Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American writer that is known for her variety of literary styles. She’s written poems, essays, and novels. Most of her pieces are based on real life experiences and relationships, “Dusting” included. “Dusting” is one of her less popular and shorter pieces, only eighteen lines, that symbolizes and represents her relationship with her mother. The main character in the poem, who is also the narrator, is the daughter. She begins the piece by describing her morning ritual of how she writes her name in the dusty cabinet. And how her mother stalks and follows her every move, cleaning after her. The daughter is being rebellious and refuses to be anything like her mother, contradicting her with every move she makes. She
