How The Garcia Girls Lost their Accents Part 3

Now, we are at the end of the book. In the third section, it takes place when all daughters are young. The whole book is placed in a structure where the whole story goes backwards. In my opinion, I think Julia Alvarez had a strong reason to do this. She probably put the story this way because she wants to show how the girls grew up and what conflicts or things they dealt with while growing up.

I thought that it was interesting in the last vignette how the kitten is put in the story. Somehow the kitten Schwartz is put in there and at first I thought it was just a regular kitten and I was a little bit confused. Then the second time reading it, I had an A-Ha moment! Supposedly, the kitten is supposed to symbolize the daughters but I still am not completely sure what the drum is supposed to represent. Anyway, I believe that the kitten may also represent events that are going to happen or that the kitten represents Yolanda. For instance, Yolanda feels that when the kitten is stuffed in the drum, it relates to the stress she will feel with her family and her culture, Domincan Republic. As a young girl, Yolanda deals with culture in a way adults or young adults would be worried about.

I find it interesting how the last vignette ties everything together and helps us understand everything that happened in the beginning of the book. Even though I still don't like the structure of the book, it is easier to understand once I get to the end of the book.

PSYCHED! HARRY POTTER NERD!

OMG! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE TO COME OUT!
I have been in love with the saga ever since I started reading the books in 1st/ 2nd grade. I always found the books interesting as well as the  books. Better than Twilight in a heartbeat.

I am super duper upset that the Harry Potter Saga is ending . I also don't like the fact that it is in two parts and not just one movie. The first part comes out next Friday and the second part comes out in July- so far away! the second part has a lot of things that I want to see like Harry looking for Snape and defeating Voldemort and Ron and Hermione's kiss. 2011! That is sort of a while. I wish it would come now but at the same time I am glad the end is not here yet.

I feel bad for the actors becasue they are only known for their roles in Harry potter. Daniel Radclife will probably try to act  more as well as Rupert Grint. Emma Watson and her pixie cut have gone to college- which is a good direction. I hope the movies turn out well and will please other Harry potter fans like me.

GO HARRY POTTER!

Response to Salvation Blog Post

Tonight, I am responding to Justice Toailoa's blog about salvation and the feeling of it. I found some interesting quotes that I wanted to respond to.

What happens to the social outcast that aren't  choosing to fit in and don't want to understand the concept of following the crowd.Yet the ones who are social outcast are the ones who understand the true concept of life. Also when you are chasing after your dreams can it destroy you or benefit you?

I think social outcasts act this way because they are not on top of things like those who feel salvation. It is not always a choice- people place them in this position because they feel they have more power over the social outcasts. Sometimes social outcasts have no choice and have to go through the hell they are feeling. 

I agree with this blog- whst is salvation? What is true salvation? Why do people treat others horribly and judge them so quickly? Why do people who decide to have the feeling of salvation mistreat people? We do so much to get something we want so bad. In the end, there may not be good results. I think people try so hard because they want to feel good and that they have power whether it is over someone or something they are struggling with. Another point Justice brought up in her post is that"we don't  understand what it feels to come from salvation until you have experienced it. This is true, no one can until they experienced it. But we all have and we all either got good results whether it is good for us but bad for others, or we can get negative results.

How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Part 2

In the second part of the book, we now read their lives as young ladies growing up to become women. I find it interesting that the book is in the structure the way it is. In the beginning, we get to find out how they are as older Dominican women dealing with their own  problems whether it is about reputation or their culture. I think the first vignette really related to the purpose of the book and was one of the most important ones.

In Regular Revolution, each of the four young girls have experiences that change their lives.  When they first go to school, they feel like outsiders because the kids are rich and do not respect their culture. The girls are taken out of this school and are sent to American boarding school. To the mother and father, this will help the girls not be involved with those type of issues.The innocence that the mother and father hope the girls keep while being in America does not last very long. The girls decide that they want freedom and to experience things they wouldn't in Dominican Republic. Not every experience gives good results for theses sisters. The girls start kissing boys and smoking marijuana - which is what the mother found out about. Youngest daughter Sofia takes the blame and is sent back to the Dominican Republic.

This does not change the way she acted in America. When Sofia goes to Dominican Republic, she meets Manuel ,who is not a good influence on her. He is sexist and possessive and is practically related to her. When Sofia has sex with Manuel , this upsets Yolanda, Carla, and Sandra. They set her up only to make her realize the bad choices that she has made. Sofia returns to the United States, learning how she upsetted her family and what a scandal is.

