Alienation and disorientation in a new country, complexities of family relationships, the place of women in Latino culture, and the politics of class and power in the Dominican Republic are dominant themes in Alvarez’s works. Her personal experiences form the core of her creative endeavors in poetry as well as her fiction writing. Her poems “Sometimes the Words Are Too Close,” “Queens,” and “First Muse,” depict portrayals of family relationships and the Hispanic immigrant experience. However, Alvarez frequently blurs the lines between reality and fiction. In addition to, she also uses circular rather than chronological narrative structures. Attention to the minutiae of everyday life is one of the main characteristics of Alvarez’s poetic technique, bringing life and
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“Everyone seemed more American than we, newly arrived, foreign dirt still on our soles,” represents the alienation of moving to a new country (Alvarez 3). It projects a series of struggles they had to face, such as moving into a neighborhood. However, although they were Hispanic and the community was very diverse, there was sudden uproar upon the arrival of a black family moving in across the street. “‘The German girl playing the piano down the street abruptly stopped (…) A dark man in a suit (…) walked quickly into a car” are a few of the subtle events that occurred on Queens Street upon noticement of the new individuals (Alvarez 3). Prejudiceness was still a major issue, crosses were burned, bomb threats were made, and cop cars patrolled the area 24/7. The main theme in this particular poem was acceptance. During this time the narrator observes her neighbors odd behavior towards their new acquaintances, she is appalled. Through the narrator’s time in America, they eventually blended with everyone, “(…) from the days before we had melted into the United States of America,” however, they were never treated so poorly (Alvarez
“Everyone seemed more American than we, newly arrived, foreign dirt still on our soles,” represents the alienation of moving to a new country (Alvarez 3). It projects a series of struggles they had to face, such as moving into a neighborhood. However, although they were Hispanic and the community was very diverse, there was sudden uproar upon the arrival of a black family moving in across the street. “‘The German girl playing the piano down the street abruptly stopped (…) A dark man in a suit (…) walked quickly into a car” are a few of the subtle events that occurred on Queens Street upon noticement of the new individuals (Alvarez 3). Prejudiceness was still a major issue, crosses were burned, bomb threats were made, and cop cars patrolled the area 24/7. The main theme in this particular poem was acceptance. During this time the narrator observes her neighbors odd behavior towards their new acquaintances, she is appalled. Through the narrator’s time in America, they eventually blended with everyone, “(…) from the days before we had melted into the United States of America,” however, they were never treated so poorly (Alvarez