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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kyalkin (talk | contribs) at 06:04, 9 November 2008 (→‎Update, Nov. 6). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Evaluation

I was trying to formulate a civil way to show concern about this entry, but I'm just going to be blunt...it's very, very bad. I'd save it from the gutter myself, but I've never read the book. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 06:59, 23 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm trying to improve it. <KF> 22:02, 18 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Our Plan

Hola clase, the following is our tentative plan for the gradual improvement of the Wikipedia article on How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. It’s quite possible that over the course of them term our plan, like our article, will evolve, but for now this is what we’ve decided:


As a group, our goals are:

  • To achieve “Good” or hopefully “Featured Article” Status on Wikipedia
  • To produce a concise, informative and reliable page that will do justice to the efforts of Julia Alvarez’s production of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents


In order to accomplish these goals we will:

  • Flesh out the intro, pare down the plot outline and add several informative sub-categories to tell about various topics of interest with regards to the novel  Done
  • Either discard or add substance to the “Survey of Chapters” section
 Done. I discarded it. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 18:58, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Either organize into subcategories or discard the collection of random information currently lumped together under “Outline of the Plot”  Done
  • Edit out all the extraneous and opinionated information that currently comprises the better part of the article  Done
  • Put together a solid list of well-researched, properly referenced, reliable sources from a variety of scholarly articles, from which we will compile our information… (so that the content of the article can achieve a higher level of credibility than it currently possesses, with sparknotes as it’s only source/link)
This is mostly done, though see my comments below. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:23, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Continually and incrementally make edits to our article, both great and small, throughout the course of the term


We have divided the group responsibilities into sections as follows:

  • Beth – Article Intro (Lead Section), Analysis of Major Themes  Done, Symbols, possibly genre
  • Kaan – Background/ Historical Context, Authorial Style, List of Other works by Julia Alvarez Summarization of Main Characters --Kyalkin (talk) 01:25, 20 October 2008 (UTC)kyalkin[reply]
  • Leanna – Plot Summary/ Outline, Reception by the Public (Criticisms/ Praise), Key Notes on the Author

This our plan. We’ll see how it goes!

Cheers, Beth --Bdaoust (talk) 06:51, 19 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like a good plan. You can of course add to it over time. And cross things off when you've done them, including adding a big green checkmark {{done}}  Done. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 18:20, 26 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

C'mon guys, at present this is still just one long unreferenced plot outline... --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 00:22, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bibliography

The following is a compilation of relevant works we plan to refer to as we gradually flesh out our article on How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. --Bdaoust (talk) 00:17, 28 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  • Alvarez, Julia (1991), How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, New York: Plume, ISBN 0452287073.
  • Christian, Karen (1997), Show and Tell: Identity as Performance in U.S. Latina/o Fiction, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, ISBN 0826317960. Koerner Library Stacks PS153.H56 C47 1997.
Again, an annotation would be helpful. Is there a chapter on Alvarez's book? How can this source help the article? --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:27, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Johnson, Kelli Lyon (2005), Julia Alvarez: Writing a New Place on the Map, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, ISBN 978-0826336514. In Koerner's at PS3551.L845 Z74 2005.
  • ??, ?? (1994), "Julia Alvarez: Dominican-American Novelist and Poet", in ??, ?? (ed.), Latina Biographies, Paramus: Globe Fearon, pp. ??-??, ISBN ?? {{citation}}: |last= has numeric name (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help).
This information is incomplete: we need the author of the piece, the page numbers, the book editor, and the ISBN. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:33, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Kafka, Philippa (2000), "Saddling la Gringa": Gatekeeping in Literature by Contemporary Latina Writers, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0313311226. Koerner Library Stacks PS153.H56 K34 2000.
    Again, an annotation would be helpful. Is there a chapter on Alvarez's book? How can this source help the article? --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:40, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rifkind, D. (October 6, 1991), "Speaking American", New York Times Book Review, ?? (??): 14{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link). In IK Barber at AP2.N66.
  • Rosario-Sievert, Heather (1997), "Conversation with Julia Alvarez", Review: Latin American Literature and Arts, 54: 31–37.
  • Sirias, Silvio (2001), Julia Alvarez: A Critical Companion, Westport, CT: Greenwood, ISBN 978-0313309939. In Koerner's at PS3551.L845 Z87 2001.
  • Smorkaloff, P. M. 1999, Cuban Writers On and Off the Island, New York: Twayne Publishers, ISBN: 0805716173. Koerner Library Stacks PQ7382 .S66 1999.
How much is this about Alvarez's book? After all, Alvarez is not Cuban. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:28, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comments on bibliography This is an OK start, but it could be more comprehensive and not all the sources found seem to relate very directly to the article. You'll also be wanting to annotate these references as you get hold of them and start working with them to improve the article. And I had to supply some missing information for some of these references. Good luck! --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 16:23, 30 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

