Names Nombres Analysis PDF

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Short Story Analysis of Names. Nombres by Julia Alvarez ...

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Names Nombres (JULIA ALVAREZ) Analysis *This is meant to use as an example for writing a short story analysis, do not use this essay to turn it into class* Vidianis Fernández Rivera

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Being Hispanic often presents a challenge. The language barriers, cultural customs, and mannerisms have not always sat very well within the American population. Growing up in a Caribbean island with scarce resources usually pushes parents to pursue the American dream for their children to have a better shot at becoming someone great. More often than not, this choice leads them to start a new life in the United States of America. “Names Nombres” by Julia Alvarez is a coming of age short story of a first-generation American-Dominican and her struggles with being of Hispanic descent in New York City. Through the author’s use of diction, the audience can fully grasp the protagonist’s character and personality. Diction can be described as the way an author structures their writing to convey a message (literarydevices.com) . In the case of “Names Nombres”, Alvarez makes a statement by writing the phonetical pronunciations of each of her family members’ names as well as their last names. In doing so, the protagonist–Julia— conveys the message that non-Spanish speaking Americans neutralized her namesake in order to make it less Hispanic. This is an issue that bothers Julia ever since she moved back to New York because she links her ancestry and identity to the pronunciation of her name. In the quote “JUDY ALCATRAZ: the name on the wanted poster would read. Who would ever trace her to me?” (Alvarez , p.1) one can perceive that having so many people calling her different names that were not hers made her feel detached from herself. This could be a way of hinting that she had trouble connecting with herself because she felt as if she did not have a name to call her own anymore. By cause of this, the audience can assume that the protagonist is very in touch with her Dominican roots and slightly resents her American friends for Americanizing her identity.

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Aside from the latter, Alvarez uses language from the Dominican Republic throughout the story to prove that she stays true to her roots despite her name being white-washed. Alvarez sprinkles words like “sancocho”, “sarapes” and “rococo” throughout the text to highlight the protagonist’s background and close relationship with her family. Time after time, Julia muses over anecdotes that describe her family’s struggle with becoming American. One of the stories she shares is that of her older sister’s name. She states “My oldest sister had the hardest time getting an American name for herself because Mauricia did not translate to English.” (Alvarez, p.2) She then proceeds to explain how her mother felt out of place with her child’s name “in a sea of Sally’s and Jane’s and George’s and John’s” and opted to present her child as Maureen. This conflict shows that her family members also feel embarrassed to show their roots and naming customs. The fact that the protagonist shared this story shows that she is very close to her family and relates to their struggles. In the story, Julia also detailed some experiences with her external Dominican family. The way Alvarez writes about the protagonist’s family speaks volumes about their culture and how it makes them stand out. The quote, “The whole noisy foreign lot of fat aunts in their dark mourning dresses and hairnets, uncles with full, droopy mustaches and baby-blue or salmoncolored suits and white pointy shoes and fedora hats…” (Alvarez, p.3) calls attention to the fact that Hispanic families are not afraid to express their flamboyance through their clothes. This is something that Julia finds embarrassing because she wishes her family would blend in with the American crowd. This furthermore accentuates Julia’s want to blend in. However, one can see that she also loves and accepts her family despite their extroverted tendencies.

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In the story “Names Nombres”, writer Julia Alvarez Exemplifies what it is like growing up a first-generation American of Dominican descent. Through the author’s diction, the audience is able to get to know the protagonist and how she feels about her white friends censoring her identity. Aside from this, the writer shows what life is like for someone that does not fit the “adequate” guidelines of society. Furthermore, the audience is able to perceive how this microaggression fails to bury Julia’s Dominican heritage. Through this story, Julia Alvarez reached out to many Hispanic-Americans and let them know that they should never be afraid to show exactly where they come from.

References

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Literary Devices. (2017, May 1). Retrieved December 5, 2017, from https://www.literarydevices.com Alvarez, J. (n.d.). Names, Nombres. 27J Schools / Home. https://www.sd27j.org/cms...