![]() The novel investigates themes of family, government corruption, superstition, and the power of the written word, all set against the backdrop of the months before and after the assassination of a brutal dictator, Rafael Trujillo. Just before Memorial Day, however, the president appears on TV to announce National Guardsmen at the border and the construction of a border wall to keep undocumented immigrants out. When Julia Alvarez’s Before We Were Free (2002) begins, the life of Anita de la Torre, an 11-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic, is about to change forever. Through the eyes of two children, Return to Sender highlights the challenges of life for Mexican laborers in Vermont and how stereotypes about undocumented workers are formed. Every moment I spent reading this book furthered my empathy for these characters. Return to Sender, Julia Alvarez’s captivating and engrossing novel about family and friends tells the story of two sixth graders trying to deal with problems beyond their reach. Mari appeals to the president of the United States in an unsent letter, asking for understanding and help for families like hers she also visits the White House and other sites in Washington, DC, after collecting her mother from the coyotes. In this unit, students begin to explore the complexity of immigration and immigrant rights by reading the core text Return to Sender. Born in New York City in 1950, Julia Alvarezs parents returned to their native country, Dominican Republic, shortly after her birth. Tyler Paquette awoke to see a group of strangers trespassing on his family’s farm. ![]() It is fortunate that Sara rejected that name, he thinks, envisioning headlines in the local paper like “PATRIOTS’ FARM RAIDED FOR BREAKING THE LAW” (56). While the novel’s Garcia girls were born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York, Alvarez was born in New York and immigrated to the Dominican Republic. For example, Tyler reflects that one of the names his family considered for the farm was Patriots’ Farm. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is Julia Alvarez’s debut novel and was influenced by her experiences as a young girl living in the Dominican Republic. Sometimes these instances of patriotism are ironic and subtly prompt the reader to consider the ramifications of US law and America’s attitude toward immigrant workers, thus supporting the theme about recognizing a higher justice. ![]() The motif of patriotism surfaces throughout the book for example, Tyler is asked to carry the flag and lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the town meeting. ![]()
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