1. In the Novel How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents the character Sofia's personality has long been shaped by the ideals and occurences that have happened in her life. Growing up in a culture in which sexuality is something to be hidden rather than openly displayed, and where women are to take a subsurvient role next to men, has proven to be a main point in developing Sofia's independent and arguabley rebllious personality towards her family/father. Also being exposed to American culture which contrasts the one in the Dominican Republic have aided Sofia in her independent ways. Examples of her independence can be found in her marriage to someone outside of the Dominican race (her German husband Otto) and her openness with sexuality that she displays regardless of the audience (the stint at Carlo's birthday party). I think its safe to say that this character is someone who has neither moved forward nor moved backward from her experiences. Her resentment toward the ideals of her culture/father keep her stuck in a state of constant rebellion , while her exposure to other cultures allow her to rise above the potential opression she feels is being put on her.
2. An example of positivity in the novel would be when Carlos finally agrees to come visit Sofia and her family. The conflict that exists in the story between Carlos ans Sofia plays a major part in the novel and also in developing the two characters. Although it took a while for Carlos to agree to come visit Sofia and thus visiting his grand kids it is a positive that he was able to come to a point in which he was willing to temporarily put aside their differences. The visit did not particularly go well, in the sense that although Carlos came to visit yet he still managed to impose his view upon the Sofia and her family (which essentially is the source of conflict that kept existed between Carlos and Sofia in the first place). One would not tipically recognize this as an form of positivity , however Carlo's visit did show an example of the turn in the positive direction for the relationship between the two, because temporarily they attempted to get along.
3. As "Garcia Girls" is a story of identity, and to some extant, race, how do you feel about the "national conversation" (media-driven) going on today regarding these same subjects, in the Jeremy Lin Story? If you're unfamiliar with Jeremy Lin and his story, Google it. It might help to get some background prior to reading what I've seen as one of the better articles on the topic. This writer is not only speaking about Lin, but about how we view race in 2012, how we look at our own identity and how we still need to gain an understanding of the various ways we look at race in society. 10 Lines:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7601157/the-headline-tweet-unfair-significance-jeremy-lin
Diamond great job on identifying Sofia's overall character. It is clear her experiences sexually and mentally have really shaped who she became. In the end though I would have to disagree with you by saying Sofia has moved backwards because she has had so many opportunities to reconcile with her father and yet in the end she continues to make him upset. Secondly i believe Carlos agreeing to come visit Sofia was extremely positive because that was a main issue between them that was finally being reconciled. Finally Jeremy Lin doesn't want to be connected to his race he wants to be appreciated for his skills as a basketball player which can be directly related to Sofia and her identity struggles.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you picked Sofia to talk about in the novel as I picked the same character. I think you did a good job of displaying her overall character and how she learns from her past actions. I agree that with all the things she has been through, she has shaped herself into a mature, young lady. However, I disagree that she has moved backwards because I think that she has developed a better mental stability through her past actions. I also agree that you thought a positive part in the book was when she was able to make good with Carlos again. I think this was for the better of her situation and for the rest of the family. Finally, I disagree that you think Jeremy Lin wants to be connected to his race because he is just doing it for the glory of the game. He even once said that he does not enjoy this spotlight because he just thinks the team deserves it, not a certain individual.
ReplyDelete