How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent Summary

Language: More Than A Means Of Communication

How does language impact each character from our readings, and what is the significance? A common theme within our various texts this semester was that of the importance of language. Not only is language a basis of verbal and written communication, but a deeper symbolic aspect of one’s own true identity. This piece will discuss include the significance of language to each character, what it personally means to them, as well as the conflicts they face with their specific means of communication.

Julia Alvarez’s How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent was our first reading that displayed the importance and hardships of language. We are introduced to the main character, Yolanda, who had returned from

her home country of the Dominican Republic for the first time in over 5 years. The first encounter with the significance of language follows a scene of her search for guavas on the countryside. After getting a flat tire, Yolanda was approached by 2 men.

She was frozen with fear when they asked her if she needed any assistance, hesitant of their intentions. “...Her tongue feels as if it has been stuffed in her mouth with a rag to keep her quiet” (pg. 20). Living in the United States prior to returning to the Dominican Republic, she replies to the men in English as opposed to the native tongue of Spanish. The end of this scene leaves us with this question: Why does she have such distrust for these men and why did she revert to English? Upon analyzing, replying in English was almost a defense mechanism Yolanda had developed, as she felt more comfortable acting as an outsider in her own country than a native. This foreshadows the struggles Yolanda will face regarding language and her own identity. Was she American or Dominican? In the Chapter “Joe”, readers experience her preoccupation with language and the different methods she conveys her thoughts through the emphasis of words. We are brought back into time as Yolanda reminisces of her and her lover, John, playing a word game near a pond. Here we experience Yolanda referring to John as the pond, and her as the sky. John argues this by explaining that Yo, her nickname, does not rhyme with the word sky (pg. 72). Yolanda’s

fixation of language leads her to explain that Yo is pronounced Joe, and rhymes with the Spanish word cielo, which translates to sky. While speaking to her parents, Yolanda only speaks in quotations and specific phrases. These actions are essentially what prompted her family to admit her into a mental institution for further evaluation. This chapter emphasizes her fascination with words how it creates communication issues with her loved ones. This communication barrier ultimately destroys Yolanda’s relationships, including her marriage with John. The root of her issues revolves around the words she uses to convey her feelings, which people do not understand. This results in an endless cycle of miscommunication, frustration, and interpersonal broken dynamics.
Raquel Cepeda’s Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina utilizes edgy humor to portray the difficult subject matter of language and racial discrimination to its readers.

In this memoir, the meaning of language is intertwined with the search for self-identity. This book was focused on an experience of perusing her own heritage by the use of DNA and genomics. In Raquel’s instance, or Rachael as her friends refer to her as, language has become a force of conflict and discrimination. Raquel wants to fit in with her peers and uses language as a means to relate. “Rachael, if you call me nigga one more time, I’m going to have to fuck you up” (pg. 71). It is this conversation that causes racial tension between Raquel and her friends. She tries to explain that they are all women of color, regardless of how much darker their skin is than hers. Her friends can’t seem to understand why she likes all that “black shit” (pg. 71) referring to her like of hip hop music. Another issue regarding culture and ethnicity occurs with Raquel’s encounter with Simon, who uses discriminatory comments as a joke. Raquel, who finds great offense to it, takes this use of vulgar language personally. The role of language within this novel displays the hardships and struggles of growing up as an immigrant adolescent in the United States. It emphasizes the racial discrimination and adaptation aspect as well. However, despite all of the hatred and uncertainty Raquel possesses, she begins to develop resilience,

