- Yolanda is a very interesting character so far in this novel. From her history, I have learned a lot about how she has become the challenged woman she is today. Unlike many other characters in many other novels, Yolanda has not used her past experiences and memories to progress and learn, but has instead on these instances and regressed to a mentally unstable state. Yolanda has had a terrible past with men that has been touched on in the recent chapters. She has been used for pure physical satisfaction and also has left her long time boyfriend. She still deals with the stress, memories and emotional damage. All of this combined has led her to be deemed "crazy" and sent to live in a mental hospital, as advised by her mother, to try and find a way to coupe with life and its trials and tribulations. Overall, readers can clearly see that the strife in Yolanda's life has led her to the state of insanity that she is currently in.
- One of the most basic, but often looked over, positive stories in this novel so far is the Garcia's move to America. While some may look at this move as a bit of a culture shock and somewhat of a difficult adjustment, I would view this as a positive experience in this book. The Garcias moved the America to escape the unjust ruling of the dictator of the Dominican Republic that Carlos Garcia had worked for years to overthrow. They were relatively well-off, due to their high status in the Dominican Republic. In addition, Carlos and Mami's relationship stayed relatively the same and the family was kept intact, in the end, despite minor hiccups that all families with teenagers face. While some people can tell horror stories of their immigration to another country, this one is relatively positive given the context. I would consider this positive motion both person to person (within the Garcia family itself) and also person to society (with the interactions between the Garcias and the new American society).
- I found this article very interesting. I am not very up to date about Jeremy Lin and the identity crisis thereafter, but I thought that this article connected very well to the story of the Garcia girls. Both are a nationality that has often struggled to find where exactly they fit in society. Often, many immigrants find that they must choose between being "white" and being "black", and when they fail to fit into the stereotypical mold that society has cast for these colors, they do not know how to perceive themselves or others. Regardless of what Jeremy Lin's screen name was when he was fifteen, I think, personally, that he must have struggled with a personal identity crisis himself, whether it be big or small. However, this in no way, I feel, should effect the way people perceive his athletic success now. Just because Jeremy Lin is an Asian American, playing basketball, a sport dominated by the African American community, does not mean that he is trying to be anything that he is not, he is just following his passions.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Blog Day 5- 3 Parts & Responses
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I think that Yolanda and the rest of the family has many issues, especially with husbands. Yolanda, in my opinion, should not have went so senile after her and her husband broke up. That showed me that she is not in her right emotional state and that caused her to go insane. I also think that America is way to stereotypical and that everything is based on what race you are. I think that Jeremy Lin proved that no matter what race you are that you can do what ever you want to. He was an asian american and he chose basketball which is normally for black and whites.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about Sofia for the first question but i agree with all of your points about Yolanda. She regressed after her and her husband broke it off. During a break up is using the make or break situation she broke instead of making herself stronger and more independent. I also wrote about the Garcias coming to america as one of the positive stories of the book. They were able to escape a dictator and live a safe life in America and i thought that was really a positive experience. I agree with your statments about how smooth their immigration went. They really did not have to deal with many terrible things like many immigrants. Concerning jeremy Lin i agree with many of your statements i also had allot similar in my post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the Garcia's moving to America is a positive event in the story so far. They are able to restart their lives on a good note. They are given all the advantages of living in America. A fresh start, freedom, and the opportunity to have a decent life. Now, it may not be as nice as their previous lives back in the Dominican Republic, but it sure is better than living under a cruel dictatorship. It may be difficult to adjust to the American lifestyle, but in my opinion, i think it is worth troubles of learning a new language and adapting to the American culture, compared to living in a country where you have no freedom and no say in anything. What you had to say about Jeremy Lin was quit interesting, i agree that many immigrants struggle when they move to America. It is difficult to make a decision on how you want to act in your "new life" in America. They are at a crossroads between adapting to the American culture and fully taking it on, or still keeping the culture of your homeland close to you, and incorporating the AMerican lifestyle into it as well. I think it is a very interesting topic to discuss.
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