There are other vignettes that do talk about their culture and how their loss of innocence impacted them and the people around them. However, I felt that the girls start to lose their innocence and  culutre when they are introduced to new culutres that do not make them feel like outsiders.

Things I hate

This is a blog about the things I hate whether it is this week or last week .

Facebook changes- I hate it when new things get added or things get changed. For instance, the whole chatting department on the left side that tells you who is on and who wants to chat. It was easy because you could see the little profile picture and the name. Now there are all the small profile pictures that make the chat box look like a Rubik cube. Also, when you add a friend but then later on you see that you have one less friend or in the friend suggestions. Then you ask them why did they delete you from your friend list and they are all like" I didn't delete you from my friend list"." And another thing: I hate it when you get notifications saying that a friend answered a question about you and then when you go to see what they said, it says you need more points. You then go look to see how you can get points and that is by either buying or answering random questions about random people  you probably don't even talk too but added anyway. It's like a big waste of time.

.I hate it when people blame you for stuff you know you didn't do. So then you wait for them to realize that they were wrong and they were probably the ones who did it. And then they look stupid at the end.

.I hate it when teachers try too hard to make you like them and its like you really don't. In conclusion, I hate it when teachers move you closer to their desk, thinking that's gonna help because I'm not going to look at you while you teach a boring class and plus you are not the first thing I want to see in the morning.

. I hate it when a new episode of your favorite show comes on 2 weeks later.

.I hate cliques, petty girls, and melodrama

.I hate smart people who think they are better than everyone

.I hate it when the car in front of you is going slow as you rush to exit the freeway. Then when you think nothing is going to be in your way as you exit, the car pulls over.

.I hate it when snack machines take your money and then the snack gets stuck.

.I hate it when machines don't take your dollar

. I hate people being sick at school and then trying to touch you.

.I  hate people who play  or say they love Justin Bieber everywhere I go

.I hate quiz notes (with a passion)!

.I hate rude Highway patrol cops

.I hate it when Glee messes with a song that dosn't need to be messed with.

.I hate people who think they are shit and they look like shit.

.I hate it when people don't let things go and keep talking about the same conversation because they know they are wrong.

.I hate people complain and act annoying by doing it.

. I hate rude people like people who don't give a damn about someone while they are hurt

.And I hate math!

And these are the things I hate this week.

Response: Oscar Grant Case

Not only am I pissed about the case but I am responding to Jackson Follrath's blog about the case. I found the last paragraph interesting:

I believe that this shows the legal system of the United States and how it is operated. A police officer can get away with anything. No matter what, they have an excuse because they have law on their side. This is why so many people are upset about the case

I think that is unfair for what Johannes Mehserle received---- he should have got more. That was involuntarily manslaughter. What he did was absolutely wrong. Even though he said it was an accident, why would you shoot a guy while he is laying  still on the ground. That makes no sense to me. Then he gets less than two years? What is the justice in that?

Now just imagine if Mehserle was black and Oscar Grant was white.  Mehserle would  probably get more than two years.The people who are reading this blog may not agree with me, but if you really think about it there is a total difference. Going back to Jackson's quote, I do think it is is unfair that police officers get away with anything.  But I like I mentioned, it is also about race. Then again , I could be wrong. Maybe if Mehserle was a black police officer, the same thing could happen where he gets less than 2 years.

It is sad how a young black man's life is taken away and a police officer gets less than  2 years-- 2 years!

The Garcia Girls: Purpose

I think the author's purpose is to show how when people travel to different places, they can adapt new lifestyles and possibly lose their culture. The four sisters Yolanda, Carla, Sandra, and Sofia all have different experiences while living in America. Her purpose is to also relate to the title "How the Garcia Girls lose their accents".

I can tell what her purpose is when she describes each other's experiences in the different vignettes. The reader Can understand the emotions of the character and what the story may be about. I can also tell what her purpose is in the story by the details that she puts in the vignettes. A example would be Yolanda and
Sofia with their problems such as Sofia marrying a German man. Yolanda, on the other hand likes to be called by her nicknames like Joe and Yo yo most of the time and has an experience where she speaks English rather than speak Spanish back.

I think the purpose is achieved very well because her purpose really helps make the story clear and let readers know what it really is about. By her quotes and details, they help relate to the title and tell us more about the character. For example, we know Yolanda's complicated love life, the way she feels when she is around her family,and  her experience at college. I also think the purpose was well achieved becasue it talks about history of Domincans and events that happened in that decade.