tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post3516538065466439073..comments2021-09-09T21:16:02.942-07:00Comments on Writing (about) Time: Thoughts Concerning Temporal Play in Contemporary Narratives: How the Garcia Girls Found their IdentitiesMelissa Ameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13372494777317072570noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-52384515300274179882016-01-20T14:47:00.457-08:002016-01-20T14:47:00.457-08:00I'm interested in how you mentioned that we &q...I'm interested in how you mentioned that we "collapse our own narratives into neat little chapters that define us." I never thought about the passage like that, but it definitely makes sense. Even Facebook has that new option to record "moments" or whatever they're called and create these little pretty virtual chapters of our lives to share with others. I think this even extends to our language when we talk about things like "the good ole' days" or "the college years." I'm also interested in what you think about the idea of an immigrant narrative, as you mentioned having experience with it through family visits and your parents. I know some writers are often criticized for things like this because they package immigration and the unfamiliarity of a new country in ways that appeal to popular culture (like Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club"), but I felt like Alvarez wasn't approaching the subject the same way Tan was. Tan often relied on stereotypes or something like the sensual details of an Americanized Chinese meal to get the authenticity across, whereas I felt like Alvarez was giving us so much more into the psyches and personalities of the characters and their individual, yet collective familial, journeys. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183103205359229576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-53461759302096227772016-01-19T19:44:53.283-08:002016-01-19T19:44:53.283-08:00I like your idea that "Alvarez forces us to b...I like your idea that "Alvarez forces us to become the Garcia girls"; I know that I had to pay close attention to every detail. To find the parts that tied together; it was difficult to become four girls without taking copious notes. But I agree with you that the combination of third person limited and first person narrations give us a chance to walk in the steps of each daughter. I have not read Yo! the sequel or parallel novel, but I understand that it includes Mami and Papi as narrators for some chapters, too. While I can relate to the general coming of age aspects of the story, I cannot relate to the immigrant experience that you can. A number of articles have been written about this novel an immigration or (im)migration literature especially because of the reverse chronology. (I will be sharing a couple of these in class Wednesday night.) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17140944873258565457noreply@blogger.com