The kitten was first violated, which included being stuffed in the drum. The haunting continued in Yolanda life with the reappearances of the mother cat in her dreams. " I hear her, a black furred thing lurking in the corners of my life-(290).
Section 2.
The family moved from the high standards of the Dominican Republic to the small apartment in New York. The move also included adapting culturally and economically to their new surroundings. The dinner outing with the Fannings is a symbol of the Garcia family showing that they are following through and having fun while becoming Americans. "Can you make a little effort tonight?" (169). "The girls forced smiles as they had been taught, but Sandi, in revenge, also crossed her eyes" (171). .
The restaurant they go to happens to be a Spanish restaurant. It is a place where they can be in their own culture; yet still continue to be Americanized. "The Fannings are taking us to a special Spanish restaurant that was written up in a magazine. You girls will like it, I"m sure" (169). The Spanish culture is accepted there at the restaurant, unlike at their apartment, where the superintendent does not appreciate it. "The old woman in the apartment below, who had a helmet of a parlor blue hair, had been complaining to the super since the day the family moved in a few months ago" (170). Mrs. Fanning is a symbol of Americans intruding on the Spanish culture. The restaurant was suppose to be a place of acceptance, but like the Garcia girls are used to seeing, an American is rude and embarrassing. Mrs. Fanning intrudes on the Spanish culture by kissing the girls father and then, while drunk, Mrs. Fanning goes on stage and disrupts the dancing which the girls are watching. .
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Yolanda was taken to the mental hospital because her therapist, Dr. Payne, recommended it. "The doctor thought it best if she checked into a small, private facility where he could keep and eye on her" (79).