List of other works:

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

I've already posted this on the main page...not sure if they're going to delete it. Anyway, I plan to add a brief description of each novel at some point. Jon: I pulled this list from www.juliaalvarez.com. I remember you saying this might not be the best source. Is it okay if I cite it in the bibliography as a source for the list and description of the novels? --Kyalkin (talk) 18:53, 10 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See the bibliography just above? That has the sources that you should be using for this article. Also note that this is an article about How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, not about these other books. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 10:07, 17 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Some further reading: Popular novels by Julia Alvarez.

1) Once Upon A Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA (Viking: August 2007)

2) Saving the World (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, April 2006)

3) Gift of Gracias The Legend of Altagracia (New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers, October 2005)

4) Finding Miracles (New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers, 2004)

5) The Woman I Kept To Myself (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2004)

6) Before We Were Free (New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers, 2002)

7) A Cafecito Story (White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishers, 2001) Woodcuts by Belkis Ramirez

8) How Tía Lola Came to Stay (New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers, 2001)

9) The Secret Footprints (New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers, 2000)

10)In the Name of Salomé (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2000)

11) Seven Trees (North Andover: Kat Ran Press, 1998)

12) Something to Declare (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1998)

13) ¡YO! (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books: 1997)

14) Homecoming: New and Collected Poems (New York: Plume, 1996)

15) The Other Side/El Otro Lado (New York: Dutton, 1995)

16) In The Time of the Butterflies (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1994)

The problem is that this is not really appropriate for this article, which is on the novel. Look at the models that I've suggested to you: El Señor Presidente and The General in His Labyrinth. They don't have such a section. You should really follow your plan and work with the bibliography of reliable (non-web) sources that you've put together. This list is of course important for the Julia Alvarez article... but you'll see that that already has a list of works. As such, I'm sorry but I'm going to delete this section. If there's anything that can be added to the Julia Alvarez article, I'll add it there. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:02, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
And as a follow up... in fact, I checked and the list of works at the Julia Alvarez article has exactly the same books. (They probably got the list from the same place.) So there's nothing to add. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 19:09, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Signing

NB you sign posts on talk pages by using two dashes and four tildes: --~~~~. You'll also see a button above the edit window that you can use, by clicking on it as I showed you in class. See also WP:SIGN. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 23:55, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Background & Historical Context

Here we will feature information about the context of the novel and how it relates, if at all, to the life of Julia Alvarez. Please note that this article is not complete. --Kyalkin (talk) 18:53, 10 October 2008 (UTC)Kyalkin[reply]

In an article written by professor William Luis he begins to describe the situation of immigrants from the Dominican Republic to the United States during the 1960’s revolution:

“The displacement of the Caribbean people’s from their Island to the United States, for political or economical reasons, has produced a tension between the culture of the country of origin and that of the adopted homeland, one representing the past, and the other future of the immigrant”[2]

The Garcia family is an example of this phenomenon. In How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents, Alvarez succeeds in altering the events of her own life to create fiction [3]. The family is displaced to the United States after living an established, upper-class life in the Dominican Republic, and is forced to face the challenges which come along with being an immigrant family in a foreign land. Julia Alvarez herself was not actually born in the Dominican Republic, but actually in the United States. After her parents failed attempt at a life in America, she returned to the Dominican Republic at the age of three months as her parents preferred the dictatorship of Trujillo to the USA. [1] How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents is the first novel written by Julia Alvarez, after twenty-one years of life in the United States. Kyalkin (talk) 20:18, 26 October 2008 (UTC)kyalkin[reply]

