Show:
Paragraphs 1-10
Paragraphs 10-15
Paragraphs 15-21
Paragraphs 21-24
Paragraphs 24-28
100
How does Alvarez begin her essay in paragraph 1?
She begins her essay by speculating about why she “often imagine[s]” her parents’ lives, particularly her mother’s, “growing up under the absolute rule of Generalísimo Rafael Trujillo”
100
In paragraph 12, what is the impact of Alvarez’s statement that her mother “had” to march?
It reminds the reader that marching is not a choice, and that there would be consequences to refusing to march.
100
What contrast does Alvarez establish around the death of Trujillo in the opening sentence of paragraph 17?
She establishes a contrast between the “external” and the “internal” consequences of Trujillo’s assassination.
100
Who imposes silence on the Alvarez household in paragraph 21? Provide an example from the text to support your response.
Alvarez’s parents impose silence on their daughters. An example of this is when they confiscate the copy of Time magazine that reports the death of the Mirabal sisters.
100
Why did the Trujillo “cautionary tales” work only “momentarily”?
The cautionary tales worked only momentarily because Alvarez loved hearing the stories that were supposed to serve as warnings.
200
What reason does Alvarez provide to explain why she “often imagine[s]” her parents’ lives under Trujillo in paragraph 1?
She believes she imagines their lives because she was spared from having to live under Trujillo’s dictatorship.
200
In paragraph 12, how does Alvarez use specific word choices to emphasize the length of the parade?
Alvarez states that “[t]he parade went on for hours.” OR Alvarez adds the word finally in the phrase “[f]inally . . . the grandstand came into sight.”
200
What is the impact of Alvarez’s choice of the word exorcism?
Exorcism implies a demon or other supernatural figure, suggesting that Trujillo was some kind of monster or devil. OR The image of an exorcism refers to the contrast between “internal” and “external”: an exorcism suggests something internal that needs to be expelled.
200
What is the impact of Alvarez’s choice of the words “mandate of silence” in paragraph 22?
By calling it a “mandate,” Alvarez implies that her mother was acting like a dictator, like Trujillo.
200
Where did Alvarez’s mother learn her definition of disrespect? How does Alvarez’s mother’s definition of “disrespect” develop the central idea of silence?
Alvarez’s mother learned her severe, strict definition of “disrespect” from the dictatorship. This definition of disrespect as “anything short of worship” (par. 24) develops the central idea of silence by revealing that “saying the truth” (par. 25) about family members is forbidden.
300
What is the “true nature” of Trujillo’s dictatorship as explained to Alvarez’s mother by her father? HINT: Look in Paragraph 5 and 6
Trujillo killed or “disappeared” “thousands” of people and ordered “the overnight slaughter of some eighteen thousand Haitians” (par. 5). He is a racist, “cold-blooded monster” (par. 6).
300
What was Alvarez’s use of descriptive language and details to describe her mother’s experience of marching? Name three details and their usage.
Alvarez notes that the sun was “hot” and that her mother “was sure she was going to faint.” Alvarez describes her mother’s dress as “damp with sweat” in the “hot sun.” Alvarez adds the detail that her mother’s feet were “swollen and hurting.”
300
In paragraph 18, what are the “awful consequences” that Alvarez’s parents fear?
Alvarez does not specify in paragraph 18 what these “awful consequences” may be: she leaves the question unanswered, making these “consequences” seem less clear and therefore scarier.
300
What kind of relationship does Alvarez suggest between herself and her mother in paragraph 22?
Alvarez states that she was “a real thorn in my mother’s side,” suggesting conflict.
300
Which specific words in paragraph 28 recall ideas from earlier in the text? HINT: Look at Paragraphs 18 and 20.
The phrase “three Mirabal sisters” and “confiscated Time magazine” recalls the “silence” Alvarez’s parents demanded “about anything ‘political’” (par. 18). OR The phrase “to go after my family, after my father, after her” recalls Alvarez’s mother’s traumatic fears that even after they move to New York her “own family . . . could suffer consequences” (par. 20).
400
If Trujillo only pretended to liberalize the Dominican Republic, what does this mean about his position there when Alvarez’s parents return? HINT: Paragraph 9
If Trujillo only pretended to liberalize the Dominican Republic, what does this mean about his position there when Alvarez’s parents return?
400
Explain whether paragraph 15 is part of Alvarez’s imagined scene. Cite evidence from the text to support your explanation.
Her mother only sees Trujillo from a distance, “a vague figure on the podium.” In paragraph 15, Alvarez writes that her mother “saw, up close, the man.” OR The verb tense changes back from the present to the past tense with “[e]ventually, the parade moved on,” and suggest that paragraph 15 is not part of Alvarez’s imagined scene.
400
How does Alvarez support her claim that “this great country that had offered my parents a refuge had also created the circumstances that made them have to seek refuge in the first place” (paragraph 19)?
Alvarez cites the role of the United States in bringing Trujillo to power in 1916 to 1924, during their occupation of the Dominican Republic.
400
What ideas about herself does Alvarez reveal in paragraph 23? Pick 3.
Alvarez reveals that she talked a lot: “I would not shut up.” She frequently disagreed and argued with her mother: “I always had to answer her back when I disagreed with her.” Her relationship with her mother was strained: “Childhood was rocky, but adolescence was a full-fledged war.” She also reveals that she shares the same name with her mother.
400
What does the word embers in the phrase “the embers of the dictatorship” suggest about the status of the dictatorship?
The word embers describes what is left over when a fire is dying. This image suggests the dictatorship is not powerful like it used to be, but it is not totally gone and could still be dangerous.
500
How does Alvarez use the image of the spark to develop a central idea in paragraph 10?
Alvarez uses this image to develop a central idea of trauma, as “that spark which had almost cost [her] father his life and which he had lighted in [her] mother” (par. 10). Burnt out means they lost a part of themselves to Trujillo, and so gave into him when he “would demand a tribute” (par. 10). OR Alvarez uses this image to develop a central idea of silence because their “spark” was their resistance to Trujillo. The fact that it “seemed to have burnt out” means that they are no longer resisting. They are silent.
500
What does Alvarez mean by the phrase “coming undone” at the end of paragraph 14?
The phrase “coming undone” (par. 14) suggests falling apart, and possibly losing power.
500
In paragraph 20, what consequences does Alvarez’s mother fear as a result of her husband’s activities? Pick 2.
Alvarez’s mother is afraid that the SIM will find out about Alvarez’s father’s activities. Alvarez’s mother is afraid that “family members remaining behind” in the Dominican Republic will be in danger. Alvarez’s mother fears that even in New York, the family “could suffer consequences.” Alvarez’s mother cites the example of Galíndez, an exiled anti-Trujillo activist who disappeared from the New York subway, and worries that the same could happen to one of her family.
500
What connections does Alvarez draw between her mother and Trujillo? Consider evidence about Alvarez’s mother in comparison to descriptions of Trujillo earlier in the essay. HINT: Look at paragraphs 24 and 3
Even though Alvarez’s mother despises Trujillo, she mirrors some of his behaviors in the tactics she uses to control Alvarez. For example, Alvarez’s mother threatens to “disown” her for being “disrespectful” (par. 24). Similarly, Trujillo uses threats and fear so “parents were afraid to say anything—even to their own children” (par. 3).
500
What does Alvarez inscribe for her parents? How does this inscription refine an idea developed in Alvarez’s “challenge” about publishing the novel?
Alvarez inscribes the note, “Thank you for having instilled in me through your sufferings a desire for freedom and justice” inside her novel. This inscription refines the idea that Alvarez published the novel, even though she was afraid, because she wants freedom and justice.