The poem “Sometimes the Words Are So Close,”(963) written by Julia Alvarez, discusses how words like a person can be stripped down and made uncomplicated. People are full of layers that surround them everyday. Each layer can be discarded one at a time, down to the bare essentials and in that space, people can be who they truly are. This is also where she explores her voice as a woman. Andrea Schaefer said, in reference to the “33” Sonnet collection, “...Alvarez further explores the themes of her voice taking flight and the powers of language to effect personal and political change. These poems more explicitly address her Dominican roots and her 'childhood in a dictatorship/ when real talk was punishable by death'...” During another interview, Alvarez stated; “...The page is where I learned to put together my different worlds, where I've put down the deepest roots...” Although born in New York, Alvarez lived in the Dominican Republic with her family for her first ten years. Unfortunately, they had to flee back to the United States as political exiles in 1960. On writing, Alvarez stated, “...Not understanding the language, I had to pay close attention to each word -- great training for a writer. I also discovered the welcoming world of the imagination and books...” Alvarez's poem addresses the two worlds she grew up in, the Dominican Republic and the United States and the differences of language in each. Through an implied metaphor, the speaker of the poem unveils herself, a line at a time, while simultaneously building upon the “figure”(7) of the poem to reveal at its core, a woman.
“Words”(1) are often difficult to form into speech, especially when there is a barrier of translating what they mean as opposed to what they say....
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The experiences she had when she was still living in the Dominican Republic combined with the separation from the country she immigrated to and the symbols of the fantasy of American life demonstrate her internal conflict further. The poem makes one wonder how they would have felt in the shoes of the subjects. Having to deal with a new style of living while leaving almost everything from the old one behind is something that many people are lucky to never have to go through. Many people, likely including Julia Alvarez, think they take that for granted. Her purpose for writing the poem was most likely to capture the readers minds and be thankful that these are things that they do not and will not likely have to deal
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Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American poet, novelist and essayist who born in New York USA in 1950. Alvarez works is a representation of her experience as a Dominican in United States. Even more is a reflection of her issues of assimilation to a new culture and internal battle for achieve her own identity. One example of this conflict is her successful poem Dusting. Here she use deferent metaphors to brought her contraction as a new generation with the old generation represent hear by her mother.
Overall, in Julia Alvarez’s “Bilingual Sestina” the repetition sheds light on the author’s situation and the difficulties she faces when assimilating into a new culture. Accustomed to Spanish since her childhood, the language evokes an inviting and comforting feeling for her as it also articulates nostalgic memories. On the other hand, she struggles and faces several conflictions with English as she does not currently have memories or passions that are connected with the English culture. By the end of the poem, the author resignedly admits that she wishes to familiarize herself with English and form new memories that will help make the language significant for her. Although it will not be simple for her native tongue in Spanish to fully comprehend English, it is important that we do not let the nature of words limit us and our perceptions.
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