into a society where they fit