When attempting to settle down in a new country, most immigrants will find themselves caught between two, often conflicting cultures and facing unforeseen challenges. For Dominican immigrants looking to settle in the United States, one such challenge was a re-evaluation of their own race. In the Dominican Republic, one’s physical characteristics, especially skin color, hold heavily influence over a person’s self-image and their worth in society. This conflict is prominently displayed in Perez’s novel Geographies of Home, in which even within a modern Dominican family structure, beauty is defined by how “white” an individual looks. Geographies of Home tells the story of a large immigrant family from the Dominican Republic who travel to New York
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Iliana quickly adopts the role of the family’s black sheep. Born after her sisters, Beatriz and Marina, Iliana “disrupted” the boy/girl cycle of the family. Consequently, she grows up with a gender identity crisis, looking like and sharing more attributes with her brothers than her sisters. Her masculine behavior and confidence not only separates her from her sisters, but from her family as well. In her traditional household, both culture (Dominican) and religion (Seventh Day Adventist) demand that women subordinate themselves to men. Living in a domineering patriarchy left Iliana with little choice and direction in her life. She attempts to circumvent her unfortunate circumstances by leaving for college. While she receives resistance from her parents, especially her father, she accepts a scholarship to Cornell University in upstate New York. This allowed her to leave home instead of getting married directly after high school like her older sisters. However, Iliana’s experience at school is miserable and she ultimately leaves, mainly due to the racial prejudice that she encounters. “The ghostly trace of ‘NIGGER’ on a message board hanging from Iliana’s door failed to assault her as it had the first time she returned to her room to find it” (PÉREZ, 2000, p.1). Rather than being “India” as she would consider herself, she is identified as black by other students, which triggers an emotional response. She becomes uncomfortable in her own skin and is disgusted by her own appearance. Furthermore this occurrence was especially startling to her as a Dominican person. Despite being in a place which promotes higher education, she is considered inferior to other students because her skin insinuates that she’s black. She is looked at by others in the same way that most Dominican’s view black people, “ When classmates had presumed to know the inner workings of those of her
Iliana quickly adopts the role of the family’s black sheep. Born after her sisters, Beatriz and Marina, Iliana “disrupted” the boy/girl cycle of the family. Consequently, she grows up with a gender identity crisis, looking like and sharing more attributes with her brothers than her sisters. Her masculine behavior and confidence not only separates her from her sisters, but from her family as well. In her traditional household, both culture (Dominican) and religion (Seventh Day Adventist) demand that women subordinate themselves to men. Living in a domineering patriarchy left Iliana with little choice and direction in her life. She attempts to circumvent her unfortunate circumstances by leaving for college. While she receives resistance from her parents, especially her father, she accepts a scholarship to Cornell University in upstate New York. This allowed her to leave home instead of getting married directly after high school like her older sisters. However, Iliana’s experience at school is miserable and she ultimately leaves, mainly due to the racial prejudice that she encounters. “The ghostly trace of ‘NIGGER’ on a message board hanging from Iliana’s door failed to assault her as it had the first time she returned to her room to find it” (PÉREZ, 2000, p.1). Rather than being “India” as she would consider herself, she is identified as black by other students, which triggers an emotional response. She becomes uncomfortable in her own skin and is disgusted by her own appearance. Furthermore this occurrence was especially startling to her as a Dominican person. Despite being in a place which promotes higher education, she is considered inferior to other students because her skin insinuates that she’s black. She is looked at by others in the same way that most Dominican’s view black people, “ When classmates had presumed to know the inner workings of those of her