OK, I've moved this over to the article. Keep at it! NB we need full citations for the references you're citing. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 09:21, 27 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Summarization of Main Characters

Here we will describe the main and important characters in the novel. --Kyalkin (talk) 01:28, 20 October 2008 (UTC)kyalkin[reply]

good job with the plot summary

Leanna1 has done a good job with the plot summary, cutting it down and making it more manageable. Well done! --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 06:13, 29 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

General comments from Awadewit

This is a good start! Here are some suggestions to help you refine what you have drafted here:

  • Right now the "Background and historical context" section is too detailed. The reader who doesn't already know about these historical events will be confused. For example, you will need to briefly explain and describe the 1960s revolution in the Dominican Republic and the dictatorship of Trujillo. See, for example, A Vindication of the Rights of Men and Le Père Goriot. These articles also discuss the historical and literary context in one section - an idea you might consider.
  • The "Literary context" section should be expanded to include information on what kinds of writing influenced Alvarez (I assume this is where you are going).
  • Be sure that the plot summary remains focused on the plot. At times, elements of thematic analysis creep in, for example, Class becomes a more apparent theme with the story of the Haitian family maid elucidated, which is an indirect commentary Trujillo's massacre of Haitians and congruent with the political theme. The themes should be discussed in the "Themes" section.
  • I'm not sure what the reference to the California Law Review really demonstrates to the reader in the "Reception" section. It seems like a random fact.
  • Why are Luis's and Hoffman's articles singled out for attention in the "Reception" section? We should only single out the most important responses to the book - try to identify the most important scholarly responses and identify them for the reader in the text as such.
  • It seems like you need to do a lot more research to flesh out the "Themes" and "Style" sections in particular. These sections are the "meat" of the article, as they explain the meaning of the book and how it is written.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Awadewit (talk) 16:18, 1 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  • Yes, thanks! We will make the necessary changes and edits to make this a great article! I will change the "Background Section" and will discuss with Leanna about combining her "Literary context" section with mine. Kyalkin (talk) 01:54, 2 November 2008 (UTC)kyalkin[reply]


  • Thanks Awadewit! That's very helpful feedback! The Themes and Authorial Style sections are currently under construction and I should have them up in the next day or two. I've also considered adding a section on major symbols in Garcia Girls. What are your thoughts on that guys?--Bdaoust (talk) 04:59, 4 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hi Beth! Glad to hear things are going well for you, I'm excited to see what you post for your sections! I think a major symbols section would be a great idea. We can talk about it in class on Wednesday perhaps. I think for our GA nomination we should try and get everything that's on our plan up, and we can always add that section next week. At the same time, if we can get it up before hand that would be great. Hope you're doing well! Kyalkin (talk) 17:30, 4 November 2008 (UTC)kyalkib[reply]

Update, Nov. 6

Alright you guys, I'm starting to post my sections as I complete them (I'm sure I'll still be making some edits to them). I'm not sure how to cite the sources properly on wikipedia so I'm just going to put them up for now and hopefully either someone will help us with that or once I figure it out I'll go back and make the necessary changes. I'll keep posting each theme/symbol/etc as I finish it, so that we can have as much time for feedback from the helpful wikipedians as possible. Happy wiki-ing!:)--Bdaoust (talk) 01:07, 7 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry about the formatting. But do make sure: 1) that your citations have the author, the year, and the correct page number(s); and 2) that there is also a full record of the reference used in the "References" section. With that information, I can ensure that the formatting is AOK. --jbmurray (talk • contribs) 01:22, 7 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Awesome job Beth! Your sections look fantastic, I just read through them. Although I still think we have a bit of work to do, the article is really starting to come along! Kyalkin (talk) 06:04, 9 November 2008 (UTC)kyalkin[reply]

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