... . One critic remarks, "The idea of "losing" one's accent is nothing but a metaphor: a symbol of cultural abandonment." Indeed, there is another facet to the language being used. "A second leitmotif also colors the plot - her indomitable need to describe, in literary terms, her feelings and immediate milieu (Stavans "Daughters 8)." Another believes that Alvarez's characters are "of an oral ... seems that her schooling and professional role in English previous to her writing career has tainted what would have otherwise been a refreshingly bold style. Alvarez has changed from the young, fre...

• Word Count: 2799
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... from Julia Alvarez's book "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents". The text talks about a Latin family forced to move to New York because of the existing dictatorship in their country. The main character in the story narrates this transition from one culture to the next, and the hardships the siblings in particular had to endure in their quest to fit in and become equal members of the American society. I was immediately interested in the story, especially because the family discussed in the story was Dominican, and ... I found that my values were not unlike those of the characters. Fu...

• Word Count: 435
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School