the ability to adapt to new situations. In between the struggle of not identifying as an American or Dominican, Raquel develops the term “dominiyorkian” and defines that as someone who is “a transnational who isn’t all the way American or Dominican but travels between both worlds” (pg. 177). This demonstrates another common theme within Latin American novels within the theme of language-the development of coping mechanism as well as the ability to prevail.
Our third text, Almost A Woman by Esmeralda Santiago identifies the value of language within the first several pages. Esmeralda’s conversation with the neighborhood child raised the question of categories of identity in the United States. In my opinion, New York City is known as the “melting pot” where races and ethnicities live in the same community in hopes to achieve the American Dream. The girl’s conversations imply that linguistics, or language is the basis of identity in America. This is true because language is the initial means used to categorize someone initially. Within their conversation, the girl asks Esmeralda if she if Hispanic. She replies that she is Puerto Rican, and the little girl explained that it was the same thing as being Hispanic. Language relates to Esmeralda’s mother, Mami’s, negative connotations on Americanization. Mami associates this term with the loss of their Puerto Rican identities by adopting new American mechanisms such as the English language and particular dress. It is apparent that Mami is worried that her children will lose their sense of Puerto Rican idenitity as the grow up in New York City, in turn losing a large part of who they are. Mami’s strong ideas on Americanization will eventually cause conflict between their mother-daughter relationships. Esmeralda must grow up in a foreign country with her mother’s ideas on what she should be and the typical American expectations for a young Latina girl.
The role of language is a major aspect of the book, The Meaning Of Consuelo. We are introduced to Consuelo and her younger sister Mili. We quickly learn that Consuelo signifies comfort and consolation and Mili represents energy and a vivacious soul. The girls have to live up to what their name represents. This indicates that language, or the symbolism behind each child’s name is an important piece of the Puerto Rican culture. Patricio, Consuelo’s best friend and the only one who understood her, stopped attending school without warning. Consuelo would listen to her parents talk about Patricio’s problems, and this angered her. She states, “It was then that I began to see language as a weapon of destruction, as well as of self-defense” (pg. 50). It is here Consuelo begins to realize how much words can hurt, and people use language as a means to talk negatively about other people. Consuelo realizes verbal communication can have as much as an impact as physical contact. These are the inevitable incidences that unfortunately occur throughout life. Consuelo is faced with issues regarding race, religion, and gender as she ventures through adolescence. Consuelo does not agree with the norms of Catholicism, therefore wants to find a new religion to hold as her higher power. However, this causes intense conflict within her family, since Puerto Ricans are very much dominated by the Catholic faith. This scene expressed her feelings of wanting to break free from what her family expected of her, and to become her own person. She stated, “ I belong to myself. I was not like my mother. She was ruled by ghosts and their dead words: la decencia, el sacrificio, el deber de la mujer Buena, para la familia. It was time to learn a new language” (pg. 131). A common theme within this read that is similar to other Latin American literature is the struggle of a young girl trying to navigate herself when stuck between different cultures and languages.
The readings this semester have broadened my horizons on the U.S. Latina culture and what it is really like to be a young immigrant moving to the United States. These texts illustrated the internal and external hardships the family endured as the made the move from their native country to America in search for a better life. I found several similarities within these writings. For example, the most recognizable similarity was that these stories took place as a reflective display of the author’s own life. They simply told the narrative of their childhood as it actually occurred to them. By doing so, I believe it made the story feel more personal to the reader. We gained an insight of their real emotions and personal struggles growing up as an outsider. Another correspondence between each text was that the families initially moved to New York City to begin their new life. I believe New York was the city of choice because it had plenty of job opportunities, housing, and a more accepting atmosphere for those of different colors. Unfortunately, racial slurs and discrimination did haunt our main characters throughout their lives, but New York was known to be the melting pot of the world combining blacks, whites, and Hispanics into one community. I also noticed that there are very strong family ties within Latin American families. In each of our readings, the mother played a substantial role model for their children-particularly their daughters. Despite these strong ties, the children seemingly become more distant from their parents as they grow and mature within the American culture. In How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, there is family conflict regarding Yolanda’s sexuality and how it would impact her father’s name and reputation. Esmeralda in Almost A Woman experiences conflict as she endures the pressures from here mother regarding her education and acting. Though each character from our text encountered familial conflict, I believe they were based off good intentions and a “family-first” approach.
In conclusion, the readings this semester have addressed many cultural disparities within the Latin American cultures, particularly between young immigrant girls. A common theme found throughout each text was the significance of language, and what is symbolized to each character. These texts have greatly enhanced my beliefs bout Latinas immigrating into a new country as well as the unjust hardships they endured. Prior to this class, I had little appreciation for the cultural and emotional hardships these young girls witnessed. I can fortunately say that this semester has broadened my horizons and allowed me to appreciate the internal and external struggles these young girls endured, and for that I have a greater appreciation for my upbringing.